


Our Lovely Landlady

by FeralCreature



Series: A Reverie of the Heart’s Fantasy [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Final Fantasy Dissidia - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Multi, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, kingdom hearts - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2020-02-10 15:38:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 70
Words: 461,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18663325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralCreature/pseuds/FeralCreature
Summary: Rumor has it that only those who seek to rent at the prestigious Alstroemeria Suites can only get in with high tier references, those lucky enough to step inside can get a glimpse of the mysterious landlady that resides within. Usually keeping to herself and not seeking relationships, a chain of events starts to piece itself together that has her meeting some of the most mischievous and powerful men in the worlds as well as digging up a past she so desperately tried to escape from.





	1. I

Loud music bumped from the lush garden courtyard just outside the stained glass window of her room, her body thrashed as her hands fumbled for a pillow to throw over her head- alas, the feathery confines could not hold back the powerful bass boost of techno music that threatened to shake the very foundations of the residence.

 

Getting up, the girl groaned as squinted eyes peered through the window of her room to see the flashing lights down below amongst the dancing bodies. Tired eyes looked toward the clock, widening when the red iridescent numbers displayed ‘ _12:36 am_ ’.

 

“The audacity,” the girl muttered, grabbing a blanket to wrap around her shoulders and slipping into her shoes. As she made her way down towards the courtyard, the vibrations grew ever louder and penetrated through the thick rubber soles of her shoes.

 

Opening the door to the courtyard, she immediately covered her eyes as the light of a disco ball hit her directly in her retina. Careful eyes peered through the crowd and spotted the familiar red spikes that bounced to the beat of the music.

 

Striding through the moving crowd that swayed due to the influence of whatever sweet liquor was on the menu tonight, she waited patiently for the deejaying redhead to turn towards her while she tapped her foot against the marble stone in anticipation.

 

As the redhead took a disc off the turntable, he turned around to face her with an expression of pure horror embossing his face as he looked at her. Red eyebrows raised above the vivid emerald eyes that looked at her with growing shame.

 

“I-“

 

“Axel. Care to explain?”

 

Axel stretched his arms above his head, having one arm ruffle his spiky hair as he gave a sheepish grin. “We tried being quiet-“

 

“ _This_ is quiet? I can’t imagine what loud would be like for you,” the girl retorted, her hands clenching harder around the blanket on her shoulders as a soft breeze grazed her skin under the flimsy pajamas.

 

“Look, we all had a rough week. We just wanted to let loose for a while.. besides, you know we’ll clean up per usual. We wouldn’t wanna upset you again, we’ve got _that_ memorized,” he offered her a smile, bringing a finger to tap against his temple.

 

“Yo, Axel, what’s the hold up? We need new tunes, man-“ a boy with blonde spikes approached them, a plastic cup with murky liquid sloshed as he came to a complete halt at the sight of her.

 

“Roxas,” she sighed. “I shouldn’t be surprised, you two are inseparable.”

 

As Roxas opened his mouth to offer up an explanation, the girl raised a hand to motion him to stop.

 

“Sorry, we all just wanted to throw a party. It’s an easy way to de-stress, y’know?” Axel spoke softly as he stepped in between the two.

 

“I understand, just.. keep the volume at an acceptable level- I could hear the bass of your mixtape all the way from my room,” she smirked.

 

“Will do,” Axel winked as he fished out another vinyl to place on the turntable.

 

The music came alive and people chatted excitedly as they began to sway to Axel’s impeccable music tastes. Satisfied at the volume, the girl gave him a quick thumbs up before turning to walk back to her room. Sidestepping when another boy with blond hair rushed to lean over to his friend who looked greener than the grass he was sitting down on.

 

“Noct?! Let’s get you home, buddy.”

 

The boy was addressing another boy clad in all black, the blond one leaned over him and talked to him as the one sitting down had his face hid behind messy raven hair and his pale hand covered his mouth, he shook his head vigorously at the idea of going home.

 

_Poor kid, can’t handle the alcohol._

 

_“_ Get him some orange juice and aspirin, there’s a Moogle down the street who’ll be able to get you some for cheap,” the girl told the blond. He looked up to her and mouthed the words _‘thank you’_ before turning back to help his friend up.

 

Just as soon as she left the duo, the music came to a stop as the party goers slowly stilled- looking towards the large double doorway of the courtyard. An imposing group of men clad in black suits stood at the doorway in a way that blocked the entrance.

 

The man at the front, flipped his silvery gray hair over his shoulder as he walked down the stone stairs leading down. His molten gold eyes carefully observing the crowd until it stopped at.. her? No-

 

“Roxas,” the man smiled slightly, his deep tenor was thick and exuded authority. “I so wanted to meet you.. ah, and Axel.”

 

Roxas and Axel stilled, the growing anxiety in the area was almost palpable as the crowd moved to accommodate the suited men.

 

“What are they doing here?”

 

“Ugh.. should’ve just stayed home tonight.”

 

“Should we go..?”

 

Whispers were heard as the men moved with authority, growing ever more smug as the hushed voices began to tremble and people’s’ eyes cowered in fear.

 

_Who were these men?_

 

“Xemnas,” Axel finally spat out with malice. “You’re not invited here.”

 

“As I recall,” a man with long dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail and an eyepatch covering his right eye came to view. “This party was an open invite, so anyone could come.”

 

“Always the smart ass weren’t you, Xigbar?” Roxas scoffed.

 

“We merely wish to discuss a few things with you and then we shall leave you to enjoy the rest of your night,” Xemnas continued, he motioned for Xigbar to move closer to Roxas. As he moved closer to Roxas, the irritated girl rushed to step in front of him.

 

“Not a step closer,” she growled, holding a protective hand over Roxas as she lifted her chin. “You aren’t allowed here.”

 

“Open invite, sweetheart. I’m allowed _anywhere,”_ he gave her a smug grin, his one eye looking at her as she stared up at him.

 

“Let's get one thing straight,” the girl said, her irritation growing as more and more people looked at the current altercation taking place. Moving her hand from Roxas, she placed a hand over the man’s chest gently.

 

“It was bold of you to assume you were even wanted here even at the obvious disdain for your company,” she pushed him back with each word enunciating the steps she took forward as he stepped backward until he was at Xemnas’ side again. “Trust me when I say that if you ever show up unwanted again, there will be hell to pay.”

 

Both Xemnas and Xigbar raised an eyebrow in amusement. Xemnas let out a small chuckle, “And who are you to dictate our actions? We merely wish-“

 

“You’ll merely wish you never stepped foot in here-look, Xemnas, right? I could care less if you were the president of the Shinra electrical company or a star blitzball player or even the next in line to the throne of Insomnia- here-” the girl motioned to the area around them, “this here is _my_ plane of existence, anything I say will be and anything that will be won’t be without my say.”

 

She stepped closer until the smell of spiced cologne filled her nostrils and closer enough to see the dark amber flecks in the silver-haired man’s eyes that complemented his rich tan skin. “I suggest you leave before further action will be taken and you might get your expensive suit wrinkled.”

 

His golden eyes darkened as his lips tightened into a forced smile, “And may I ask who are you to make such demands and threats?”

 

“I‘m the landlady,” the girl replied, “now I assume you can escort yourselves out?“


	2. II

“Hell of a night, did you see the look on Xemnas’ face?” Axel grinned as he opened up a can of coffee.

 

“Yeah, our landlady really can be scary sometimes..” Roxas replied, looking up at the bright blue sky. “Hey, Axel?”

 

“Mmm?”

 

“We’ve been here a couple of weeks, but the landlady never told us her name right?”

 

Axel set his can down, wiping the remnants of the coffee hanging off his lips with his thumb. “Nah.. she never revealed her name to anyone here.”

 

“Then what do we call her?”

 

•••

 

“‘Scuse me,” a gruff voice grumbled begins her as the girl moved forward to accommodate the man behind her.

 

“Oh, sorry!” She turned to give the man an apologetic smile and her eyes planned upwards to look at the towering figure before her.

 

He gave her a gentle look, his mouth and jaw were accentuated by a shadow of a beard that only added to his burly appearance. His warm honey colored eyes were framed by thick brows and a lush set of lashes that batted every single time he moved his mouth.

 

“Just needed to get this,” he said as he reached above her for a bottle of aspirin, his arms were heavily tattooed with what looked like a set of wings. Taking the bottle and examining it closely, he gave it a shake and nodded when the contents moved around and settled.

 

“Aspirin? Can I ask for why?” She looked over to the bottle in his hands before looking up at him, noticing his smile.

 

“A hangover- before you ask, it’s not for me.”

 

“Hm, that brand isn’t potent enough for a hangover. Might I suggest-“ she plucked the bottle from his hand and replaced it with another brand, “-this will be better suited for hangovers.”

 

“Oh?” The man’s smile widened and an amused brow raised at her actions.  

 

“Mmm, don’t forget to bring juice or coffee to help them recover faster- here you can have mine, it just so happens I’m here to help someone with their hangover too. I have an extra coupon you can use with that anyways!”

 

“I appreciate the help, miss..?” He trailed off, raising both eyebrows while waiting for a response.

 

“You can just call me Lady,” she turned to reach for a bottle of medication to throw into her basket and gave the man a smile.

 

“Lady?”

 

“It’s sort of a joke, but it derives from what I do. I’m a landlady,” she walked towards the drinks shelf to grab another coffee can.

 

“And what is your name?”

 

“Gladiolus, at your service,” he gave her a small wink. “How about I help you carry your groceries as a show of thanks?”

 

Lady paused, looking over at Gladiolus and assessed him. The man was tall, layers of muscle seemed to cover his body as well as extensive amounts of ink- he exuded unapologetic power that hid behind his suave attitude. _But even then he didn’t seem a threat, his intentions seem well enough._

 

“Don’t worry, I don’t bite,” he smirked as he took the basket out of her hands and proceeded to the checkout.

 

They both paid for their groceries, exiting the store to have the bright sun meet their face once more. Lady brought her hand up to cover her eyes from the shining rays when she felt the bag being lifted from her hand.

 

“So, where do you live?” He tossed the bags over his shoulder, his arms flexing as he held them there.

 

“Not that far, are you sure you don’t want me to carry that?”

 

He waved away her concern, motioning her to start walking with him as they both made their way back.

 

“So, a landlady huh? Usually a landlady is a bit..”

 

“Older? I understand, people are usually surprised when I tell them I own the place and I’m not a tenant. “

 

“I would be surprised to see a beautiful young woman replace the stereotypical landlady,” Gladiolus laughed. "Surprised, but definitely not disappointed."

 

Lady smiled, her eyes watching her feet shuffle against the concrete street. “And what do you do?”

 

“Hmm, I’m a bodyguard of sorts,” he patted the bag on his shoulder with his other hand. “This is for the bonehead I’m protecting right now.”

 

She stopped walking as the gates of her home came into view, “We’re here, these are my apartments- the Alstroemeria.”

 

“Nice place, elegant just like the owner,” he whistled, looking up at the spiraling dark rooftops and the glossy painted walls.

 

“Does your flattery know no bounds, Gladiolus?”

 

“Call me Gladio,” he winked again as he opened the large steel gates to allow them to walk into the entrance, the two were greeted with a pleasant breeze carrying floral scents from the large amount of flowers covering sections of the lawn in intricate patterns that burst with different hues.

 

“I can take my bags from here, I’m sure your friend wants their medicine too,” she slipped her bag from his fingers. “But before you go..”

 

Lady stepped over to a group of flowers that had amber colored lillies growing on a tall green stalk that came to a tip where budding lillies were slowly growing. Breaking the stalk at the end, she brought over the flower to Gladio.

 

“This flower is called a gladiolus, it’s known as the ‘sword lily’. It seems silly but take it as my thanks for carrying my groceries,” Lady held it out for him to which he did.

 

“It’s the same color as your eyes, it suits you well!” She exclaimed when Gladio tucked the flower into his front chest pocket.

 

“Thank you, Lady. I’ll take good care of it. Eh, should get back before prince charming throws up on himself again,” he positioned the flower as to not get it crushed before bowing his head slightly to her. “It was nice meeting you miss, hope I’ll get to see you again.”

 

Lady nodded as she walked him back towards the gates, “We’ll see about that.”

 

Gladiolus waved to her as he disappeared down the street and around another corner, leaving the landlady to close the gates and walk back into her home.

 

••• 

 

“Axel,” Lady called, opening the door to his apartment. “I’ve got you your medicine.”

 

“Gimme just a sec!” She heard him yell from the back and seconds later, Axel emerged from the steam-filled bathroom with only a towel to cover his bottom half, leaving his torso bare and naked for all to see.

 

Swallowing, she looked away immediately. “Do you not own a shirt?”

 

“I don’t see you squealing about me being half-naked so I don’t see a problem, is that my medicine?”

 

“Indeed it is.”

 

Axel walked up next to her, his hand reaching across her to reach inside the bag- his arm grazing against hers and his bare chest brushed against her body. He mumbled a quick apology before backing away and opening the lid to pop in two pills into his mouth with the coffee in his other hand which he proceeded to pull open the tab with a quick flick of his forefinger.

 

Lady cleared her throat and faced him with a hand on her hip, “I wanted to ask, who were those men last night? They wanted you and Roxas, should I be concerned?”

 

The redhead didn’t respond, taking a swig of the coffee and set it down before gulping it slowly.

 

She walked over, coming close enough to where she could feel the wave of heat that always seemed to radiate off of him.

 

“Axel.”

 

At the call of his name, his striking green eyes looked over to her and she swore she could see them darken with worry for a split second before going back to their original bright hue.

 

“Look at you being so serious. Lady, those guys were nothin’; they’re not a problem, trust me.” He gave her a reassuring smile, but it did little to qualm her suspicions. After some seconds of their intense stare off, she sighed and backed away. The steam gathered around him as he gazed down at her, heat forming around and him causing a slight layer of perspiration on her skin.

 

“If you insist.. I wouldn’t want any harm to befall you or Roxas or anyone for that matter.”

 

“Don’t worry, we wouldn’t want to worry our lovely landlady,” he grinned, green eyes sparkling with mischief. “Those dudes from last night aren’t gonna bother us here anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo finals are kinda killing me but that’s okay. 
> 
> I hope y’all enjoy it so far! :) as always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated~


	3. III

“Here’s your meds, your royal highness,” Gladio tossed the medicine bottle onto Noct’s stomach and the young prince groaned as the bottle rolled off his stomach along with his weak attempt to catch it.

 

“Took you long enough,” the raven haired boy struggled to open the cap.

 

Gladio sighed, taking the bottle from his hands and twisting it with ease; he took two pills and handed it back to Noctis along with the can of coffee from the store. Sitting upright to drink, his eyes were drawn to the bright amber flower tucked into his friend’s shirt.

 

“Did you pick flowers along the way for me?”

 

“Got it from a lady friend, squirt.”

 

Ignis walked into the room with a plate of breakfast croquettes, his apron tail swinging as he pushed his glasses up to observe Noctis with steeled eyes.

 

“It would behoove you to not partake in acts of debauchery for the time being,” he tutted, handing Noctis a plate of food as Gladio rolled his eyes.

 

“If the prince wants to get shit faced why not let him.”

 

“Because,” Ignis sighed. “We cannot have the crown prince of Lucis throwing up on the side of a building at three in the morning.”

 

The sound of a toilet flushing was heard in their hotel room as Prompto stumbled out of the bathroom, wiping his mouth- his eyes were bloodshot and dark circles contrasted greatly against his pale freckles skin.

 

“Never.. never gonna drink again. I swear on everything,” he groaned as he collapsed onto the carpet next to Noctis. “I think I experienced death last night.”

 

“Don’t be dramatic, it was only a couple shots. Where were you guys even partying at last night?” Gladio asked.

 

“Ass.. ass-tro-mee-ria?” Prompto counted the syllables with his fingers as he tried his best pronunciating.

 

“No, that’s not it,” Noctis muttered. “Als-alstro-“

 

“The Alstroemeria?” Gladio finished for them.

 

“Yeah! How did you know?” The blond boy sat up, his crystal blue eyes widening.

 

Gladio fished the flower out his pocket and twirled it between his fingers. “I met the landlady just this morning, pretty cute girl. Hope you two knuckleheads didn’t give her trouble last night.”

 

“I don’t remember much of what happened last night,” Noctis sighed, glancing at Prompto for some type of cue.

 

“Well, we may have to stop by to issue a quick apology for your unsavory behavior,” Ignis took a seat on a recliner, crossing his legs and leaning forward. “King Regis entrusted us to find you a temporary place of living, it so happens that I was looking at the very apartment complex you two were in last night.”

 

“What’s the reason-“ Prompto started, quickly turning his head towards the prince,”-I mean, did King Regis ever tell you Noct?”

 

“He never tells me anything when it comes to courtly intrigue, just somethin’ about enjoying my last years before taking over as king.”

 

“What better way to enjoy it then in a secluded area in a luxury apartment suite in one of the world’s best tourist spots?” Gladio smirked, taking the flower in his hand and pressing it between a book.

 

Ignis was quiet, leaning back. “Mayhaps we can stop by to make an inquiry after these two freshen up.”

 

The two hungover boys nodded solemnly under the stern glare of Ignis Scientia.

 

•••

 

Xigbar knelt down, looking up at a room with an open window that had billowing white curtains that moved with the summer wind.

 

Emerging from the white folds was Lady, braiding her hair to the side and tying the ends with a small red ribbon. She put her hands on the stone railing surrounding the balcony of her room. Staring at the open ocean that the apartment suites were located in front of and breathing in to enjoy the fresh wind coming off the crashing waves.

 

Xigbar stood up, dusting off his pants before disappearing into a swirled vortex of darkness- but not before taking another glance over his shoulder at the quiet girl staring into the distance.

 

“Just a landlady, eh?” He chuckled to himself. “We’ll see about that.”

 

•••

 

“Well, we’re here,” Noctis stopped at the large iron gates leading inside.

 

“Let’s not waste any time dawdling,” Ignis looked at the courtyard through the y’all iron fence, sensing a strong hum of magic emanating from the gates.

 

“It’s much more peaceful than last night.”

 

“You don’t say?”

 

Gladio moved towards the front of the group, scanning the area for the landlady but was only greeted by a sigh from behind them.

 

“You mind not standing in the middle of the entrance?”

 

Axel frowned slightly at the four, his glare softening when he looked at Noctis and Prompto.

 

“Hey, you guys here for a round two?”

 

“Uh no, no! We were looking for the owner,” Prompto said.

 

“You’re looking for Lady? She’s in the back by the beach, whaddaya want from her?” Axel shooed the group in as he opened the gate for the , closing the gate from behind him and leading them towards the building.

 

“We just wanted to, uhhh-“

 

“We’re hoping to ask about living space for all of us, we heard this was the best compound for that,” Gladio matched his pace with Axel, eyeing the redhead.

 

“It is, safest spot too. But everyone knows you have to go through our landlady’s standards,” he stopped as they reached stone stairs leading down towards white sands. “She’s over there, good luck.”

 

Axel gave them a wicked smile before heading up the stairs towards his room and leaving the four to their own devices. Walking down towards the beach on the wooden platform leading out towards the pier, Noct’s smile grew bigger.

 

“Wow, a fishing pier. I’m liking this place more and more.”

 

Ignis walked ahead of them, approaching Lady who was sitting on a straw recliner with her back facing them. Her braided hair fell loosely over her shoulder as she turned her head slightly at the sound of footsteps colliding with the wooden path behind her.

 

“Yes?” She turned to greet them, offering a gentle smile and moving a strand of hair behind her right ear.

 

“Hello madam, we wanted to ask the possibility of renting out a space here.”

 

“I usually do by appointment only..” Lady leaned to the side and she smiled wider when her eyes rested upon Gladio’s; then towards a sheepish Prompto and embarrassed Noctis. “I suppose I can make an exception though, will you sit?”

 

Gesturing towards extra seats, Ignis and Gladio took a seat but not before Ignis turned to the two younger boys.

 

“Why don’t you two head inside and see if the area is to your liking, we’ll give you a call when the details are done with,” he instructed them.

 

“Fine with me,” Noctis shrugged. “Come on Prompto, let’s play King’s Knight inside.”

 

Lady raised an eyebrow as Ignis sat back down and immediately reached into his pocket to reveal a black envelope with a gold seal emblazoned on the flap. Before handing it over to her, he materialized a dagger in his hand out of blue luminescent light and slid the knife against the wax seal, promptly cutting it clean open then throwing the dagger to the side and Lady watched as the weapon disintegrated into nothing. She gave both men a curious look before looking inside at the thick parchment inside.

 

After moments of reading and rereading the letter, she set it down and looked up towards Ignis.

 

“You want me.. to host and protect the future king of Lucis. A nation that is at war with the Niflheim empire?”

 

“Not I, no,” Ignis leaned forward, his tone dropping into a low whisper. “King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII is the one wanting, did the signature not make it clear?”

 

Lady set the letter down frowning, her hand tightening up enough to feel her nails digging against her skin. Glancing up at Noctis and Prompto from afar, she looked at Ignis again. “I’m guessing they don’t know about this.”

 

“Correct, and we would prefer to keep it that way as well as the prince’s location under wraps,” Gladio responded. “Your security is supposed to be the best of the best, or so the information tells us and the seclusion of the area is perfect.”

 

“Indeed, we can discuss terms later if you wish to accept. If you don’t, it would be unfortunate but we will take our leave and news back to the king. We will just resume our lookout for a new ‘vacation spot.’”

 

“You won’t go unrewarded of course, besides the fact that that you’ll be helping Insomnian royalty- there’ll be other benefits.” Gladiolus looked at her intently.

 

“I’m not planning to do this for the status or reward if I do choose to,” she scoffed, the sound of Prompto’s laughter pierced the air as she watched the blond boy ruffle Noctis’ hair before running off inside at lightning speed. She released the tension in her fists, turning back to the tactician and bodyguard.

 

“.. What are these supposed terms, then?” Lady sighed. “I suppose I can hear them out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, back to studying for my dumb hoe self. Hope your finals are going by smoother than mine!


	4. IV

“Just keep an eye on her, he says,” Xigbar whispers to himself as he kept his gaze on Lady as she left a room with a wrench in hand.

 

Proceeding to walk down towards her room, she stopped to loosen the white apron she had tied around her waist to wipe the beads of sweat on her forehead. Using another hand to tie up her hair to reveal her neck, Xigbar squinted and felt his lips tug into a smile as he watched the landlady fan herself to no avail. Sighing, she went into her room and closed off Xigbar’s view as he sat on a roof from a nearby building.

 

Whistling as he twirled his guns with a finger, the twirling stopped when he saw the landlady step out of her room in a completely new outfit. Ripped jean shorts and a simple white tank top with her hair braided to the side, carrying a small purse with her as she headed down towards the gates. Xigbar’s smile grew ever wider as he watched her exit the safety of the complex with that revealing outfit she was wearing.

 

“Don’t make contact with the target under any circumstances, he says..” he repeated as his golden eye watched the sway of her hips as she walked down the street.

 

“Heh, as if.” He grinned to himself before warping from his spot on the roof.

 

•••

 

“How much to have all of this delivered?”

 

“Our rate is 500 here.”

 

“Gil or munny?” Lady asked, digging in her purse.

 

“Gil, ma’am.”

 

After completing her payment, she nodded a quick thank you and exited the store- groaning slightly when the coolness of the air conditioned store was met with the harsh rays of the blazing sun and dissipating whatever cool feeling lingered on her skin.

 

Sitting down on a wooden bench across a park, she felt relief from the large trees shading where she sat. Stretching her arms upwards, she fanned her neck with her hand.

 

“What a time for the air conditioning unit to break,” she huffed, closing her eyes and remembering the look of Prompto and Roxas’ face as they both woke her up with sweaty faces and urgency in their blue eyes to tell her the news.

 

“Hey gorgeous,” a smug voice jolted her eyes to open and she was met with a popsicle dangling in front of her face. Focusing her gaze to the man holding it, she recognized the man from the other night.

 

“You..!”

 

“It’s Xigbar, honey,” he sat next to her, unwrapping his popsicle and handed another to her. “Don’t tell me you already forgot my name?”

 

Lady scowled, eyeing the iced treat with suspicion to which Xigbar laughed. “It ain’t poisoned, babe. You’re hot, right? It’ll cool you down.”

 

Eyeing the man as she took it from his hand and started to unwrap it, sticking the blue ice into her mouth. The tanginess of salt seemingly attacked her tongue and as she was about to take it out of her mouth, she felt the sweet caress of a sugary aftertaste take over.

 

“Oh, is this sea salt?” Lady said as she gave another lick.

 

“Yep, don’t know how Axel and Roxas can eat this everyday,” Xigbar bit down on the wooden stick, already finished with his ice cream.

 

Lady looked at him with disbelief. “You eat quick, you could choke, you know.”

 

He looked at her with a wide smirk, “I eat pretty thoroughly, I usually don’t get complaints.”

 

She looked down and at her ice cream, answering him with silence as she bit off a piece off the tip of her ice cream.

 

“Careful there, just eat it with your tongue not your teeth,” he laughed as she scoffed.

 

“Are you here just to make sexual innuendos and annoy me?”

 

“Nah, truthfully I was sent on business. I guess this is my break,” he said as he leaned back, crossing his legs and an arm behind his head.

 

“Special job from Xemnas?”

 

“Bingo.”

 

“Can I ask what it’s for..?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

Lady tilted her head, balancing the now finished ice cream in between her lips as she looked at Xigbar’s face. His eyes were closed as he talked to her, leaning back like that- they looked like two friends just catching up.

 

“Well what’s the job?”

 

He opened his eye and smiled, “Not telling.”

 

“Hey, you said I can ask!”

 

Xigbar leaned towards her face and chuckled, “I said you could ask, I never said I would answer.”

 

“Fair enough,” Lady crossed her arms and leaned back, mimicking his position as she looked up at the large leaves of the tree above them. “It’s not like it’s already obvious. With that show of force from the party, you guys are either watching Axel or Roxas.”

 

“Close,” was all he responded with.

 

“Then.. me?”

 

His silence was all she needed to confirm his answer.

 

“Did I step on your boss’ toes too much?” She laughed.

 

“No one really stands up and openly disrespects Xemnas, ‘cept me of course.. the man has a lot up his sleeve and can make you disappear with a snap of his fingers.”

 

Lady was quiet, closing her eyes and listened to the summer breeze blow through the tree branches. Shaking the leaves as they rustled against each other along the beat to a cicada’s wings rubbing against each other- it was truly the sign that summer was in full swing.

 

“It’s going to rain.”

 

“Impossible, it was sunny all day-“ Lady stopped as she saw the clouds darken, especially those closer to the beach.

 

“Come on, I’ll walk you home.” He stood up and extended a hand to her, noting the look of concern covering her face. “Don’t worry babe, I won’t try anything.. unless you want me to.”

 

Taking his hand, he pulled her up with ease and they continued towards the main street leading back to the Alstroemeria. Lady watched as people began to gather their things and run off to the direction of their homes, a droplet of rain hitting her skin. The rain started in small showers then slowly built up to heavy downpours of water.

 

As they crossed the street, Xigbar swiftly grabbed Lady with his arm wrapped across her stomach.

 

“Hey, what are you-?!” She yelled as he lifted her off the ground and back onto the sidewalk, turning his back towards the streets as a car zoomed past, driving fast along the dampened cement roads.

 

The tires hit  the large puddle of water that gathered near the gutter and splashed onto Xigbar’s back as he protected Lady from the splash.

 

“You good?” His arm was still fastened along the damp material of her tank top as he had her bent over slightly with his mouth close to her ear as she felt his lips brush over the tips of her ear when he spoke. “You should watch where you’re going.”

 

He released his grip on her, although lingering slightly where the shirt was pulled up to reveal bits of her skin. Straightening up, she cleared her throat and looked up at Xigbar’s face.

 

“Thank you..” she gave him a small smile.

 

“Don’t worry about it, hurry up now,” he turned, beckoning her to follow.

 

When his back was to her, Lady noticed the specks of mud staining the silken black blazer as he walked towards the street with her in tow.

 

As he stepped onto the sidewalk, he put his hands in his pocket and motioned for her to walk in front. Passing by, he walked to match her speed with his hands in his pockets.

 

The rain grew ever heavier as they walked, the spiraling rooftops of the Alstroemeria came into view which made Lady sigh with relief. The white tank top she wore stuck to her skin as they approached the gates.

 

“Thank you for the ice cream and walking me and for pulling me out of that car’s way.” Her cheeks flushed slightly.

 

 _“_ No problem, I enjoyed our little date.” He winked. “If you’re always that clumsy then I should work on keeping a closer eye on you.”

 

“I assure you, I’m much more attentive.”

 

Xigbar gave her a shrug and a smile, turning to walk away as Lady reached out to tug onto his sullied blazer.

 

“Wait, your clothes.. I’m sorry for getting them dirty.”

 

He gave her another shrug. “Don’t apologize, that asshole who was speeding down the street should apologize. Besides..” his eyes trailed down to her wet shirt, “Your clothes need to changed too. Wearing a black bra I see.”

 

Lady frowned, all sympathy lost in her eyes at Xigbar’s observation. “Look I’m just being nice, I felt bad you got your shirt dirty so if you don’t want help cleaning it-“

 

She was stopped as Xigbar put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her gently against the gate, “I’m sorry for what I said, I would actually love to help getting into something dry.”

 

Gulping, she swatted his hand away and turned towards the gates. As her hand touched the entrance, the buzz of magic flowing through her fingers as the gates opened for both of them. Turning towards Xigbar, she stepped close to him. “Don’t try anything.”

 

He looked down at the woman and wanted to laugh at the fact that a simple landlady could make those types of threats work. “I said I wouldn’t unless you wanted me to babe.”

 

She tutted, “I meant don’t try to do anything to Axel and Roxas. If you so much as touch a hair on their head..”

 

“I promise. Scout’s honor.” He raised two fingers up and straightened his back in a mocking manner.

 

Rolling her eyes, she beckoned him to follow her up the stairs into her room. It helped that her room was the one that could be visible from the front and back courtyard- a strategic placement so she can see everything going on and if she was needed.

 

Unlocking the door, she took her wet sandals off at the door and Xigbar followed suit. Tucking in a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she opened the bathroom to start the water in the large black marble standing shower. The white veins with gold flecks in the marble shone brighter as the water hit it’s surface, almost glowing in the steam.

 

Exiting the bathroom, she called for the man standing in the living room. “You can shower here, I’ll get some fresh clothes for you to wear.”

 

Xigbar moved past her, looking into the bathroom as Lady was knelt down in front of her dresser looking for clothes. Stepping in, he began to take off the blazer and started unbuttoning the black shirt he had underneath. His fingers making quick work as he started to unbuckle his belt and threw the belt to the side as he began to undo his zipper, stopping midway when Lady cleared her throat at the bathroom door. His torso was in full view, littered with scars from long past and a battle hardened body that was rugged as his appearance. The tanned skin only accentuated the darker scars that crossed his back and abdomen, making Lady wonder what type of trouble she had landed herself into by mouthing off to Xemnas.

 

“I hope these fit, I’ll put the clothes here,” she said quickly, excusing herself and closing the door behind her to leave him alone in the bathroom.

 

Slipping into her sandals again, she exited her room to where the four Insomnians stayed at and knocked gently on their door. Gladio opened the door and was mildly shocked to see a soaking wet Lady at his doorstep.

 

“I just wanted to let you guys know that I can have the A/C unit fixed by tomorrow so you won’t have to suffer long,” she stated.

 

Gladio leaned on the door, crossing his arms. “You’re soaking, Lady. You’ll catch a cold if you keep running around like that.”

 

“I’ll be fine, I’ll shower after-“ she stopped herself. “I’ll just shower later, don’t worry. I just wanted to tell you guys.”

 

He hummed, eyes looking over her frame and lingered on where the white was translucent and showed the bra underneath. “Black lace, huh? Never took you for the type.”

 

A small of flush pink appeared as she clicked her tongue, “Now now, is it appropriate to flirt with your landlady like this?”

 

“Only if she looks like you,” he winked. “Hey, Iggy is cooking dinner tonight. Why don’t you stop by? His culinary skills are the stuff of legends.”

 

“I’ll think about it,” she waved at him before heading back to her room to make sure Xemnas’ henchman wasn’t snooping around. As she entered her apartment, she kicked off her sandals once more and rushed to her bedroom. To her surprise, Xigbar was standing in front of her vanity mirror. His long dark brown hair was loose and hung way past his shoulders instead of tied back into a ponytail, he turned towards her with strands of his hair covering the left side of his face where his eyepatch usually was. The silver parts that streaked against his hair was close to his one good eye and the golden color seemed to be intensified when he looked at her.

 

He had only a small towel wrapped around his waist as he walked around her room, giving a low whistle. “Cute.”

 

Xigbar’s wet hair stuck to his body as he picked up just the pajama pants left out for him in the bathroom and slipped them on quickly. Tossing the towel on top of the dirty clothes he had lying on the floor, he collapsed onto her bed facing upwards with his hands crossing behind his head.

 

“I think I’ll rest here till the rain dies down, saving women from runaway cars can be exhausting,” he said with that familiar smug tone.

 

Lady huffed, regretting her decision to help him from the rain. Gathering the dirty clothes, she tossed them into her hamper and got the shower ready again. Setting down her clean clothes, she made sure the door was closed tightly before stepping into the shower. The warm droplets hitting against her bare skin melted away the cold from earlier and she felt her muscles relax under the heat.

 

_Was it a bad idea to let that man inside my apartment? I hope not._

 

After thoroughly cleansing her body and hair, she stepped out and wiped the droplets on her skin with a towel before slipping into her pajama shorts and v-neck shirt. The steam rolled out into her room as she stepped out to see Xigbar still lying on her bed, his eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly.

 

 _Was he sleeping_?

 

The wet ends of her hair released droplets of water as she sat on the edge of the bed carefully as to not disturb the man.

 

“Hey there, gorgeous,” came a low murmur.

 

“Do you mean to nap here?” She asked him.

 

“Maybe, until this rain passes.” He opened his eye and looked at her, propping himself up on one side on his elbow. The muscles in his arm tensed as he balanced his head on hand and his other arm made its way up to her arm and pulled her down besides him. “Might as well pass the time talking to a beautiful woman.”

 

His hair was sprawled all over the white sheets and darkened his face giving him the illusion of someone more dangerous than his usual aloof nature gave out.

 

“How about a game? I ask one question and you get to ask me one,” he offered to assuage the look of annoyance on Lady’s face.

 

She hesitated, looking at him with her hands crossing each other on her stomach. Her instincts told her to not participate and feed this man anything that can bolster his already inflated ego- unfortunately her curiosity got to the best of her.

 

“Alright then, only until the rain passes.”

 

“Me first then.. hm. What’s your name?” Xigbar asked.

 

“Lady. Just Lady.”

 

“Alrighty then ‘just Lady’, your turn.” He was amused, clearly.

 

“Where did you get that scar on your eye?”

 

At her question, his eye darkened and he replied simply. “Got into a fight with this asshole who got the better of me when I was younger. My turn, what did you do before you were a landlady?”

 

“I was a wanderer with nowhere to call home,” Lady replied without skipping a beat. Turning her head towards him, “What is your group called?”

 

Xigbar looked at her for a moment before answering, “Organization XIII, of course Xemmy is the big wig. Okay, what type of guy are you into?”

 

Lady scoffed, “That’s hardly a proper question.”

 

“You gotta answer, them’s the rules.”

 

“Hmm. Tall and strong. If a guy is funny that’s a huge bonus. I’ve never been into anyone like that though, I just never took the time,” Lady mumbled, almost forgetting that he was there as she talked and thought about the question. “Maybe one day someone will fall in love with me, hah if the world would only be that kind.”

 

Xigbar was silent as he looked over her, her eyes glazing over as she talked about and mulled over the question- completely lost in thought. It was only when he called her name gently that her eyes snapped back to life.

 

Lady looked towards the large window that was still being pelted with heavy rain, making it known that the storm would not stop anytime soon.

 

“This is going to be a long night,” she sighed.

 

“Hey, I get told that I’m a pretty good bedfellow so at least it won’t be boring,” he winked.

 

“I will personally escort you out of here if you do such a thing.” She warned as thunder clapped loudly in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y’all are enjoying this so far! Kudos and comments keep me going and very much appreciated~


	5. V

Xigbar listened to the sound of thunder in the horizon, sitting up he looked over to Lady who was now fast asleep. Hours had passed since their game started and she had unknowingly entered the realm of sleep mid-question. 

 

The man couldn’t help but smile, in the hours they spent he asked her plenty of questions- albeit not the type of questions the Organization would have wanted. He could already picture Saïx’s and Xemnas’ face when he tells them both that her favorite foods were or how much coffee she could drink in the span of an hour or why she sleeps with so many pillows. 

 

Picking her up and moving her to the center of the bed, he covered her bare legs with a blanket and got up. 

 

“You’re asking for trouble with that innocent look on your face,” he mumbled to Lady as she slept unawares. 

 

Raising a hand, he tried to conjure a portal back to base but was surprised that the portal only flickered and dissipated into nothing. 

 

“Portals don’t work here, eh?” He sighed, remembering the magical barrier instilled to protect the tenants and its’ host. “Guess I’ll just do it the old fashioned way.” 

 

Leaving a note on her bedside, he gathered up his hair into a slick ponytail and put on the shirt she had left for him earlier. Making sure his steps were quiet as to not disturb her, he opened the door and proceeded to walk down the stairs towards the gates until a voice stopped him. 

 

“What are you doing here?” 

 

Xigbar stopped and without turning he replied. “Axel. Been a while, hm?” 

 

“You better not be here to cause trouble, Xigbar,” he growled, approaching him. “Did you come for a fight?” 

 

Xigbar turned, putting his hands in his pocket as he faced the fuming redhead. “No, if I did I wouldn’t be walking back through the front gates.” 

 

“How did you get in?” 

 

Xigbar’s eye flickered up towards Lady’s window before returning his gaze to Axel, only giving him a smug look and walking back towards the gates. 

 

“Did you hurt her?” 

 

“I don’t think she has to worry about being hurt by me-“ he tapped him knowingly on the shoulder, “- right, VIII?” 

 

He gave him one last wink before slinking away and leaving Axel balling his fists tightly with a huge scowl.

•••

 

Saïx looked up to see Xigbar materialize into the room with naught but pajamas on and an aloof smile. 

 

“Xigbar it’s been a day since you reported back, where have you been? The superior is requesting-“ 

 

“Shut it scar face, I’ll go see him in a bit so don’t get your underwear in a twist,” the sharpshooter waved him away and was stopped as a deep voice joined in on the conversation. 

 

“Xigbar, I believe we requested a daily report on this woman’s whereabouts posthaste.” Xemnas walked towards him, his eyes looking over his current attire. “And where is your uniform?” 

 

“Mm about that,” he began to explain but was cut off as Xemnas tilted forward at the slightest and shortly resumed his previous position. 

 

“You smell like her,” he stated plainly. Saïx frowned besides him and both stared at Xigbar for an explanation.

 

“Relax, boss man. I didn’t do anything to her,” he shrugged. 

 

Xemnas’ brow furrowed at the slightest, betraying a sliver of emotion as he stared down at the man before him. “If you fail to do your job properly, I will have to send another to do your job.” 

 

He turned at the heel and walked away, stopping just before reaching the door’s threshold, “Or if no one here is competent enough, I will see to it myself.”

 

•••

 

Axel bounded up the stairs and walked into Lady’s apartment, his scowl growing larger when he found the front door slightly ajar and opened her bedroom door to find Lady sleeping soundly with her clothes. The loud intrusion caused her eyes to flutter open as she sat up and drowsily rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. 

 

“Something the matter?” She yawned. 

 

“Why did you let Xigbar in?” The redhead huffed. “He’s dangerous, you don’t know what he’s capable of. He could’ve took you while you were unaware!” 

 

Lady sighed, scooting herself to the edge of the bed to dangle her feet just barely above the dark wooden floor. Her eyes looked to the note that was resting on her nightstand and reached for it, scanning the fluid script with her eyes as she mouthed the last words. Her thumb grazed over the Roman numeral of the number two that was signed at the bottom in place of a name. 

 

Tossing the note into her drawer, she stood to face Axel. “You know I can take care of myself, you don’t have to keep worrying about me.” 

 

“You don’t understand, you don’t  _ mess _ with the organization. Xemnas will find a way to get into your head, he’ll have you under his thumb, and it won’t be easy to escape!”

 

“And if I do, it will be my problem to fix- not yours! Why are you getting so worked up?” 

 

“Because you’re taking this too damn lightly, what’s wrong with you? You don’t know what type of people are in Organization XIII.”

 

“And you do? What, are you a member of theirs or somethi-“

 

“ _ NO.  _ No.. I..”

 

His breathing was more labored, his fists clenched, and the air he breathed out turned into hot steam as Lady felt the air in the room grow hotter by the second. She stepped forward and placed a hand on his forearm, flinching slightly at the sudden impact of heat that came from him. 

 

Lady’s arms slowly traced up his arms and grasped his bicep gently, “Axel, let’s calm down..”

 

Axel’s eyes snapped up to meet hers and they almost glowed like emeralds in the midst of a roaring fire, the dark purple teardrop marks under his eyes accentuating their ember. He twisted his arm and snatched her arms by her wrist, pushing her towards a wall as he pressed his body against hers. Her face was flushed pink with the sheer amount of heat hitting her face as her wrists were held fast above her head. 

 

“Axel..”

He lowered his face by her ear, his sharp nose tracing down her neck as he breathed in her scent. 

 

“I don’t want to hurt you too.” He murmured against her skin. “You don’t know what the Organization is capable of. Don’t make me beg.”

 

“Do they scare you that much?” 

 

Axel was silent. The grip on her wrists loosened as he backed away from her. 

 

“When it involves people I care about. Yes.” 

 

Lady wrapped her arms around his neck slowly, getting on her tiptoes to hug the tall man before her. “You won’t hurt me, I promise. I’ll protect you.” 

 

His arms wrapped around her waist as they both hugged and stood in silence.

 

•••

 

Axel closed the door to his apartment behind him, shutting his eyes and rubbing at them with a hand. Stumbling through to his room, he rifled through his drawer until a sleek piece of leather came into view. Pulling it out and unfolding it, he laid it out on the bed. 

 

A large leather coat with two silver chains dangling off the lapel connected by one single piece that tied it together- his organization uniform. 

 

_ You won’t hurt me, I promise. I’ll protect you.  _

 

He willed the words to leave his mind as he stood there and looked at it. The remnants of dried blood stains were mostly worn off due to the slick material, but the stains seemed to be ever more vivid as he remembered the eyes of all those whose blood now stained his memories. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooorrryyy for the wait! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and as always, comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated :3


	6. VI

“Why am I here doing Xiggy’s dirty work..”

 

A man with blond hair poked his head from behind a corner to peak at Lady sweeping sand from the terrace. She stopped momentarily to tie her hair back into a loose bun and resumed sweeping as she greeted someone from behind her.

 

“Noctis!” He heard her call out a name as the young prince waved to her lazily before walking past her with a bucket and fishing pole in hand.

 

The man groaned when he saw three more figures follow after the raven haired boy and onto the pier.

 

“This beach is getting a little too crowded for my tastes,” the man grumbled as he put his good over his head. Glancing over the pier and how far it stretched into the ocean, the man wondered if it was a possible point of infiltration.

 

Running into the water, he dove in and waded closer to the pier. He dove down beneath the gentle waves to see towards the underside of the dock, hoping to listen in on whatever they were talking about.

 

“Lady’s pretty nice, I like her.”

 

“You like any girl that smiles at you.” The phrase was followed by snickers among the group above.

 

“You guys can make fun of me all you want, but are you going to forget that Noct still hasn’t caught a fish yet?”

 

Someone sputtered, “I- I just started! Is there a barrier around the pier too?”

 

“We can ask-“ someone cleared their throat before calling out. “Lady! Is there a barrier around the water? Do you mind deactivating it for little Noct here?”

 

The man heard footsteps approaching from the opposite end of the pier.

 

“I keep forgetting to activate it but I thought I had it on, my apologies.”

 

A snap was heard and Lady grumbled. “Something’s wrong.”

 

A snap was heard again and the man in the water started feeling tingles of magic emanate in the waves around him.

 

_Crap! Gotta get going before I’m trapped!_

 

The man willed the waves to pull him out to the open ocean before the barrier came down and trapping him in. As he was carried out through the huge waves that propelled him through, a field of magic hit his body and electrocuted him. His breath giving out as air bubbles escaped his mouth and his eyes closed as the waves fell around him.

 

•••

 

The man’s body felt numb as he opened his eyes to see a woman’s face close to his. More importantly, that her soft lips were on his as she blew air into his mouth. Her eyes looked up to his as she put a strand of hair behind her ear.

 

“Oh gods, are you okay sir? You washed up on the beach unconscious,” she sat him up, placing his head on her lap as she looked over him with concern.

 

“What’s your name? Do you have anyone I should call?”

 

The man sputtered up more water, the feeling of electricity fading out as he spoke, “De-Demyx.. and no, I’m okay.”

 

Her concerned frown turned to a worried smile, “Goodness, I’m glad to see I can still do CPR properly. Can I get you anything to drink? Do you require medical attention?”

 

Demyx’s eyes went from lax to wide awake as the situation was being slowly processed in his head. He sat up from her arms and turned to her with a growing blush. “Did.. did you put your mouth on mine?”

 

“Yes, that’s generally how CPR goes.”

 

His gloved hands went up to his lips and they seemed suddenly hot to the touch. His teal eyes looking over Lady up close and his breath was stuck in his throat as if he was choking on water again.

 

“Are you okay, Demyx? Do you need me to-“

 

“No, no! I’m fine! That was just.. I need to get going,” he said plainly as he struggled to get up, the sand seeming to shift with each bit of movement.

 

Lady stood up and held him steady by his arm, “I can help you to the gates, are you sure you don’t want to rest for a bit? I had someone get towels to help you dry off.”

 

Demyx shot her a sheepish grin and gave a quick flick of his wrist to form the orb of water that grew in size as the droplets left the top of his garments and skin to form together. After the orb of water gathered all of the dampness that covered him, he swished the ball onto the ground and Lady watched incredulously as it melted into the sand. The leather jacket he wore now fluttered in the wind as if the fabric was never soaked in the first place.

 

“Water’s kinda my thing,” he stretched a hand behind his head to rub the back of his neck. “So don’t tell anyone that I almost drowned in my own element.”

 

To his surprise, Lady let out a light hearted giggle and placed a finger over her lips.

 

“It’ll be our secret, Demyx. Let me walk you out then?”

 

He only nodded, his own words failing him. Whatever they briefed him for, he was not prepared for whatever situation he was about to be in if he stayed within the target’s presence. Quite frankly, it was an embarrassment and would be left out of the mission report for sure.

 

Lady led him towards the front, gesturing towards the open gates for him to leave through and he gave her a half-smile.

 

“Are you sure you don’t need anything, Demyx?”

 

“Nah, I’m okay. Thank you though!” The blond replied.

 

Lady tilted her head to the side and gave him her sweetest smile, “Well you make sure I tell Xemnas I said hi.”

 

Demyx sputtered as his foot crossed the threshold from the entrance, looking at Lady with wide eyes.

 

“Ho-w-?!”

 

“Not many people wear black leather jackets in the middle of summer and most don’t try to sneak into Alstroemeria grounds. Although you did make it farther than Xigbar without assistance, so you deserve a pat on the back for that,” she said simply, her eyes scanning over the blond’s panicked expression

 

_Gah, I told them they were sending the wrong guy!_

 

Demyx’s mind went rampant, scrambling words that seemed to fall out as soon as he formed a sentence. So instead he spat out the first thing that came naturally to him to her.

 

“Thank you for saving my life!” He bowed his head slightly, eyes shut tight at the anticipation of a biting comeback but instead felt the edge of a finger lift up his chin gently.

 

“I would’ve done the same for anybody, although I still feel bad for zapping you with my barrier. I’ll owe you a favor, how ‘bout it?”

 

“Well, yeah that sounds great.” Demyx’s teal eyes brightened at the prospects.

 

“It’s settled, but can you do me one more teeny tiny thing?”

 

•••

 

Xemnas intertwined his gloved hands as he watched Demyx take a seat at the far end of the white marble table. His index finger tapping against his other hand as he waited for the blond to stop shifting in his chair nervously with Xigbar looking at him with a bemused grin.

 

“Well? What did you recover?” Saïx spoke, ending the elongated silence that filled the room and also making Demyx jump slightly.

 

He laughed nervously and played with one of the loose strands of hair that dangled in front of his face. “Weeeeell.. I managed to get inside the apartments. But there was a slight problem.”

 

Saïx opened his mouth to speak but was cut off abruptly when Xemnas’ low voice spoke, “How slight?”

 

“I might’ve been caught up inside her barrier and some things led to another where she found me out..”

 

“Go on,” Xemnas’ finger continued tapping a steady rhythm on his hand. Xigbar balanced his chin on his fist as he watched Demyx recall what happened.

 

“And we talked and she seemed nice and she wanted to me to tell you something..”

 

“What is it?” The Superior’s tapping sped up by just a few seconds.

 

Demyx gulped and looked at Saïx’s expression that turned colder with each passing beat of silence, then towards Xigbar’s ever growing smug grin. Finally, the piercing glare on Xemnas’ face made him finally speak.

 

“She said-“ Demyx pulled out a pink index card from his pocket and cleared his throat before reading it’s contents. “‘If you want to prove how omnipotent Organization XIII is, the least you can do is come yourself instead of sending your other employees to do your dirty work- unless that’s a show of the sheer incompetence of your management. Regards, Lady.’”

 

Xemnas’ finger stopped tapping as his eyes widened slightly in disbelief as Xigbar guffawed and hid his snickers behind a gloved hand. Saïx’s scar seemed to grow deeper as his left eye twitched with massive irritation.

 

Demyx panicked as the Superior’s eyes seemed to come alight in golden hues, his fist slowly tightening up. After a few heartbeats he turned towards Saïx, “Cancel all reconnaissance missions for all future members stationed at the Alstroemeria.”

 

“But, Superior-“

 

The silver haired man waved away his concern. “Because I will be seeing to it personally.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep watching the FF7 remake trailer ever since it came out and I want to screammmmm. I’m so excited, y’all don’t understand.


	7. VII

Lady stretched her arms far above her head as her body responded in kind, her mouth releasing a contented sigh. The sound of her cell beeping stopped her stretch as she reached in the pocket of her skirt to see a message alert from Roxas. 

 

Roxas: we’re watching scary movies at axels apartment tonight! wanna come?

 

Lady: Of course, I’ll be back after my walk. What time? 

 

Roxas:  uhh idk, maybe 9. axel and i are making food too. 

 

Lady:  I’ll be back before then. Make sure Axel doesn’t burn down his room, see ya later rucksack! 

 

Lady:  Oops, I meant **Roxas. Autocorrect sucks :(. 

 

Lady stuffed her phone back in her pocket and looked around the shopping plaza she was in. The space was outdoors and plenty of foliage that covered the interiors of flowerbeds. It was one of the reasons that she chose to settle down in this town, the feeling of being close to nature yet not completely isolated. Most of all, it brought her peace. Walking towards the park bench where she and Xigbar sat to have ice cream on that one especially humid day. Sitting back so the shade of the trees covered her face, she closed her eyes a bit and listened to the banter of the crowd that filled the park. She played thoughtfully with the silver necklace that hung from her as she hummed a tune aloud.

 

The cicadas were replaced by the chirping of birds as they flew overhead and tried looking for leftover bits of foods from tourists. Children’s giggles erupted as the park’s water fountain spouted upwards from the fish’s head that was mounted on top and of course giddy laughter was heard from all the young couples that crowded the park’s center. Lady opened her eyes and watched the young couples hold hands as they shared a bench and some ice cream, her heart seemingly feeling a bit heavier than when she sat down.

 

Her daydreaming was soon cut short as a hooded man clad in black leather stepped in front of her- effectively blocking her view of the park. The sheer width of his waist was enough to alarm her, he towered over her and the angle of her neck hurt as she looked up at him. Before she could speak or even try to ask what was under the large hood of his face, he spoke. 

 

“Lord Xemnas wishes to see you.” 

 

Lady’s eyes narrowed, the voice that just spoke.. it was dead and hollow. Like the sound of a church bell ringing in a ruined church in a desolate town. It sent shivers up her spine as she gulped, she could not even see the face under the hood. 

 

“Tell Xemnas I’m not interested,” she muttered, getting up and pushing past the brute. Continuing to walk away, she was stopped by another hooded figure but this one was smaller and more slender. A female voice spoke this time. 

 

“Lord Xemnas wishes for your cooperation. A small conversation over dinner, that’s all.” 

 

“He can have dinner by himself,” Lady frowned, pushing past the woman but her hand was caught and Lady felt surges of electricity jolt from the woman’s gloved hand and through her nerves.

 

“We. Insist.” The female voice hissed, her grip growing tighter on Lady’s wrist until another voice from behind her spoke. 

 

“Sheathe your claws, the Superior will not be pleased if she’s harmed,” yet another hooded figure spoke, his tone was hushed and calm. It seemed smoother and coated with honey, yet it still sent a cold shiver through her body. The new hooded figure pried the hand off of Lady and took it in his, bowing his head as he took Lady’s hand and placed a lingering kiss on her knuckles. From where he was bowing, Lady swore she could see tinges of pink hair underneath the dark hood as well as the scent of a garden of noxious roses filling her nostrils. 

 

“This way, if you please,” the man continued to speak with his lips close to her knuckles which made Lady feel every breath that tickled the skin of her hand. “The Superior is waiting.” 

 

Lady looked to the towering man that was now walking from the bench and towards them. “Well-,” she scowled, “-I don’t have much a choice here anyways.” 

 

The female spoke again and Lady could almost see the sadistic smile from under her hood, “No, you don’t.” 

 

They led her towards the center of the park, ignoring the hushed whispers of the other people that occupied it. The children who were originally playing, stopped and looked up with wide eyes as Lady walked with the hooded group. Stopping when they reached the raised pavilion with the fountain in the middle, a member gesturing towards an elegant wooden table and two chairs that certainly wasn’t there before.

 

She looked apprehensively at the wood and sat down ever slowly, stretching her hands over the table nervously as a portal of swirling shadow opened to the void and out stepped Xemnas in the same black suit that he wore when he crashed Axel’s party. 

 

He eyed Lady with ravenous golden eyes as he sat down in front of her, placing his elbows to rest on the tabletop. 

 

“How extravagant of an entrance, must you always do it in a crowded area with plenty of people watching?” Lady scoffed.

 

“What crowd?” His eyes crinkled as his lips curled into a smirk. 

 

“What? The people that are-“ she began to gesture to her surroundings but stopped as her eyes widened at the sight before her. 

 

The crowds had disappeared. Any signs or traces of people seemed to have blown away by the wind and washed away by the ocean. Instead, being replaced by more hooded figures that emerged from portals of darkness that conjured up from thin air. Lady counted as one, two, three.. no.. twelve of the hooded figure conjured from darkness stood facing them formed a semi-circle at a just a few meters distance from where they sat. A cold breeze swept through the air and the sun seemed like it was hiding through a thick curtain of dark grey clouds, almost like it was scared to come out. 

 

Xemnas waved a hand and a set of dishes appeared in front of them, pushing a teacup towards her- he poured her a cup of tea whilst not breaking eye contact. 

 

The pillar of steam floated up and the scent of earl grey tea emanated from the hot brew as Lady and Xemnas stared at each other, each not wavering even as the silver haired man took a sip of his tea. 

 

“Won’t you drink?” He asked.

 

“I’m not thirsty,” she replied. 

 

“Such a feisty little thing, I can tell why some of our members already like you.” 

 

From the corner of her eyes, Lady saw someone bring up a fist to their mouths as they coughed slightly at his comment. 

 

“It’s a marvelous day to go out for a walk, isn’t it-“

 

“How about we skip the theatrics and pointless banter. What is it that you want or is it part of your personality to be flamboyant with everything as much as possible?” 

 

One of the hooded figures coughed again and she swore she heard the remnants of choked laughter behind their false coughing.

 

Xemnas’ smirk grew wider and Lady couldn’t tell if this man was genuinely enjoying this or feeling the prongs of rage begin to pierce him. 

 

“As you wish and here I was trying to be civil,” he pushed his cup away with his finger as he intertwined his fingers together in front of him. “I want to speak to Roxas and Axel, simple as that.” 

 

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you’ll only be ‘talking’. Lying is not becoming of a man of your stature, surely.” 

 

“Ah, I’ve left out some details that is true. But only for discretion and I don’t want to frighten the little lady,” his eyes seemed to glow as the word ‘frighten’ formed in his mouth. 

 

“The only thing that frightens me is when rent isn’t paid on time.”

 

“I’ll say this, what’s stopping us from coming in and doing whatever we please regardless of your approval or not?” 

 

“Why? What’s so important about them.” 

 

He shifted his eyes from hers to the cup in front of him, “They have something of value that we require. Information that may be.. more than useful. It’s essential we talk to them.”

 

Lady leaned forward, “You won’t be able to lay a finger on them. You’ll have to go through me, whatever your reasons- give up now. Find someone else to pester.”

 

Xemnas stood up hastily, the cups shaking as tea spilled over the rim. Lady looked up at him as he tossed the table aside with a single hand and it disappeared into nothingness as the chairs also disappeared from under her. Falling down on her butt, she winced as she looked up the silverette with building annoyance. 

 

“Insubordinate little speck, you should know better when addressing your superior. I’ll have your very life crushed between my fingers and you’ll cease to exist along with everything and everyone you care about,” he growled as he bent down to pick her up by her throat. Lady flinched as his hands gripped around her neck, tight enough for her to see stars flicker across her vision but not tight enough for her oxygen to fully give out. 

 

Her hands gripped around the arm choking her and she honed in on the sound of running water that came from the fountain, her mind focusing around the sound and it’s essence and its location. With her few breaths, she looked at Xemnas stoic face and choked out a word, “Wa..waterga..!” 

 

Lady watched as a stream of water channeled from the fountains and smacked against the side of his head with blunted force and threw him off balance causing him to let her go. The silver necklace was ripped as he let go of her but she ignored the feeling of chain snapping from her neck. Her hand immediately went up to her throat as she struggled to get her breath back. 

 

She looked up at Xemnas’s now wet hair, the silver strands sticking to the side of his face which was fuming with much anger that she would’ve thought the water would’ve simply evaporated from his face.

 

“You want me to grovel? You want me to beg for your forgiveness? Well I won’t.” She gasped out, using her knees to balance herself as she stood up.

 

“I’m not scared of you or your organization, so I’ll say this while your cohorts are here.” She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “If you want to get to anyone in  _ my  _ apartments, you’ll have to do better than this. You’ll never touch them, you’ll have to go through my dead body.” 

 

Xemnas remained frightfully composed. “Careful, you just might get what you want.” 

 

Lady clenched her fists and stepped close to him in a similar fashion as she did on the first night she confronted him. 

 

“Death doesn’t scare me, Xemnas.” 

 

“There are far worse things than death,” at this he smiled knowingly. 

 

“Do your absolute worst, it’ll take more than this to scare me.” Lady growled, walking away backwards slowly and turned sharply to continue on her way back home. 

 

“Superior, shall we intercept?” Saïx walked to stand next to him. 

 

“No. Let her run home to her little homemade fortress. We’ll see about a plan of attack later.” 

 

Xemnas looked down at the broken silver necklace in his hand, moving a wet strand of hair from his face to observe it more closely. A silver ‘X’ pendant with pointed ends dangled from the chain, flipping it over he thumbed the etching on it. It read:  _ To Lady, from Roxas. _

 

“What do you cherish the most?” Xemnas muttered to Lady’s retreating figure. “Give me the immense pleasure of ripping it from you.”

 

•••

 

As soon as Lady was sure she was out of sight from the park she broke into a sprint. Not caring if her sandals couldn’t hold against her speed, she stopped only to take them off and run against the cemented sidewalks whilst barefoot. Not caring when bits of rock embedded themselves into her flesh, she just kept on running until she saw the gleaming black rooftops of the Alstroemeria- almost like it was the shining beacon of safety.

 

Opening the gates, she slammed them shut and ran up the stairs. The stinging of tears pricked at her eyes as she felt them run down her cheeks when she struggled to find the keys to open the door to her apartment room. 

 

“Lady..?” 

 

She quickly opened the door and marched inside, ignoring as Axel followed her inside with his face contorted to a worried expression. Lady looked up with her hands on her hips, feigning a smile. “You’ll get wrinkles when you have that worried look on your face.”

 

Her lie was cut short as a fresh batch of tears fell from her eyes and she turned to wipe at them. Axel walked up to her and held her face in his hands, wiping at her eyes with his thumbs. 

 

“What happ-“

 

“Please, let’s not talk about it right now. Just.. hug me.” She whispered as she tightened her arms around his torso. 

 

“Alright..” he mumbled into her hair, his arms bringing her body closer to his and Lady relished the gentle heat coming from him. 

 

“You’re always so warm.. like the sun, I always liked that about you,” she smiled into his chest. 

 

“You flatter me too much, babe,” Axel chuckled. “Are you still going to watch scary movies with us tonight?” 

 

“Of course, are you both gonna cling to me when you’re scared like last time?”

 

“Ugh. Are you gonna constantly bring that up?”

 

“Only because my two adorable boys need someone to protect them from spooky ghosts and it’s so cute!” Lady looked up at his face with a cheeky grin. 

 

Axel brought his hands up to her arms and lowered his face to hers, close enough to where his nose touched the tips of hers. “I’m not a boy, I’m a man. And if you need a demonstration of that, well-“ he smiled, winking at her as he backed away, “- you just let me know, pretty lady. Got it memorized?”

 

Lady opened her mouth to retort but quickly shut it as she felt her cheeks heat up and eyes widen up at the flaming redhead in front of her. 

 

His emerald eyes gleamed in the dark room and he gave her a lopsided smile that seemed to bare his teeth and Lady imagined what the feel of his teeth dragging along her neck would feel like while he- 

 

She shook her head and clapped her hands on her cheeks, hoping to hide the growing tomato red blush that covered her face. At this, Axel’s feral smile grew. 

 

“Do I affect you that much?” His voice was a low grumble now and Lady gulped.

 

“Don’t be stupid.. come on, Roxas probably wants to get started on the movies.” She walked past him to open her door, but not before Axel closed the door with his arm above hers as he trapped her body against the door with his. 

 

His arm wrapped around her waist as he leaned down to whisper by her ear, “Don’t think we’re done here.”

 

Lady’s breathing hitched as Axel released her waist to open the door and gesture her to walk through first. She walked almost robotically towards Axel’s apartment and walked in the open door to see Roxas sorting through a pile of DVD’s. The blond boy stopped to look up at Lady and smile. He got up and bounded towards her to give her a hug. 

 

“You’re here!... hey, why are you so red?” He tilted his head to the side, vivid blue eyes studying her. 

 

“Nothing, Roxas!” She replied back almost too loudly. “It’s just really hot, y’know?” 

 

Axel followed her in with a horribly smug look on his face, “Yeah, you could say things are getting hot.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shoutout to AzureEyes for spotting out my dumb dumb mistakes with the dates 🙃 anyways, I hoped y’all enjoyed!!


	8. VIII

Lady set the bandage roll to the side and observed the cuts from yesterday night. They were superficial at worst, merely breaking the skin by a little and not totally embedded into her foot. Her hand wrapped around her neck gently and she closed her eyes as she remembered the golden amber eyes that stared into her as his hands choked her. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath before exiting her apartment to knock on the Insomnian’s door.

 

Gladio opened the door, his hardened battle glare was immediately softened when his eyes fell upon the landlady. He leaned against the door with an eyebrow cocked in interest, “What can we help you with?”

 

She cleared her throat, “I actually wanted to speak to Ignis and- where’s Noctis and Prompto?”

 

“Probably out and about in the city and fooling around, why?”

 

“In that case, can I have you two join me?”

 

“Oi, Iggy. Landlady wants us!” Gladio whistled over his shoulder and Ignis walked up shortly, adjusting his glasses before moving in the spot next to Gladio on the doorway.

 

“Is something the matter?” Ignis asked.

 

“It’s complicated. I’m asking for a favor.. and your discretion,” she replied, looking over her shoulder to make sure a certain redhead and blond were out of sight. “Can you two walk with me for a bit, please?”

 

The two nodded and Gladio closed the door as they followed Lady down towards the beach, taking them towards a secluded spot far from the pier with nothing but the sand touching the water. Lady motioned for them to stop walking and they stood still as she positioned herself a few meters from them with a steeled expression.

 

“Okay, come at me as if you were aiming to kill me.”

 

Ignis and Gladiolus shared a confused look then towards her and she huffed. “I’ve been concerned about something. Since I created the barrier around the suites, I’ve been drained of my mana since most goes towards enforcing it. I want to make sure I have enough energy to.. fight off an attack if need be.”

 

“Who would be interested in harming you?” Ignis asked, his eyes narrowing.

 

“I asked for discretion,” she countered.

 

“How ‘bout this, if you lose we can ask and if you win we’ll keep our mouth shut about all of this,” Gladio chimed in with his fisted hand resting against his hip.

 

Lady looked down and crossed her arms, finally looking up and nodding. With that, she bent her knees slightly and angled her body; her hands began to tingle with bits of magic ready to be let out. Gladio and Ignis both summoned their weapons, flashing in brilliant blue light as they both brandished their Insomnian steel at her. Gladio raised his greatsword high above his head, knees bending slightly as he watched her. Lady looked to Ignis and saw him sidestepping away slowly from Gladio and towards her.

 

A sudden flash of black and Lady looked up to see Gladio jumping in the air, aiming his sword straight at her. Rolling to the side, Ignis rushed to plunge his dagger towards her and Lady rolled to the right and kicked the man off his feet by his shin. As he fell down, his daggers were exchanged for a lance and she watched as he used the end of the lance to push himself up off the ground and backflipped gracefully to the position from whence they started. Gladio stepped backwards and Lady got up with a disgruntled look plastered on her face as she wiped the sand that was close to her lips.

 

“Again,” she growled as they both lunged at her at the same time. Time seemed to slow down momentarily as Gladio raised his greatsword once more this time attacking towards the front as Ignis sidestepped and swished his lance towards her sides. Lady felt a rush of chilled air as she raised her hands to where the weapons were aimed at and the two men stared as their weapons were stuck mid-attack with blocks of ice to hold them in place. Both of them retreated and resummined their weapons to them and as Gladio stepped towards her for another attack, Ignis stopped him with an arm before gathering fire in his hand and tossing the ball of flames at her with immense speed. She reacted quickly as she rolled to the side, the fireball melting the blocks of ice that she conjured as she gathered her hands together; feeling the heat that started forming as she focused the fire to raise a semi-circle of flames that surrounded around the two men.

 

They stepped back in shock as Lady burst through the flames untouched, diving towards Ignis and grabbing his lance- twisting around with her back towards him and elbowing his stomach hard and aimed to kick him off his feet once more. Ignis stumbled back, leaving the lance in her hand as she charged towards Gladio next with her eyes alight with adrenaline. Spinning the spear to her back, she thrust the pointed tip upwards until it met his sword and hung dangerously close to his neck. Lady smiled deviously as Gladio crossed his blade with hers, the man watching as her weapon began to crackle with electricity- traveling from her hands to her spear to his sword and he grunted loudly as he stepped back when the jolt hit him at full force. Collapsing into the sand with his knee holding him up, Lady stuck the spear in the sand and proceeded to look at the two who were both on their knees.

 

“Looks like you have this round,” Gladio sighed.

 

Lady’s smile softened as she stumbled back a bit and plopped into the sand. Her breaths became ragged as she placed her hands on her knees to keep her body upright, her back moving with her heavy breathing. “I’m afraid that took more energy out of me than I realized.”

 

“Looks like to me you lost too,” Gladio remarked sharply.

 

“So we’re at an impasse, you might as well tell us what worries you so,” Ignis ran his fingers through his hair.

 

“And I didn’t know you were trained with weapons,” Gladio pointed out.

 

Lady closed her eyes and sighed, “Please, I just used a weapon to defend myself-“

 

Gladio cut her off. “No, you knew how to use it. I see how soldiers train to handle different weapons and you moved with intent versus how a civilian would do it. So who are you, really?”

 

“I.. I guess I used to be in the military of sorts long time ago. We trained with weapons, you’re right, but it’s been so long since I’ve had to use one to defend myself. Magic is more commonplace here  so that’s what I’ve been using mainly, no one would bat an eye at a woman using simple magic- but it would raise suspicions if she were to use certain militant techniques to fight.”

 

“So you’re trying not to raise suspicion?”

 

“Precisely, I wanted nothing but a normal life so I started this place to protect others who would want to do the same. I’m just a bit out of practice,” she sighed. “I didn’t want to get involved with anything but it seems that trouble always seems to find me regardless.”

 

“What militia were you a part of?” Ignis inquired.

 

“Hmm, that’s a secret for another day,” the landlady grinned.

 

Pushing herself off the ground, she went to help Ignis up and then Gladio. “Thanks for this, you two. I owe you guys one.”

 

A beeping came from Ignis’ pocket and he answered promptly. “Yes?...  We’re with our esteemed landlady.. yes, no stop panicking. We’ll come along shortly.”

 

Ignis hung up and put the phone back in his pocket, looking towards Gladio, “His majesty is hungry.”

 

“He’s hopeless, I almost feel sorry for anyone he’s getting married to,” he frowned and got up. “Are you coming back with us, Lady?”

 

“Ah, no. I think I’ll stay here for a bit and think,” she waved. “You two go on ahead.”

 

They both nodded and began walking back towards the Alstroemeria. Lady curled her knees towards her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she watched the ocean waves lap at the shore. Her energy slowly came back to her as she enjoyed the gently sea breeze that washed over her face. Lady breathed the salty air and blew out sharply as she sat still, completely mesmerized by the scenic view in front of her until a sound woke her from her daze.

 

Looking behind her, she swore she heard something or was it the result of her fatigue?

 

“Psst! Over here!” Lady looked as a familiar head of blond popped up from behind a palm tree right on the border of her barrier.

 

“Demyx? What are you doing here?” Lady cocked her head.

 

He stepped out from behind the tree and stopped in his tracks just as the barrier threatened to zap him.

 

“Can I come in?”

 

“I don’t know, did Xemnas send you to try to find my weakness?” She looked at him with hardened eyes.

 

“No, no, I wouldn’t do such a thing!” His eyes widened at her statement and he looked to the ground. “I came by to make sure you were okay. Xemnas can be cruel, I would know that.”

 

There was silence between them as Lady studied him, after affirming his actions seemed to be true she sighed and snapped her fingers where he stood.

 

“Come through, it’s disabled,” she sighed.

 

Demyx stepped through with tentative steps and a relieved sigh escaped him as he walked towards Lady and sat next to her on the sandy ground.

 

“Believe it or not, Xigbar was going to come to make sure you were okay but Xemnas sent him somewhere else.. soo.. I came instead,” he grinned nervously.

 

After enabling the barrier, she gave him a sympathetic look, “Why are you so concerned with me?”

 

“No one’s really nice to me, you’re one of the only people that actually cared about me even if I was trying to sneak in here. Xigbar doesn’t think you’re a threat but there’s not much he can do against the Superior.”

 

“It’s fine, I know what it’s like working for tyrannical egomaniacs so I understand completely.”

 

“You caused quite a stir though, the other members were talking about you after your little showdown with Xemmy,” Demyx grinned as he lightly scratched his cheek with his index finger, leaving sand where he touched.

 

Lady reached over and cupped his face, wiping away the sand with her thumb as she made sure nothing was left. Completely focused on where the dirt was, she almost missed his widening teal eyes and pink flush across his cheek. He turned from her as soon as she released his face as he cleared his throat rather loudly.

 

“I also.. uh, remember when you said you owed me one for zapping me?”

 

“Hm, what do you need?”

 

“Um.. well, I was hoping. If you aren’t doing anything, that is-“

 

“Spit it out already.”

 

“Comewithtogoseethismusicfestivalwithme?”

 

Lady frowned, “What?”

 

Demyx cleared his throat, the blush growing ever deeper, “I meant to say, want to come with this music festival with me? It’s in town, er, I wanted you to go with me.”

 

Her lips curled into a small smile. “Are you asking me on a date?”

 

“I suppose I am, if you don’t mind of course.”

 

“Are you sure it’s safe to be seen with me after that little spat with your boss?” Lady tilted her head in thought.

 

“Right now is perfect because he’s too busy discussing plans with x-face,” he laughed.

 

After a few moments of careful deliberations, she responded. “I love music, when should we leave?”

 

“It’s actually later around five, I’ll come by again around four so we can get good seats?”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” she smiled. Demyx returned her smile, getting up to leave but Lady grabbed his leather coat by the trim- urging him to stop.

 

“Wait, do you have a cell? Let me give you my phone number so you can text me when you’re outside.”

 

“Oh yeah, of course,” he took a black cellphone from his pocket and handed it to her. Lady stood up, dialing her digits into his phone before handing it back to him.

 

“Well.. seeya at four?”

 

She grinned, “Seeya at four.”

 

•••

 

Lady’s phone released a message alert as she towel dried her hair, plopping down on her bed to read the text.

 

Demyx: this is what im wearing. does it look ok?

 

Demyx:  *photo attachment*

 

He covered his face with his phone and the flash covered most of his upper body with the obnoxious light. He was wearing ripped dark jeans with a leather belt to keep them in place, on the side he had a silver chain that hung from his front pocket to his back. His choice top was a dark blue tank top with some sort of band insignia on it, on his wrist he wore a small silver bracelet that dangled loosely.

 

Lady: You look cute!

 

Lady couldn’t help but give the picture an amused smile. Getting up to dress, she chose a black frayed skirt and a lavender halter top that came around her neck- leaving her shoulders bare. For jewelry, she wore a small silver bracelet with a golden heart charm and silver hoop earrings. Once her hair was dry, she tousled at it and sat at her vanity to apply a bit of liquid foundation to her face. Applying black powder liner to her waterline and her lids to form a cat eye, smoking it out carefully and applied her mascara after. Finishing it off with a bit of bronzer, blush, and highlight, she chose a dark berry lipstick to put on and topped everything off with a douse of powder and setting spray.

 

Making sure everything was intact, she stood in front her large full-body mirror after making sure the room was filled with natural light before taking a picture.

 

Lady: This is what I’m wearing, I’ll see you soon.

 

Lady: *photo attachment*

 

Demyx: you look.. wow. im on my way right now!

 

Not even ten minutes passed before she received another text.

 

Demyx: im here! portals r cool, perks of org 13 :P

 

Lady chuckled as she grabbed her small purse before slipping on open toed flats and walking out the door and down the stairs. She was stopped by the sound of someone whistling from the courtyard.

 

“Where you going looking like _that?_ ” Gladio raised his eyebrows, Ignis, Prompto, and Noctis looked over from their plate of barbecued food to see the commotion and as soon as Prompto saw Lady, his mouth hung open.

 

“Who’s going?” Axel asked as he looked over Gladio’s shoulder, his emerald eyes widening as he saw Lady. She smiled and lifted up her skirt in a small curtsy.

 

“Do I look okay?” She asked the boys.

 

“Yes,” came a clamored response.

 

“I didn’t know you dress up!” Roxas said in awe as he pushed past Prompto to see.

 

“I don’t do it often but I do enjoy it, anyways I’m off. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” she winked before walking away towards the gates. Demyx waited with his back leaning against the wall, the sound of the gates opening for his attention as he immediately stood up straight to greet her.

 

“Hey! I- woah. You look way better in person,” he smiled, going over Lady with his eyes glimmering with the rays of the setting sun.

 

“You look good without your Organization coat,” she replied, wrapping her arm around his. “Well? Come on then, we’ll be late if we keep standing here.”

 

Demyx put his hands in his pockets, nervously glancing at the gorgeous woman hanging off his arm.

 

•••

 

“You sure here’s okay?” Demyx asked.

 

“Yeah, we can see all the bands up close from here!”

 

They stood a couple paces away from the stage with other couples standing all around them. Everyone whispering excitedly amongst each other as the lights dimmed around the stage and the band stepped onto the stage. Greeting the cheering and whooping crowd as the band members go into position on the stage.

 

Demyx leaned towards Lady to whisper, “I always wanted to travel and play music for crowds like this.”

 

“Why don’t you?” She whispered back.

 

“No one would go to see my dumbass,” he smiled sadly.

 

Lady reached to squeeze his hand, “I would.”

 

He squeezed her hand back, a smile forming on his lips as the lead singer greeted the crowd.

 

“How’s everyone doing tonight??”

 

The crowd roared in response and Demyx put his thumb and index finger in his mouth to whistle loudly.

 

“We’re gonna start off with a song we recently put out, hope y’all enjoy!”

 

As the guitarist played the first note, Lady heard Demyx audibly gasp before he whispered excitedly, “I love this song!”

 

The basaist started with a steady beat that was joined shortly by the heartbeat of the drums and the high notes of the guitar. The singer swayed to the music and tapped his foot to the beat; his voice echoed through the outdoor auditorium as he hit high notes that sent goosebumps up Lady’s arms. Besides her, she heard him humming along to the music and tapping his foot against the ground to the rhythm of the music.

 

“This part’s the best part so I expect y’all to sing with me!” The singer shouted during a guitar solo and the crowd shouted in agreement. Lady felt the energy from the crowd as she clapped and hollered for the band as the couples began to dance together. When the chorus came up, Lady closed her eyes and swayed her body to the music. Demyx watched as her hair caught the multi-colored lights coming from the stage and her body moved sensually to the sounds. The words of the song echoed in his mind and he found himself singing along, starting as a mumble but slowly catching momentum and singing louder. Before he knew what he was doing, he took out his phone and snapped a picture of Lady in the heat of the moment. He wanted to savor this rare moment forever while singing his favorite song at a music festival with one of the most prettiest girl he’s seen.

 

“ _You make me feel like I’m a human.”_

 

_“You make me feel, you make me feel~”_

 

Demyx couldn’t help but continuing to watch Lady as her hips went side to side, his eyes transfixed on her moving body.

 

“ _You make me feel like I have a heart.”_

 

Lady opened her eyes and flashed Demyx a brilliant smile as he sang that last lyric and he swore he felt something flutter inside of him. But that would be impossible for someone like him.

 

•••

 

“Demyx that was amazing, I honestly had the time of my life!” Lady laughed, her heart beating fast from the adrenaline rush.

 

“It was,” he grinned as she intertwined hands with him and twirled her. “We should do this again sometime.”

 

“We should!! I haven’t been to music festivals here but I sure will be checking them out more, hopefully the next one is soon so we can go again!”

 

She stopped at the gates of the Alstroemeria, turning towards Demyx. Leaning up to give him a quick peck on the cheek, her eyes twinkled with excitement. “Well, see ya around, don’t be a stranger okay?”

 

Demyx touched the area of the cheek where she kissed him and waved to her retreating figure with his other hand. Stopping, he took out his phone and looked through his pictures to find the one he took of Lady dancing at the concert. Although slightly blurry, the way the stage lights gave her skin a multi-colored sheen that gave her an almost ethereal glow- like an angel. The way her hands were positioned over her hair as her other arm twisted over her waist was definitely sensual and made Demyx gulp as his thumb hovered over a button.

 

-Set as wallpaper screen?-

 

He clicked yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The 13th dilemma plays* 
> 
> Dance, water, dance!
> 
> Me:*immediately triggered*


	9. IX

Demyx sat back as he lounged on the large dark grey couch, he looked around the empty room and scanned the windows for any signs of movement. Content that all he saw were the flickering lights of the vast dark city below their towering company building and the occasional gust of hollow wind that gently brushed against the glass.

 

He took out his phone and paused for a moment to look at his lock screen, smiling gently at Lady’s picture before unlocking it and going to his text messages. Clicking on the conversation with Lady, he began to type.

 

Demyx: hey, i thought about what u said and i might want to start performing my own music. do u mind if i play a song for u?

 

He set his phone down for a minute to close his eyes and opened them right away when he heard his phone chime. His smile dropping right away when he saw Saïx’s name pop up instead to notify him about a group meeting. Groaning, he dropped his cell on his lap and leaned his head back to hang over the edge of the couch only to come face to face with Xigbar’s grinning face.

 

“Hey waterboy, I saw that picture. Messing with the enemy, eh?” His grin widened and Demyx sat up, twisting around to face him.

 

“She’s not the enemy! She’s-“ he stopped, looking down at his phone. “-she’s really nice.”

 

“I agree,” he shrugged as he walked around to sit next to him, propping his feet up on the glass table in front of them.

 

“I would keep your phone off around the big wigs though.. wouldn’t want ol’ Xemmy to flip when he sees Lady lookin’ all delicious on _your_ phone. Need I remind you what happens to traitors to the organization?” Xigbar looked at Demyx before making a slicing motion with his finger across his neck. “Unless you plan on running off?”

 

The blond was silent, swallowing the words that he wanted to say and Xigbar nodded. “Look I won’t tell if that’s what you wanna do, besides, I hate working for that grey haired bastard. Ever since Axel went off with Roxas- he’s been giving me VIII’s assassination missions, it’s twisted work.”

 

“What about Lady? Has Xemnas said anything about her?”

 

“Nah, but he's pissed. He was going to leave her alone and just take Axel and Roxas but now.. I dunno.”

 

“Well shouldn’t we warn her or something?”

 

“We should, shouldn’t we?” Xigbar muttered.

 

Demyx unlocked his phone again and Xigbar looked over, swiping the phone from the poor boy as he tried to grab it back.

 

“He-hey! What are you doing?!” He yelped as Xigbar held him back by his shoulder while looking at the phone’s wallpaper. He gave a low whistle as his lips curled into a smirk.

 

“This is a really good picture, how much you wanna bet I can get a better one?”

 

Demyx grabbed his phone as Xigbar looked at him in amusement, “I need to text Lady about Xemnas.”

 

“Don’t,” Xigbar stood up and rolled his neck. “I’ll just go tell her in person.”

 

Demyx stood up, his mouth open to protest but stopped when the Sharpshooter looked back over his shoulder at him with his eye gleaming. “What? Scared I’ll steal her away?”

 

He gave a laugh that echoed as he entered the summoned portal of darkness.

 

•••

 

Lady looked through her phone and smiled at the message from Demyx, typing in a quick reply she hit send.

 

Lady: I’d love that!

 

As she looked through her texts, she was startled when she bumped into somebody rushing past her but before she could apologize the person ran off with another group of people. She looked to the right and saw people excitedly chatter amongst themselves as they pointed towards the main street where the crowd gathered.

 

“I heard there’s a big ceremony with some CEO moving into town.”

 

“Who? _Him?!_ But he’s so young!”

 

“He’s rather handsome, isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah, I wonder if he’s single haha!”

 

Following the crowd of people, she got on her tiptoes and jumped to catch a glimpse of an entourage of sleek black cars that drove slowly by them. The windows were tinted so heavily that Lady saw the clear reflection of the people in front and her head peeking from behind them. Marching besides the cars were an entourage of people in black suits that watched the civilians with eyes slanted in suspicion, their hands placed protectively over their select weapons.

 

“Look! It’s them!”

 

“Whaaa- lemme see!”

 

Someone from behind her began to push forward and Lady stumbled forward with the momentum of the crowd as they moved to find a spot to try and see; just as people began to crowd behind her she had no choice but to push forward and she heard complains as she shoved through until finally stumbling forward onto the road. Catching herself on her hands, Lady groaned and looked up to come face to face with the receiving end of an assault gun.

 

“Don’t move!”

 

“What? I didn’t do anything!” She protested, scowling.

 

The guard continued to point the gun at her with no signs of moving from his position.

 

“At ease!”

 

The guard withdrew his gun and saluted another man with voluminous spiky black hair and bright blue eyes that , at his back he carried a large sword that was magnetized to his uniform. His all black outfit that contrasted against his fair skin consisted of a sleeveless turtleneck tucked into military pants with black metal shoulder pads. His boots were stained with dried mud and specks of dust when she gave him a once-over. The outfit giving her a sense of melancholy. 

 

“You okay, miss?” He offered his hand and Lady looked up, entranced by his gentle blue eyes.

 

“Yeah..” she mumbled as she reached to take his hand. The moment her fingers touched his gloved hands her eyes widened and time around her seemed to slow when he began to grasp her hand. Luminescent green smoke rose from his hand and his eyes gave off a ghastly green glow, Lady’s eyes widened and she looked around her to see if anyone else was seeing this. To her surprise, the crowd seemed unaffected; not noticing the green smoke emanating from his hand and reaching to crawl towards her arm and as it touched the surface of her skin- a shockwave was sent through her body and she quickly withdrew her hand. The man looked at her confused, his hand still outstretched.

 

“Ma’am? What’s wrong?” His voice was quieter and his eyes looked concerned.

 

“Nothing!” Lady shouted- warranting a few weird looks from the marching guards and crowd. Taking her hand and holding it close to her, she stood up as she backed away.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay-“

 

“You didn’t see that?” She whispered hastily to him.

 

“No.. see what?” He cocked his head.

 

Lady released her held breath, so no one truly saw what just happened. The green smoke. It brought back distant memories she was eager to forget and she knew what it was. How could she forget? It was-

 

“Ma’am, do you want me to escort you somewhere else? Or I can get someone else to..”

 

“I, no. Sorry I have to get going, good day.” She bowed her head and backed away, leaving the man looking confused as another man with slicked black hair walked up to him. He donned on the same outfit he had, although he carried a large sword with huge width- the red handle of his sword and his dark blue eyes being the only splash of color on his otherwise monochrome appearance. 

 

“Zack! You’re supposed to be marching and what was that about? Who was she?” The older man asked.

 

“Hey Angeal, and I dunno,” Zack shrugged as another man donning a red leather coat over his black turtleneck and short straight auburn hair approached them. His dusk blue eyes narrowed as he looked at the retreating figure of the woman who just ran off.

 

“She looks familiar..” the red-coated man mumbled.

 

“What was that, Genesis?” Angeal looked over to his longtime friend.

 

Genesis flicked a piece of hair from his eyes and turned back around, dismissing him. “It was nothing.”

 

•••

 

Lady continued cradling her arm, a cold sweat beginning to overtake her despite the setting summer sun beating at her back. Taking a turn down a dark alleyway, she placed her back on the cool stone wall and closed her eyes to catch her erratic breath. Her hand held the hand, remembering the blue eyes that emitted a vivid green gleam and she shook her head.

 

“Get a grip,” she hissed to herself as she reached up to pinch her cheek. Looking down the lone alleyway, she began to walk down its’ path. She preferred the silent walk compared to the currently bustling crowds from earlier. After turning the corner down there, she’ll be able to cut through to the Alstroemeria-

 

She stopped when she heard a can being kicked from behind her, straightening her back she balled her right fist. Hearing footsteps approach her, she quickly turned around and released a barrage of lightning that scorched the walls as the purple streaks of electricity travelled down the alley and dissipated with a soft crackle. She sighed.

 

“Am I growing paranoid now..?” She whispered and turned around to bump into someone’s chest. Without thinking, she balled her fist once more and focused fire to come into her hand. Her hand came forward and a gloved fist caught it as it illuminated a familiar face.

 

“Something got you on edge, princess?” Xigbar asked.

 

Lady released a surprised gasp as her hand relaxed and the fire died down. “I’m so sorry! I thought- I thought you were someone else..”

 

He released the grip on her wrist and took two fingers to the base of her hand. “Your pulse is going haywire, you sure you’re okay?”

 

“I’m fine!” She shouted, taking her hand from him.

 

“You, are you scared?” He raised an eyebrow.

 

Her silence was telling as she looked to the side, crossing her arms. “I don’t want to talk about it just now, not when I’m like this.”

 

“Well at least let me walk you home,” he offered. “And no, I’m not here on orders. I just wanted to check up on you.”

 

She nodded and approached him. “Thank you,” she mutters quietly while they walked

 

“No problem, Demyx was gonna come but I volunteered to go. Listen.. we gotta talk.”

 

“About Xemnas, I’m guessing?”

 

“Yeah, dude’s got it out for you and not in a good way.” Xigbar stopped as they reached the end of the alley with the Alstroemeria in sight. “Come with me for a bit, let’s get some ice cream or something.”

 

Lady giggled, “You sound just like Roxas. Are you sure you should be out here being seen with me?”

 

He shrugged. “If I get turned into dust, I at least want to go on a date with you.”

 

“A date? This late in the afternoon?”

 

“Oh, what, so only waterboy gets to go on dates with you and not me?” He grinned. “Besides, this is the perfect time. I’ll show you something cool.”

 

With that, he conjured up a portal and placed a hand on her back to push her gently through it. Steeling her nerves, she stepped through and found herself walking through a vortex of darkness no different from the alleyway they just exited. A couple of paces from them was a glowing light bordered by the darkness seeping from the void. Xigbar wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked in tandem towards the light.

 

“It’s cold, how do you guys deal with this?” She shuddered.

 

“Usually the heavy leather coat works wonders.”

 

Stepping through the light, Lady felt as if she was embraced by warmth before stepping into a large dimly lit rotunda with multiple chairs that surrounded a platform with a large scope aimed towards a sealed hole in the ceiling.

 

“What’s this?” She walked towards. “Some sort of observatory?”

 

“Smart girl,” he mused while messing with a button panel near the door. “It’s closed today because of that little event they got going on in town, so it’s just you and I here.”

 

“Hmm, a dark room with nary a soul. How romantic,” she laughed.

 

“Just wait for the machine to power up, darling.”

 

Soon enough, the hum of electricity passed through the ceiling and all around her as multiple orbs of light began to form overhead. Purple, blue, and pink hues formed and swirled through the orbs along with large projections of asteroids that zoomed past the illustrated sky. Lady looked up in awe as the stars began to twinkle and multiple planets of varying colors expanded in the simulation.

 

“Come here,” Xigbar leaned in to her and wrapped his hand around her waist. “Hold on tight and trust me, do _not_ let go.”

 

Lady did so without questioning, placing a hand around his neck loosely as their surroundings phased out and they were soon facing the stars up closer.

 

“What..” she looked down at their feet and saw that they were now standing on a concave surface. Looking up, her eyes widened even more when she realized that she was looking at the room where they once stood.

 

“Are we-?!”

 

“On the ceiling? Yes.”

 

Lady wrapped around his neck tighter, pressing her body close to his as she looked around in shock.

 

“Relax, princess. You’re safe, take a look around,” he said quietly and so she did. They now were standing in the midst of the stars and its emulated galaxy. Watching the simulated meteors zoom past them, their tails leaving stardust in their wake. A green and blue planet floated by them and she reached out; half expecting her hands to grasp at the lushness of the planet but was only met with an empty hologram.

 

“Pretty, right? I found this place not too long ago. It’s a great spot for planning my reconnaissance work, from here I can see the whole city,” he drummed his fingers along her waist. “Even your apartment complex.”

 

“Am I supposed to be impressed or weirded out?”

 

“You can be relieved, I always got my eye on ya.”

 

Lady looked at the twinkling stars and sighed, releasing her tight grip on his neck and merely rested them upon his shoulders.

 

“It’s really nice here..” she sighed, allowing herself to get comfortable and lean her head on his shoulder.

 

For a while, Xigbar was silent- much to her and his surprise. He felt something flutter in his chest where his heart would be. He found himself chuckling at that word. ‘ _Heart’_.

 

“That’s impossible,” he muttered to himself.

 

“What?”

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

Lady raised her head and looked at hind her face a mere inches away from his and Xigbar felt that hollow thud again. His hand traveled from her waist to cradle her cheek.

 

“There’s no way that’s possible,” he whispered in a daze.

 

She gave him a confused look and it transfixed him with the way the light shone off her eyes. He shook away the daze and straightened his face.

 

“Can you fight?”

 

“I suppose so, why?”

 

“Xemnas won’t make it easy on you.”

 

“Tell me something I don’t know..” she rolled her eyes.

 

“Listen,” he took her face in both of his hands. “There’s been tensions in the Organization. It might be coming to a head soon, a coup or something or I dunno. I’ll try my best to keep the heat off of you but you need to learn to defend yourself.”

 

She nodded, her face looking more distraught as she let her mind wander to the events of this afternoon. Xigbar sighed, “Look I don’t wanna make you all gloomy. I’m sorry, I just wanna enjoy this moment with you.”

 

“I forgive you,” she gave him a sad smile.

 

“Can I take a picture of you?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Pretty please?” Xigbar pouted and she laughed at his expression.

 

“Well.. I guess. Do I look alright??” She patted down her hair and brought it to the front of her.

 

“You look gorgeous as always. Just hold my hand and don’t let go,” he instructed her as he leaned away, still grasping tightly to her hand while fishing for his phone in his pocket. Positioning the camera to where Lady was at it’s center surrounded by all the stars and planets and asteroids. It seemed to Xigbar that Lady was the very sun itself, the light pulling at all the astronomical forces around her. His hand was outreached and intertwined fingers with her as she smiled nervously.

 

“Come on babe can’t you smile or something? You look like I’m forcing you.”

 

“Ah sorry, I’m just.. tell me a joke then so it can be a real smile.”

 

Xigbar looked up thoughtfully, going through the archives of jokes that were filed away carefully in his mind until he thought of one- _the_ one.

 

“Okay, well me and a couple of other members at the Organization call Xemnas something especially after he gives us a really difficult mission or if we mock him and his extremely boring monologues. It’s an anagram of his name, actually.”

 

“Which is?” She cocked an eyebrow.

 

Xigbar grinned his Cheshire grin as he enunciated the word with great care.

 

“Mansex.”

 

Lady’s face fell in disbelief, then she snorted, then came the full on laughter that echoed in the large room. Xigbar grinned as he took a picture, capturing her with a huge grin on her face where the lights shone on her perfectly. Her smile brought him warmth, she really was the sun in a cold galaxy. He couldn’t wait to show Demyx.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the same night as trashsith, wow. 
> 
> Have y’all checked out trashsith’s stories? It’s pretty freaking amazing if you love sin and Organization XIII, highly recommend y’all go show her some love bc she updates constantly and works really hard on her material~


	10. X

“Zack, stop pacing. What’s wrong with you?” Angeal looked up from his documents to eye the young SOLDIER.

 

“That woman from the other day, I can’t get her out of my head. She looked so scared.. of me!” Zack mumbled thoughtfully. “There’s something strange about her, she went pale when I tried helping her.”

 

Genesis closed his book and leaned forward on his knees. “I too can’t stop thinking about her. Doesn’t she seem familiar? Angeal?”

 

The older SOLDIER leaned back in his chair, tapping his finger against the desk and looked between the two.

 

“Well, now that you mention it, maybe- but we aren’t here to mess with civilians. We need to ensure Shinra’s success in this town- as always.”

 

“You sensed it too Genesis? Maybe we can ask Sephiroth when he gets back later!” Zack clapped his fist against his chest with his usual grin.

 

“Don’t ignore your senior, Zack Fair,” Angeal huffed with annoyance. “..but yes maybe we can.”

 

“Ugh but we don’t know when he’ll get back! Maybe we can ask the Turks..?”

 

“The Turks aren’t going to waste time running errands for you, Rufus is the only with that privilege here.” Genesis frowned.

 

As he finished his sentence, the metal door slid open with a mechanical buzz and in stepped a man in a black suit and an untucked white button up that hung loosely over his pants. His spiky red hair was tied back in a long ponytail that trailed down to his mid-back and under his blue eyes were two crimson red marks that matched the hue of his hair.

 

“Heya, just came by to drop this off and I’ll be gone.” He waved an envelope before tossing it onto Angeal’s desk. “‘Kay, bye.”

 

“Wait, Reno!” Zack yelled.

 

The red head turned around, “What is it?”

 

“You’re good at finding people right? Can ya do me a favor?”

 

“Mmm what are you gonna give me in return?”

 

Zack sighed, “Opportunist.. anyways, I need help finding a woman.”

 

“Look buddy, if you’re after a woman you need to do the work yourself. No gal’s gonna fall for you if another guy tries wooing her for you-“

 

“It’s not like that!!” He groaned. “Look if you do this for me, I’ll take your guard shifts for a day.”

 

Reno looked at him, putting his hands in pockets and raised his eyebrows.

 

“...Two days.”

 

The redhead looked relatively unimpressed.

 

“Three..?”

 

“I’m outta here,” Reno waved to him as he turned on his heels.

 

“Wait! Gah, a week! I’ll take your posts for a week!”

 

Reno turned back around with a shit-eating grin. “What’s this woman look like?”

 

•••

 

Lady sat down with a towel wrapped around her soaking hair, flipping through the tv channels on her remote until she saw the Shinra logo pop up with bold letters scrolling underneath that read ‘new Shinra CEO takes control over facility in city.’ The logo disappeared and it was now a camera facing a handsome young man dressed in a white suit. His light blond hair was swept back and he kept his cool eyes trained on the camera.

 

“ _My name is Rufus Shinra, I look forward to bringing Mako energy this beloved city. You’ll soon see changes within the following month, we ensure you this is the key to a more successful future. That is all.”_

 

Rufus promptly left the podium and the camera panned back towards a stunned newscaster.

 

_“Short and straight to the point, spoken like a true CEO! Well everybody, we require your support to make this a stunning success. In other news, Shinra will be deploying SOLDIER’s to watch-“_

 

Lady switched it off and tossed the remote onto the couch. Taking the towel off her head, she leaned forward and rubbed at her temples. An all too familiar throbbing began and she released a frustrated groan.

 

A presence at the entrance pulled her attention towards the window and her eyes narrowed when she saw a man with sleek black hair and black suit standing at the gates of the Alstroemeria. The man looked at her unwavering and she considered her options carefully- unfortunately, most of them weren’t in her favor.

 

Exiting her apartment, she spotted Prompto, Gladio, and Axel hanging about the central courtyard. Walking swiftly towards them, she gave them her best smile.

 

“Hey there sunshine,” she greeted the freckled blond first which caused his cheeks to flush a baby pink.

 

“Whatcha up to?” Axel asked earnestly.

 

“Well, I actually needed to let you know that I’ll be going somewhere. Is Roxas here?”

 

“Yeah, he’s upstairs knocked out. A night of video gaming with the prince will do that to ya,” Axel chuckled.

 

Lady shook her head in disbelief, “If they’re both still stuck on that midboss, I will personally be disappointed in them. Anyways- I actually need to be going somewhere and..”

 

She sighed and looked up at the reflective hexagonal shapes making up the barrier that shimmered under the morning sun. “I’ll be disabling the barrier for brief while so please be on high alert. At least get Roxas and Noctis to nap out here with you guys.”

 

“Everything alright?” Gladio leaned forward on his chair.

 

“Yeah, it’s all cool. Please watch out for each other okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can!” She waved to them as she turned around to walk towards the front gates.

 

Approaching, the man from earlier did not move from his original spot and he kept his stare fixated on her as she approached him with apprehension.

 

“You’re needed,” he simply stated. Up close the man had a small tilak that seemed to make his gaze all the more intense.

 

Lady glanced over his black suit and matched his gaze. “You a Turk?”

 

He nodded and spoke, “Let’s not waste time.”

 

“Can I at least get the name of the man who’s about to whisk me away from my house?”

 

“...Tseng.”

 

“It was always a question of when not how with you guys,” Lady glared at him before opening the gates and shutting it behind her, leaving her hand on the iron bars to feel the energy seep into her body. As the last of the barrier deactivated, she closed her eyes and released a deep sigh. Not feeling having felt this energized since forever, she started to feel power flow through her body. Her eyes opened again and a strong glow emanated from her irises before dissipating.

 

“Lead the way,” she said.

 

•••

 

Reno rifled through citizenship papers, muttering as he tapped his finger on each page before turning to a large computer and pulling up a large scale map of the city. He traced his finger on the large amount of women matching Zack’s description and started with the first face he saw.

 

Behind him, the doors slid open and he saw short blonde hair adorning a slim face in the reflection of the computer screen. Holding a file to her chest, she approached him.

 

“Hey Elena,” he greeted her without turning around.

 

“Reno what are you doing? You know Tseng wanted you earlier for a mission.” She tucked a folder under her arm.

 

“Yeah well he already had me running several other errands and now I’m busy doin’ a favor for Zack.”

 

“Oh? What does he want?”

 

“A woman.”

 

Elena let out a small giggle, “Zack is a handsome guy, he could probably get any woman he wants!”

 

“Not like that,” Reno thumbed the index of the pages. “He’s looking for someone in particular, Genesis and Angeal seem to be interested too.”

 

“What’s she look like?”

 

Reno tapped against the pages of women and explained the particular characteristics that Zack pointed out to Elena.

 

“Wanna know what else Zack said about her? That she ‘was pretty cute’,” the redhead laughed.

 

Elena was silent and opened the file that was in her hand; flipping to the first page that was stapled directly onto the numerous papers that filled it.

 

“Um.. do you think it might be her?” She handed him the file.

 

He took it and looked over at it’s contents. “I dunno, let’s ask the man himself.”

 

•••

 

Lady followed Tseng into the overwhelmingly large plaza of the newly refurbished Shinra headquarters. It was intense by design alone, no doubt housing many secrets and activities beyond the use of Mako energy. But those secrets weren’t the main course of intrigue for her, she came here to unravel her own.

 

“As always, Shinra never fails to show the exemplary amount of gil they have,” Lady muttered to herself.

 

“It’s to show the public that Shinra has a foothold in this world as a power to be reckoned with,” Tseng replied without looking at her.

 

“Oh, so my knight in a shining suit speaks.”

 

“Only when he so wishes.”

 

Lady followed him towards two glass elevators leading to the main offices upstairs. She craned her neck and sighed when she could barely see the top of the building. If she wanted to escape, it would not be an easy way down.

 

Tseng pressed on a button and waited patiently as the thick glass carrier came down with nary a sound. She caught glimpses of people looking at her and she turned just in time to catch them looking away from her direction. Businessmen and women, neither of which can properly fight. _Where were the actual guards?_

 

The elevator doors opened and Tseng stepped aside to allow her to step on first.

 

•••

 

Reno and Elena neared the room where only those of SOLDIER 1st Class resided. The doors slid open and the first thing Reno saw was long silver hair that shone under the electric lights when it moved to turn to reveal an imposing figure with piercing Mako eyes.

 

“Sephiroth,” Reno greeted him.

 

“Sir!” Elena bowed her head slightly, averting her gaze.

 

Zack popped up from behind Sephiroth with eager eyes, easily reminding Reno as to why he was given the moniker of ‘Zack the Puppy.’ If the boy had a tail, it’d be wagging intensely right now.

 

“So? Did ya find anything?”

 

“Maybe,” Reno stepped towards Zack and he now stood in the middle of the room with him. Pulling out the pictures, he held them up for everyone to see. “This her?”

 

A silence filled the room only after Sephiroth leaned in and took the picture from his hands. Angeal and Genesis crowded by him to observe the picture. A gentle smile rested on a woman’s face as she sat under the shade of a tree sitting next to a man with an eyepatch and long ponytail. They both were eating ice cream and looked as if their conversation was an amusing one. The other picture was of the same woman in dressy clothes laughing with another man with spiky blond hair and shaved sides standing side by side in the midst of a concert. The last picture was of the woman holding a watering can over a bed of blooming irises, she wore a white apron over her jean shorts. She had a content smile and her eyes gleamed with happiness as she continued on with her chore.

 

“This is-“

 

“No doubt.”

 

“It’s her.”

 

Angeal looked up towards the two Turks, “Where did you get these pictures?”

 

“We were asked to investigate a woman fitting her description and status.. we weren’t explained why though,” Elena answered.

 

Zack took the picture from Sephiroth’s hands and tilted his head. “This is her! It’s the lady from the parade! Can we go see her?”

 

“To surprise her so suddenly.. might be a bit forward, no?” said Sephiroth.

 

“But you guys seem to know her! I want to ask what happened at the parade!” Zack whined.

 

“Zack, she’s..” Angeal sighed.

 

“She’s what? If she’s a friend of yours then I don’t see why we all can’t say hi.”

 

“Um.. excuse me,” Elena piped up and all eyes turned towards her, making her jump slightly. “Tseng is actually supposed to be bringing her here right now.”

 

•••

 

Tseng opened the door to reveal a room walked in by glass to make the outdoor world visible to the man working inside. Lady stepped inside and as Tseng seemed to follow suit, a voice cut him off.

 

“Leave us, I’ll call for you when you are needed again.”

 

The Turk only nodded and closed the door behind him, leaving Lady to face the CEO himself.

 

“Rufus Shinra, to what do I owe this immense pleasure,” she looked over to him, dressed in all white and sitting behind an extensive desk that held many papers with official documents scattered about.

 

“So you’re the woman that Hojo was going on about. Come forward,” he leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his lap. “I believe your name was-“

 

“That’s not my name anymore,” she hissed.

 

He only looked amused at her reaction. “Then what, pray tell.”

 

“I just go by Lady. Or whatever clever nickname you wish to bestow upon me. Your father and Hojo often liked calling me ‘pet’.”

 

“So it’s true you worked with my father? And I’m not one to try and follow his footsteps but that could be the one thing that changes it for me.”

 

“Of course,” she crossed her arms. “How is the old man?”

 

“Dead, all of his assets are hereby liquidated towards myself,” Rufus stated coldly.

 

“Shame,” Lady oozed every inch of sarcasm into her reply.

 

“But we’re not here to discuss details of my father’s past life, won’t you sit?”

 

“I prefer to stand _and_ not beat around the bush.”

 

Rufus smiled, amused. “Hojo explains to me that you’d be a much needed asset to the company. Very much so that we spent a summable amount of gil to pinpoint your location. It took years but the old man keeps insisting that he has big plans in store for you and thus here we are. It was fortunate that I was also able to buy a company building in this region as to stay close by you.”

 

Lady leaned over his desk and brought her voice to a low growl, “And what would happen if I were to up and disappear again?”

 

“Well I would imagine that-“ he peered over his papers in front of him before turning his gaze back to her. “-that Roxas and Axel would be very disappointed. I can also imagine that King Regis of Lucis will not be pleased that you left his son, Noctis Lucis Caelum and his other friends, under no protection whatsoever.”

 

_Shit._

 

Lady felt her heart stop and skip over several beats, her breath hitched. She was so caught up in her own selfish desire to disappear again that she almost forgot the true reason of her visit here today.

 

_Shinra is inevitable. I have to parley._

 

She couldn’t help the uncomfortable turning of her stomach, the anxiety growing within her as she soon realized her situation to be a hapless one. She was cornered and there were very few options left.

 

“What do you want?”

 

“You. We want to work with you to help us further our goals.”

 

She scoffed, “I’ve got my hands full with another evil organization as of right now.”

 

“Organization XIII was it? I’m aware. In exchange for your services, we may provide you an answer to your problem. Tit for tat,” he continued.

 

“...and if I choose to say no?”

 

“That would be your friends’ lives that you’re endangering then.”

 

Lady balled her fists, feeling conflicting rage wash within her as she pondered over her choices. Before opening her mouth to respond, she saw armed guards running across a bridge on the second floor towards the main building they were in. Upon closer inspection, she noticed they weren’t wearing the typical SOLDIER uniform but instead wore armor made of dark metal that covered the whole of their bodies.

 

“You’ve visitors,” she looked at him. “And I don’t think they’re here to talk. Do you have any weapons stashed in this office?”

 

•••

 

“What does Hojo want with her?” Sephiroth interrogated the two Turks, his green eyes were narrowed slightly in irritation.

 

“I already said I don’t know, they never explained to us. It seems like Rufus doesn’t know much either,” Elena answered.

 

“Well, maybe we can-“ Zack was cut off as the lights in the room turned red and an alarm sounded off.

 

**_‘All SOLDIER’s report to the main bridge. Enemies approaching.’_ **

 

“Looks like that’s our cue,” Genesis moved past the group and immediately exited.

 

“Come on Elena, we need to get to Tseng!” Reno yelled over his shoulder as the woman ran after him.

 

“A fight? Already?” Zack couldn’t help but grin with the adrenaline beginning to pump through him.

 

“Don’t be so careless Zack, let’s get a move on,” Angeal sheathed his Buster sword on his back. “Comin’, Sephiroth? Or you gonna sit this one out?”

 

“What, and let you have all the fun?” The silver haired man gave his friend a small smile. Reaching for his Masamune before following them outside towards the exterior of the bridge.

 

Zack reached for his blade and slashed away at the coming enemies, watching as they fell apart at the hit of his blade.

 

“Wha- they’re not even human!” He looked in confusion as the machine spilled oil where blood should’ve flown. The disjointed pieces crackling with maroon lightning before dark smoke exited the interior- letting out a cacophony of muffled screams as it disappeared into the air.

 

“Focus on the task at hand! We mustn’t let them get inside the building!” Angeal yelled as he knocked down oncoming enemies with the back of his sword.

 

“Let’s finish this quickly,” Sephiroth readied his blade and cut down several soldiers.

 

“Yes, let’s.” Genesis jumped back towards them as he readied a fireball in his right fist and released it towards a group rushing towards them. Together, the four made quick work of all of soldiers that flooded the bridge; making it slick with oil and severed machine parts that still twitched with artificial life.

 

“Is that it?” Zack huffed.

 

**_‘All units report to the top floor. Prioritize Rufus and Hojo.’_ **

 

“Well, looks like they actually found a way in,” Genesis sighed.

 

“Come on! We have to get there before it’s too late!” Angeal shouted at them as they all ran to catch up with him.

 

Running back inside, Zack stopped and mashed on the elevator buttons. “Come on, come on..”

 

“Looks likes it’s disabled, we’re going to have to do it the old fashioned way,” Sephiroth noted.

 

“Then let’s get a move on,” Angeal pushed the group towards the fire exit as the four SOLDIER’s bounded up the stairs until they reached the CEO’s floor.

 

Angeal rammed the door with his shoulder and the four came in with their weapons at the ready only to see all of the enemy soldiers dismembered and the black oil leaking all over the white tile floor. In the corner, Reno and Elena stood protectively in front of Rufus while Tseng observed a minor flesh wound on a man with black hair pulled into a ponytail and a white lab coat.

 

“You’ll be alright, Professor Hojo. It’s a superficial wound at best,” Tseng told the man.

 

The group at the door looked at the woman standing in the midst of the slaughter of machines as she turned to look at them with intense glowing eyes. The broadsword she carried in her hand was slick with fluids that flowed as she lowered it.

 

“Late to the party as usual,” she smirked.

 

Professor Hojo and Rufus walked towards her. “You’ve probably not met the younger one over there, would you like to introduce yourself?”

 

She looked at Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth one by one before turning towards Zack.

 

“My name is Lady, ex-SOLDIER 1st Class.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After rewatching scenes from Crisis Core, it’s so strange to see Sephiroth act so.. human lol.


	11. XI

“Ex-SOLDIER? You were SOLDIER?” Zack exclaimed.

 

“A studious one, would give us a run for our money when it comes to magic,” Angeal chuckled.

 

“Can’t say the same when it comes to swordplay-“ Genesis sheathed his rapier. “Tell me, have you gotten better?”

 

“I would think so,” Lady smirked. “You can test it out for yourself if you wish.”

 

“It’s been years hasn’t it?” Lady looked at Sephiroth, his face remained stoic to the trained eye but she saw the smallest gleam of sorrow in his eyes.

 

Sephiroth looked at her as he spoke. “Yes. Four years to be exact.”

 

“Well look at that, you still have your old friends here. All the more reason to consider joining up again,” Hojo addressed Lady as he adjusted his glasses.

 

“I didn’t agree to anything,” she glared at him before looking at her old comrades. “But.. it is good seeing you three again.”

 

_I want to say more but.. not in front of Rufus or Hojo._

 

Sharing Sephiroth’s gaze for a couple seconds, she glanced to her side quickly at the old scientist standing beside her and the silver haired SOLIDER nodded in understanding and she couldn’t help but laugh internally. _Even after all these years, he can still manage to tell what I’m thinking._

 

Lady looked at her feet and bent to pick up the fallen heads of one of the soldiers. The green metallic face reminded her of a doll and only reminded her of the strange trapped screams it released she she slayed it.

 

“This is Niflheim make, not being too friendly with the Imperials are you?” She looked towards Rufus.

 

“Only one of the reasons why we need you back with the company. I’m sure your friend Noctis would appreciate you helping him with that,” he goaded.

 

“Impressive, your observational skills have improved impeccably,” Hojo circled her. “And so has your physical prowess. Tell me, has being on the run from us increased those attributes?”

 

Scowling, Lady dropped the helmet as it made a hollow metallic clanging when it collided against the tile; the sound filling the room as she fumed. Only the sound of her phone ringing broke the tension in the room as Lady quickly reached for her phone to answer.

 

“Roxas? What’s wrong?” Her eyes widened after a few seconds. “That’s impossible, I’ve only been gone for an hour!... damn it, I’ll be there in a few. Don’t move!”

 

She hung up the phone, cursing herself for ever deactivating the barrier and coming here.

 

“Trouble?” Rufus asked. “Care for some help?”

 

“Not interested,” Lady scoffed. “What’s the fastest way down?”

 

“The elevators are all currently out of order and the fire exits have been blocked until we clear the building,” Tseng announced much to her displeasure.

 

“I don’t have time to wait up here,” she rolled the head of the soldier underneath her feet, angling her body and swinging her leg to hit it against one of the large glass windows; watching as it shattered into pieces when the head barreled through and down below.

 

“Wait, what are you doing?” Angeal stepped forward. “Stop being so reckless and just wait for the building to clear!”

 

“They need me _.”_ Lady gritted her teeth as she dropped the sword she held and flexed her fingers.

 

“Hey wait, don’t- !” Zack ran and tried to reach for her as she launched herself out of the window, catching himself on the edge as the group in the room looked out the window to see her body falling towards the ground. As Lady neared the ground, she commanded powerful bouts of wind fly through her hair and condense under her feet. The winds gathered until her descent slowed and an almost palpable gusts broke her fall as she landed gently on her tiptoes. Releasing the breath that she was holding, she gave one last look at her comrades that watched her from above before sprinting off to the direction of the Alstroemeria.

 

Zack looked at her running figure, at a loss for words. Behind him he heard Sephiroth chuckle.

 

“She hasn’t lost her reckless and selfless way of doing things after all.”

 

•••

 

Lady burst through the gates of the apartments, raising her hand above her and activating the barrier with a snap of her fingers. As the energy left her, she stopped and leaned against the wall; feeling power leave her as she took a moment to rest and get her breath back. When she ran in the gates, the front area was relatively untouched and nothing seemed off. Now she could feel the leftovers of magic being used in battle while she entered the central courtyard. To her dismay, the destruction wasn’t massive but still managed to destroy a couple of her precious flowerbeds and the wooden gazebo was wrecked into shards that scattered through the whole yard.

Remnants of flame still crackled near black skid marks on the stone floor as well as large puddles of water in random spots everywhere. Bending down to pick up a stray rose petal, she felt the velvety texture between her fingers- it gave a sickly sweet scent that made her head throb violently. She let the petal drop to the ground and looked around for somebody.

 

“Roxas!” She yelled when she saw the blond boy on the ground near Prompto and rushed towards them. “What happened here?!”

 

“Organization XIII happened,” he muttered, looking down with a sullen expression, his eyes empty with emotion. “Sorry.. we tried our best to not let the apartments get damaged.”

 

“I don’t care about that! I was so worried when you called me.”

 

“We were all on high alert when you left but we didn’t expect this.. where did you go?” Prompto asked, a cut on his cheek bleeding down over his freckles.

 

Lady took a handkerchief and dabbed at his wound. “I.. personal business. It was a mistake leaving here. I’m sorry you two.”

 

“Ah there you are,” she heard Ignis’ smooth voice speak and she looked behind her to see Noctis and Gladio follow behind him.

 

“Are you guys okay?” She stood up and felt smaller under Ignis’ impunitive stare. The man adjusted his glasses and sighed, looking at the damage around him before speaking.

 

“They came as soon as you were out of sight.”

 

“I think they underestimated us though,” Gladio gave her a reassuring smile. “We made it through.”

 

“ _NO!”_ Roxas shouted and slammed his fist against the ground. “How could you say that- when- when..”

 

He stopped and stood up to march towards Lady. “They took Axel.”

 

“What..”

 

“But don’t worry,” Roxas looked up at her with those empty eyes and she noticed the speckled drops of blood that dotted across the bridge of his nose, staining some strands of his blond hair into deep crimson. “I made sure we took one of theirs too.”

 

•••

 

They opened the door to Axel’s and Roxas’s shared apartment and inside sat a tall man with long blue hair and piercing eyes. A large gash was visible on his chest and his breathing was laboured as the blood seeped through his leather coat. He had his hands in his lap fastened with ropes as well as his feet, rendering him immobile. But he wouldn’t be able to move even if he wanted to as there were multiple lacerations going up and down his legs and arms- superficial but was sure to make him hurt every time he moved.

 

“Roxas, have you come to gloat over your handiwork?” The man sneered.

 

Roxas moved past Lady and looked down at him, “You deserved all of that and more, Saïx. Tell me, where did they take Axel?”

 

“You already know the answer to that, don’t you number XIII?”

 

Lady looked at the small boy in front of her, how someone of his stature and build can take down the wounded man who was began to bleed out onto the wooden floors. He was obviously more built and taller, so it was hard to believe that Roxas could even overpower him.

 

“Wait, XIII? As in-“ she started.

 

“Me and Axel.. were both members of the Organization. We left because we didn’t agree with their ideals,” Roxas replied without turning to look at her.

 

_Ah, so they’re just like me._

 

“If they have him at the castle, it won’t be difficult getting there.”

 

“Wait, Rox. That’s too risky, I’m sure Xemnas is expecting you to do just that. We need a plan because if we’re not careful we’ll just lose more than we already have,” Lady placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“She’s right you know,” Saïx sneered. “The Superior has a surprise waiting for you if you go by yourself. It’d be wiser to send someone else.”

 

His eyes moved from Roxas towards Lady and the blond boy put a protective arm in front of her. “There’s gotta be another way.”

 

“I know this is hard, but let’s be pragmatic about this. You can rest in my apartment okay?” She whispered. “We can discuss this tomorrow.”

 

He only nodded but didn’t take his stare off of Saïx. “And what about him? Should we get rid of him?”

 

At his words, Saïx tensed up a little and Lady sighed. “I’ll take care of him. Go ahead and clean yourself up okay? You’ve got blood on your hair.”

 

She nudged Roxas to move and handed him the key to her room as she essentially pushed him out of the door and closed it behind her. Turning her attention back on the wounded man, she walked to the bathroom and emerged with a metal tin. Saïx watched her carefully as she knelt down near him and began to undo the ropes that bound him together. Gentle hands moved swiftly as she undid them and she pressed at the gash on his chest- he winced slightly as the fingers prodding at him caused the wound to usher out more blood.

 

“What are you doing.” A statement more than a question.

 

“You’re a smart man, I think you already know what I’m doing. Remove your coat for me,” she ordered.

 

He was reluctant and after a couple seconds Lady sighed, “If you don’t, then I will.”

 

Lifting his arms, he began to unlink the chain that held together his coat and the zipper. Flinching when he was halfway at his abdomen, his body tending at the pain when he tried to sit up straighter to remove his garments. She set a hand on him to push him backwards gently and undid the zipper for him, helping him shrug it off to set it aside. Looking at his large chest without any type of concealment, it was.. grisly. The cut was deep and precise; Roxas made sure his strike was true.

 

“Roxas did this..?”

 

“Hmph, the boy is more powerful than you give him credit for.”

 

“Apparently. Raise your arms.”

 

This time he was at her mercy, following her orders without question as she gently dabbed at the wound with a cotton cloth wet with salted water.

 

“Why are you helping me?”

 

“It’ll be hard to get tenants when they see the amount of blood stains on the floor from you dripping everywhere, besides-“ she stopped and looked into his eyes. “-we aren’t monsters.”

 

“Do you assume we are?”

 

“Don’t know. Did you want to hurt Axel?”

 

Saïx was silent, looking at her wash away the caked up blood that began to clot around the edges of his wound.

 

“..no.”

 

“Then you can’t be all that bad,” she gave him a soft smile.

 

“Helping me would be counter-productive, I could escape.”

 

“I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in. The people here are fighters and will strike you down if you even consider it..” She deadpanned. “And I don’t think you can comprehend just how far I would go to protect my precious tenants.”

 

Wrapping bandages around his torso, she set the roll aside and stood up. “You can sleep on the couch or the bed, it doesn’t matter. I have to warn you though- once I leave there will be a barrier placed around this room so if you value your life you’ll be good and stay put.”

 

Before exiting the door she turned to look at him one more time, “I’ll be back tomorrow to dress your wounds again and get you something to eat. For your sake I wouldn’t do anything stupid.”

 

She began to open the door when Saïx gave a low chuckle.

 

“Axel spoke of you before he was taken. He claimed you were special above all others.. I’m starting to see why.”

 

Lady exited the room without another word.

 

•••

 

She awoke to the feeling of sheets rustling beneath her feet and sat up to see Roxas knelt by the bed with his head and arms resting at the edge. The boy was fast asleep but kept mumbling in his sleep, how he can rest with his knees against the wood floor she would never know.

 

Looking at her clock to see the red numbers flash ‘ _3:28 am’_ she rubbed at her eyes. Quietly she scooted towards where Roxas laid his head and gave him a gentle nudge.

 

“Roxas.. what are you doing? Do you want me to sleep on the couch and you can sleep here?”

 

“Mm.. no..” he grumbled, rubbing at his eyes. “Can I.. stay with you?”

 

Lady sat back and patted the spot next to her and he jumped in while covering himself with the blankets.

 

“Bad dream?” She whispered.

 

“No, I just feel better when I’m near you.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“.. Axel feels the same too. You make us both feel like we’re human.”

 

Lady frowned, sitting up and facing him. “What do you mean?”

 

Roxas was quiet, only his blue eyes peeking from under the sheets. “We don’t have hearts. Organization XIII is filled with people without hearts and one of their-or our goals were to get one.”

 

“When I first joined.. Xemnas kept telling us that we were heartless creatures called Nobodies. We were less than human he said, so Axel and I just trusted him on that at first- it all changed on that day we met you,” he continued. “Do you remember?”

 

“How could I forget? You two tried to take my food and sleep in one of the rooms for free,” she laughed.

 

“Hey, we needed to eat something else than ice cream and we were on the run,” he grinned. He closed his eyes and blinked before looking up at Lady with those big blue eyes of his. 

 

“Hey Lady? Do you think we can rescue my friend Xion too when we go save Axel? The three of us used to hang out after missions a lot and I really miss her- she wasn’t able to escape with us.”

 

“Of course. Come on, go to sleep already or you won’t be able to come up with a proper plan.”

 

“Okay, goodnight Lady.” He snuggles back into the sheets, closing his eyes and nestled his head into the pillow.

 

“Goodnight Roxas,” she smiled and ruffled his deceptively soft spikes before laying back down. Her thoughts going towards Axel and his well-being and the events that transpired today. 

 

_Shinra and now Organization XIII.. it seems trouble always seems to find me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Not interested.”- Cloud Strife, 1997


	12. XII

Axel struggled against the sturdy iron chains that held him strapped against the cold wall of the castle dungeon. He scowled when his current attempt was as fruitless as the last. His breath came out in an icy mist through his mouth and nostrils; they made the prison more unbearably cold and the chatter of his teeth echoed in the forsaken place as he mustered whatever energy he had in him to generate enough heat to thaw out his fingers.

 

Even after taking countless prisoners to this dungeon, he still couldn’t shake away the uneasy feeling in his stomach from all the strange screeches as they were experimented on one by one. He balled his fists and hung his head, wishing for a small source of flame- a small pathetic candle even.

 

“Never seen you so cold before,” a familiar voice jeered from beyond the bars separating his cell from the exit.

 

“Larxene, fuck off,” Axel growled, trying to control his chattering teeth.

 

A portal appeared inside the cell and the blonde woman stepped through, her eyes shimmering with their usual sadistic shine. “Ouch, is that anyway to greet an old friend?”

 

She sauntered over to him and stopped when she was inches away from his face. Her hand on her hip as she observed the light film of frost that rested on his face. Shaking her head slightly she placed a gloved finger on his chest and Axel clenched his fists as he felt a surge of electricity flow through his body. He released a groan as he tried to shake off the remnants of the shock; but was surprised when he felt light warmth surge through him.

 

“Better now?” She smirked.

 

“Why are you here risking your ass helping me?” He asked.

 

Her finger trailed up his chest slowly and stopped when they were close enough to trace his exposed collarbone. “Because I’m here trying to convince you to join us again.. look at you in such a pathetic state. Wouldn’t it be better if you were in warm clothes and a nicer place to sleep in?”

 

He glared at her, increasingly aware of her finger inching up his neck and rest on his cheek.

 

“I’m not used to seeing your handsome face so upset and I loved watching you work, what have you got to lose? Don’t you want a heart to _feel?”_ Her lips enunciated the last words and Axel closed his eyes tightly, trying to remember Lady’s comforting smile and her soft touch on his in place of Larxene’s.

 

“You don’t know what it’s like to care about someone so I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” he retorted.

 

At this, Larxene’s eyebrows narrowed in annoyance as she scoffed. “What and you think you do? Are you talking about Roxas?”

 

She placed a finger on her lip and looked up as if to ponder. A mischievous smirk on her lips as she spoke, “Orrrr is it that little landlady that’s got everyone wanting a piece of her?”

 

Axel flinched and Larxene noticed, making her smirk grow wider. “You are talking about her aren’t you? Aww how sweet. Should I be jealous? You know, I saw her get tossed around by Xemnas like a little rag doll- she doesn’t seem that special.”

 

“You stay away from her-!”

 

“Or what?” She closed in on him with her nose inches away from his. “You can’t even move let alone keep yourself warm, what good are you in that condition?”

 

“Besides,” she turned away. “You know Saïx got captured by Roxas so he’s trapped at those apartments right now. The little landlady rushed in just in time to activate her barrier before we could retrieve him and he’s alive but barely. She kept him sealed in another barrier and checks in on him. Sweet isn’t it?”

 

Axel released a sigh of relief and she clicked her tongue. Taking his chin in her hands, she jerked his head to look at the small window that let in a sliver of moonlight that seeped into his dungeon cell.

 

“You and Saïx used to be friends right? You do remember what happens when there’s a full moon right?”

 

The smug look on Larxene’s face grew as Axel’s eyes widened in horror and realization.

 

“And let’s say that on the coming full moon- little Lady goes in to check on Saïx.”

 

“Stop-“

 

“And when the moon is at its highest, Saïx will enter his berserk mode-“

 

“Stop-!”

 

“And rip your little Lady into shreds.”

 

“ _SHUT UP!”_ Axel shouted and tried his best to move against his shackles, eager to try and escape to warn someone- anyone.

 

Her mischievous grin didn’t diminish when she crossed her arms. “The full moon is soon- that’s when the blue haired freak is at his strongest every month right? Do you think she’ll stand a chance versus Saïx alone? Heh, I’ll make sure to let you know.”

 

She blew him a kiss as she entered her portal and Axel watched as it dispersed into the ground. His stomach flopped and he felt he needed to scream but it would just be pointless noise as well as wasted energy. He hung his head and blinked when his vision began to get blurry.

 

Blinking again, he shook his head slightly and was surprised to see tears drop onto the ground below him. Tears. Actual tears.

 

Was he crying over Lady?

 

He had little time to wonder as another portal appeared in his cell and out stepped Xemnas. His amber eyes fixated on Axel and the tears that ran down his cheeks.

 

“VIII. Are those tears for your friends? How.. peculiar,” his deep voice rumbled in the frozen cell and Axel tried his best to blink away the evidence.

 

“Tell me, how is it that you can feel?” He continued.

 

“I’m not about to tell you.”

 

“Forever the rogue pawn,” Xemnas glared. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll force it out of your friends or until I have the landlady screaming the truth.”

 

“You wouldn't want to.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“..You claim we don’t have hearts, ‘Superior’,” he spat. “I was so sure of that too, but something about her just makes me feel like we do.”

 

Xemnas was silent as Axel continued. “It’s something I can’t explain with words. But I’ve never met anyone like her that can make me feel so strongly. So before you think about simply destroying her, I would try talking to her and see what I mean.”

 

“It would be naïve to think she would mince words with me.”

 

Axel smirked, “No, I suppose she wouldn’t give you the time of day. But all I know is that she’s too special to be thrown away so easily, so don’t hurt her. Got it memorized, ’boss’?”

 

Xemnas looked towards the waxing moon through the slim window of the cell before looking back at Axel. “Well I hope to experience her gifts.. if VII doesn’t rip everyone in that apartment complex to pieces.”

 

He took another step towards Axel, “You say that what she does is indescribable with words. I wonder if I’ll know them with actions then.”

 

Conjuring a portal behind him, he stepped away from Axel and towards the swirling darkness. “If so, I look forward to seeing her once more.”

 

Once again the room was filled with silence and the overwhelming chill began to snuff away at what little flame Axel had but still he persisted. His head hung low but if he had looked up he would’ve seen a small feminine figure peek out at him with a hood barely covering her short black hair and blue eyes.

 

•••

 

Lady sat up, rubbing her eyes and swinging her feet over the edge of the bed. As her bare toes touched the cold wood, she willed herself to stand up and as she stood up the floor beneath her seemed to shake. Her legs struggled to keep her body up and she collapsed by the nightstand, she released a light groan when she tried to stand once more.

 

Looking over her shoulder, she was relieved to see Roxas still sleeping soundly without a care in the world. She willed herself to stand on her feet and used the wall to keep herself steady. The barrier she placed around Axel’s apartment to keep Saïx was draining her energy more than she anticipated and it was slowly taking a toll on her already reserved energy. She went about her morning routine and grabbed fresh new bandages as well as some choice breakfast items. Once she finished, she headed over to Axel’s apartment and entered to find Saïx still propped up against the wall with his eyes closed and head hung to sleep.

 

As she closed the door and took a step towards him, the floorboards creaked and Saïx’s eyes fluttered open at the noise.

 

“Morning,” she murmured softly while kneeling down with a plate of fruit and a cereal bar. “I.. uh brought you food. It seems your bleeding stopped so that’s good.”

 

He stayed silently observing while she worked on unwrapping his bloodied bandages. Her fingers feeling the exposed shin of his chest as she did so.

 

“Were you cold last night?? I told you that you could sleep in Axel’s room,” Lady frowned and there was still no response from Saïx, only his watchful gaze. “Ugh, be stubborn then. Let me get you a shirt at least.”

 

She got up to walk quietly towards Axel’s room and towards his drawers; her eyes stopping when she spotted a small photo taped to his mirror of a young boy with spiky red hair with his arm around another boy with short blue hair. They both shared the same emerald green eyes that contained sparks of curiosity and despite the stoic expression- the boy with blue hair genuinely seemed happy. They were both posed in front of a large castle with melted sticks of light blue ice cream hanging from their fingers and Lady picked it up for a closer look. Her eyes immediately went towards the redhead, the cocky smile and fiery eyes reminded her of-

 

“Axel,” she breathed. “Then this must be..”

 

Lady traced the messy handwriting at the bottom of the picture. Scrawled faded letters forming the words “Lea” and “Isa” in the respective positions where “Axel” and who she assumed “Saïx” was.

 

She opened a drawer and took out a white shirt as well as the picture of the two boys; walking back to Saïx, she laid the shirt aside and presented him with the photo.

 

“This is you isn’t it? You two look close.”

 

He gave an uninterested grunt in response but his eyes had a flash of recognition and she sighed as she set it atop the shirt to continue washing away the dried blood on his wounds. His eyes were trained on Lady as she sat close to him to clean off his chest. Her eyes looked up to his for a second then looked down at her work while clearing her throat.

 

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

 

He didn’t respond and Lady rolled her eyes, “Fine, don’t talk to me.”

 

“You smell.. good,” he muttered.

 

“I- excuse me?” She began to pull her hands away but Saïx caught her in a firm grip to pull her wrist towards his nose where he inhaled deeply. His gold orange eyes grew a shade darker as he tightened his grip around her wrist and his eyes shot up to meet hers.

 

“Saïx.. stop it, that hurts..”

 

Saïx opened his mouth, but instead of words coming out, it was his tongue that ran a small line in between her digits. Lady’s breath hitched as she tried her best to pull away but to no avail.

 

“Saïx..” she whispered harshly, almost afraid to raise her voice for fear of a harsh reprimand. “... Isa!”

 

That was a bit of a gamble but she didn’t expect Saïx to respond so suddenly as his eyes and grip relaxed. His face going back to the usual stoic expression that matched the blue hair boy’s same expression in the picture.

 

“No one calls me that.. except.. Lea.” He muttered quietly, ignoring Lady’s bewildered face.

 

After that, Lady began to wrap up the bandages around him again with haste and reached for the shirt to put on him. The man was now devoid of any responsive behavior and was a rag doll that moved to her whim. She struggled to put the shirt on him- putting one arm into one hole and the other in the other hole.. and even after he had it on it was still taut against his chest to show every bit of muscle on his torso.

 

She sighed. _Axel is slimmer than this guy so it’s not his fault I guess._

 

“I’ll put this this beside you okay? Make sure to eat some,” she pushed the plate towards his hand, her pinkie accidentally brushing against his but was enough to feel a surge of heat that emanated so strongly from him.

 

Lady looked up at Saïx with concern and brought her hand up to his forehead, flinching when the surge of heat kept flowing from him- as if she was touching a hot pan without gloves.

 

“Saïx.. you’re burning hot! Do you feel okay?”

 

“Im.. fine.” He said through gritted teeth.

 

“Come on, let me help you to the couch- you need to lay down properly and rest!” She scolded him but he wouldn’t budge.

 

“Fine, stubborn bastard! I’ll be back to check on you so at least get some rest before then!” She fumed, slamming the door behind her and went back to her apartment.

 

Entering her living room to see a sleepy Roxas rummaging through her fridge, she clicked her tongue.

 

He emerged with a piece of leftover cake and his hair going in multiple directions.

 

“You need to eat more than sweets, put that away!” She chided him with a smile on her face. “I can get you something while I’m at the store, is there anything specific you want?”

 

“Wait I thought we were supposed to plan on breaking out my friends?”

 

“Roxas,” Lady sighed as she collapsed onto her couch. “Keeping Saïx in that additional barrier is tiring. The way I am now, I wouldn’t even be able to fight off a bunny. I need to go to the store and buy some materia if I want to fight again without draining my energy too much.”

 

“I don’t understand why you’ve been helping that scumbag,” Roxas scowled.

 

“He might not be all that bad, I think him and Axel were friends in the past.”

 

“Right, Saïx doesn’t seem the type to care about past friendships,” he scoffed and crossed his arms.

 

“You don’t know that for sure,” Lady replies sternly. “Look you can stay here and mope but I need to get prepared.”

 

“Wait-! I’m not letting you go out there alone!” He yelled and ran after her as she exited the apartment.

 

•••

 

“Materia is hard to come by but can be extremely useful, it’s easier channeling magic through them. Let’s just make this quick since there’s only one store that sells them in this city.”

 

“There’s too many people out here,” Roxas mumbled.

 

“Wanna hold my hand so we don’t get separated?” She offered him her hand and he took it.

 

“I remember the shopping around here somewhere.. maybe around this corner?”

 

“We’re lost aren’t we..”

 

“Of course not!” Lady scoffed. “Have more faith in me, blondie.”

 

She turned and stood on her tiptoes to look over the crowds of other people shopping. In truth she was looking to get this shopping trip done with- the more she walked the more sluggish her body became.

 

“Ah.. I think I see it finally-“

 

“Axel?” Roxas exclaimed and let go of Lady’s hand to rush off ahead. “Axel!”

 

“Roxas!” She yelled after him and pushed her way past the crowds to try and catch up with the boy. He ran around a corner and Lady skidded around to follow, apologizing to numerous people as she pushed through. At last she saw the boy stop in front of a man with flaming red hair, the same hue as-

 

“Axel..! Wait..” Roxas began but stopped. Lady came to a halt to look at the man in a black suit as he turned around to look at Roxas.

 

“Axel? The name’s Reno, kid.”

 

If Lady had her eyes closed then the voice would’ve been exactly like Axel’s. Reno even shared the same look as Axel with the red striped mark swiped along his under eyes just like Axel’s inverted teardrops.

 

“Roxas let’s go.” She walked up and tried pulling him by his shoulders. “That’s not Axel! Let’s go!”

 

“Ah, oh it’s you!” Reno exclaimed, tilting his head in amusement. “You were in President Shinra’s office!”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, excuse us,” she smiled.

 

“Look, we got off on a bad start. Can we-“

 

“No, Reno. It’s okay, we’ll just be on our way.” She said firmly as she pulled Roxas towards her.

 

“Oh, Lady! Hey! What a coincidence,” Zack appeared from behind Reno with his energetic smile. “Look who I ran into, Angeal!”

 

The SOLDIER appeared from a store with a paper bag in hand, his stern expression softening when he saw Lady.

 

“Hey Angeal and.. I’m sorry I didn’t get your name before?”

 

“It’s Zack, Zack Fair of SOLDIER 1st class at your service!” He gave a dramatic bow and Lady couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Hey we were all gonna get some grub since we’re on break, wanna come with?” Zack grinned.

 

“I, uh..” Lady faltered and Angeal stood in front of her.

 

“Come on, we should at least have a proper conversation since our last meeting wasn’t at the best timing. We can pay too,” he offered.

 

“It’s okay-“ Lady was cut off by the sound of Roxas’ stomach rumbling loudly and she looked down at him with disbelief.

 

“Humph, I’m taking that as a yes then?” He laughed.

 

•••

 

“Sooo.. is he your little brother? Or son, or-“ Zack asked after downing his water bottle in one go. He sat across from Roxas with Reno next to him while Lady sat next to Angeal.

 

“She’s my landlady actually but she acts like my mother sometimes,” Roxas grinned sheepishly as he shoveled in the dish of pan fried noodles into his mouth.

 

“Roxas..” Lady closed her eyes and sighed in exasperation. “Anyways what are you guys doing here?”

 

“Getting some stuff for some oncoming missions, this city has everything so it’s good to stock up while we can. You?”

 

“Shopping for materia-“ she answered while eyeing the bag near Angeal. “Hey is that from the materia shop down the street?”

 

“Hmm, oh yeah it is. We had to buy a lot to bring back to base but there should be some left at the store.” He glanced at the bag.

 

“What did they have left?”

 

“I think your basic ones like cure and fire-“ Zack listed off on his fingers.

 

“Did the shop owner tell you when they would restock?”

 

“They’re getting more shipment in one or two weeks. Lady, what’s wrong?” Reno piped in. All of them looking at Roxas and Lady’s paled expressions.

 

She looked over to Roxas and his face was visible with worry. They both knew Axel won’t have the luxury to wait a week for his rescue. Either she waited for more materia to come in or she could take a chance and leave the Alstroemeria without a barrier.. or maybe she can exchange herself for Axel-

 

_Hell no._

 

“We might have some extras at base that we can give you?” Zack offered.

 

She inhaled deeply, “If it’s not too much trouble, then I’d appreciate it. How can I repay you?”

 

“You can let us deliver it to your place!” He grinned.

 

“Zack..” Angeal sighed.

 

“That’s not really worth anything of value, is there anything else?” Lady smiled, confused.

 

“Okay, how about letting us deliver it to your place-“ he continued and held up one finger in front of him. “-aaand _one_ date!”

 

Roxas choked on his water and Angeal groaned, covering his eyes and shaking his head. Reno grinned and clapped Zack on the back, “You sly dog!”

 

Lady looked down and back up at Zack’s nervous smile and much to everyone's surprise, she responded. “Sure, I’d like that.”

 

“Woah, really? Awesome, I honestly didn’t expect you to say yes!” Zack’s blue eyes shimmered and Lady swore she could see his imaginary tail wagging.

 

“I’ll owe you a date and if you can deliver it to this address that’d be great,” she said as she scribbled the Alstroemeria’s address on a stray napkin. “Come on Roxas, we should head back.”

 

“Wait! Can I get your number?” Zack asked. “And are you really serious about that date?”

 

Lady stood behind Angeal on his chair and placed a hand on his shoulder as she leaned forward on him to reach inside his left pocket and took out his phone with him sighing in mild protest but letting her continue. Quickly typing in her contact info in his phone while her arms were wrapped around his neck before slipping it back inside his pocket in the same fashion, she gave him a quick tap on the cheek with a finger before backing away.

 

“I am,” she grinned. “ _If_ you can get my number from Angeal’s phone.” With a final wink she put money on the table to pay for Roxas’ meal before Angeal could then she stood up, excusing herself.

 

“I’ll see you guys later,” she waved.

 

“Bye!” Roxas called out before following Lady out.

 

•••

 

Lady exited the bathroom while towel drying her hair. The scent of florals was still strong in her hair from the fragrant shampoo and she inhaled deeply to relax herself.

 

On the bed, Roxas was already snuggled in with his eyes looking up towards the ceiling.

 

“Hey, I’m sorry were postponing our rescue.. but I’m sure Axel will be fine for the meanwhile,” she apologized.

 

“It’s not your fault, I could tell you were exhausted today. And I think he’ll be okay too.. for now,” he mumbled thoughtfully.

 

She looked towards the clock and turned off the lamp.

 

“You’re not going to sleep yet?” Roxas turned to look at her.

 

“I gotta check on Saïx to make sure he’s still breathing, don’t worry just get some sleep and I’ll be back.. Roxas?” She called his name gently and the only response was his deep breathing and a small snore.

 

 _Such a kid, he fell asleep already._ She smiled.

 

Closing the door behind her gently, she made her way towards Axel’s apartment. As she came closer, she heard a dull thud come from inside the apartment along with the sound of glass breaking. She groaned to herself as she looked up at the night sky to look at the full moon. It shone brilliantly at its fullest, illuminating the sky with its soft starlight

 

_Is he throwing a tantrum in there?_

 

Opening the door slowly, she walked in the apartment and locked the entrance behind her to ensure he didn’t try to run out. More noises came from Axel’s room and she stopped to listen.

 

“Saïx?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big oof!


	13. XIII

“Saïx..” Lady called out gently, the noises from the bedroom sounding like a rabid animal thrashing around. The door was wide open and Lady could only see a small sliver of the room that was illuminated by the moonlight coming from the window. From the darkness, two deep golden orange eyes peered at her from within.

 

Her breathing became uneven as she stepped away slowly- her fight and flight responses began to go off rapidly, her eyes glancing towards the amount of steps it would take to run towards the door.

 

Saïx emerged from the dark room, a light golden aura surrounding his figure and his eyes glowed intensely in the dark. The scar on his forehead seemed bigger and more ragged than last she saw- and his teeth were sharpened into that akin of a feral wolf.

 

Before she could make a move towards the door, he rushed towards her to grab her with her shoulders and slamming her against the wall. The breath left her lungs and she gasped to try and gain it back. Her nails dug at his arms that held her up and the blood that welled up from her scratches only seemed to excite him more as his eyes glowed in more intensity.

 

She kicked him in the shin and tackled him to the ground, twisting her body so she straddled his hips. “What’s gotten into you?! Snap out of it!” Lady yelled at him as he snarled and grabbed her by the hips- his claws digging into her skin and making her wince in pain. Bucking his hips, he tossed her aside with the momentum and rolled her to where she lie on her stomach with her hands pinned with one hand. Saïx bent down and growled into her ear while his other hand began to slowly rake down her back with their claws, “Something is calling me to you..”

 

“What can it be?” He licked his lips, taking one of the fingers where her blood stains now tainted it and put it into his mouth. Lady struggled, her head on its side to where she could only see half of Saïx’s enraged face. The moment he licked her blood off she also saw his pupils dilate even more.

 

Picking her up and throwing her onto the couch, it slid as it hit the wall behind it. Lady grabbed at her arms, feeling the scratches from his sharpened claws and looked up to see the crazed man approach her. He wasted no time pouncing on her, a snarl escaping his curled lips and Lady saw just how sharp they were under the subtle glow of the moon. Instinctually she aimed her fist straight into his jaw and he didn’t even flinch- his grin growing wider as he trapped her hands above her head to pin her down. Everywhere he grabbed it made her flinch in pain as she began to feel blood well up everywhere he had scratched her and well- it didn’t seem like he had enough of it just yet.

 

Whatever had gotten into him, his movements were faster, his strength and stamina were almost inhuman. _How long would this last? What even was this?_

 

Lady scowled as she looked up into his glowing eyes. _He’s more beast than man right now._

 

Moving her leg to try and kick at his knee was a mistake as he caught her leg mid-action. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he brought her up so she was strapped to his lap with her arms held by one of his hands by the wrist and the other hand anchoring her thigh down to him. Pushing her forward to him, he sniffed at her hair and she felt his teeth graze tentatively across her neck until he stopped at the point where neck and shoulder met to bite down. Hard.

 

Lady’s mouth opened to scream in agony but Saïx silenced her with his mouth on hers, the fresh blood on his lips leaking into her and the metallic taste filled her senses. She struggled once more but it felt like fighting against a riptide in a vast ocean; the contrast of strength was clear and right now she was powerless against this _thing._

 

Saïx’s claws dig into her thighs as he leaned into their kiss- if you can call it that- it was violent and full of rage. The more she fought against his control the more his claws dug into her and the more blood she was losing- at this point she began to feel lightheaded.

 

He began to graze his teeth along her collarbone, his hand releasing her thigh to grip at her neck. He glared up at her, “If you scream, I’ll claw your throat out.”

 

He then proceeded to pull her forward by her neck until his mouth reached the side of her neck and he bit down once more. Lady shut her eyes, tears welling up as she struggled not to scream when the points of his nails began to dig against the artery in her neck.

 

She felt her liquid crimson drip down her neck and onto the couch, the dizziness in her head only growing stronger.

 

 _At this point, I might really die. I can fight back.. if I take down the barrier_.

 

Her thoughts wandered to Roxas’ sleeping face and the Insomnians who were already exhausted from a day of fighting.

 

 _No.. who knows what could happen._ She looked down at Saïxand his bloodstained mouth. _I just have to endure- but can I even do this? I’m going to.. what if I- die?_

 

Lady closed her eyes, tears began to fall and Saïx looked up at her to see what wet thing had dripped onto his arm. He brought her face closer to his, “Are you _frightened?”_

 

She closed her eyes so she didn’t have to see the sadistic grin plastered to his usually stoic face. The best she could do was steady her breathing and try to calm down her frantic heartbeat; but the feeling of Saïx’s breath on her skin and the points of his fangs at such a close proximity to her neck struck her with fear.

 

Her heart beat raced. _One, two, three. One, two, three_. She felt him bite down lightly on her shoulder. _One, two, three_. His hands relocated to hold her by her hips and dig into them once more. _One.. two.. three.._

 

Lady felt herself lose consciousness, stars fitting along the peripherals of her vision as her head fell forward in a slump.

 

Saïx looked up, her eyes fluttering close and then stopped to look down at him. A subtle purple glow emerging from her irises.

 

“ **_Heel_ **,” a deeper yet still feminine voice emerged from her, his claws ripping against her skin as she released her arms from his grip. Saïx wasted no time pushing her off and tackling her to the hardwood floor. Once more trying to pin her arms up, she brought her head forward and hit him directly on his scar and making him flinch backwards; taking the moment to bring her freed arms up she placed them both on an iron grip on his head. Green light emanated from her hands as she focused her energy on him. Saïx grabbed at her hands to pry them off but she kept her grip as the light yellow aura around him began to dissipate as well as his other bestial qualities. The claws were back to normal, his scar, and soon his eyes regained their usual hue.

 

He collapsed atop of her, his eyes rolling backwards. Lady dropped her arms, her chest rising up and down rapidly as she too lost consciousness.

 

•••

 

Lady woke up to a heavy weight on her chest. She looked down to see Saïx laying his head on her abdomen, his arms wrapped around her waist as if she was a pillow. Her eyes appraised the room and sighed; her body ached and she felt drowsy. If it weren’t for the blood splattered on the floor, she would’ve assumed she had one hell of a time last night.

 

Taking Saïx by his shoulders, she gently pushed him off and rolled onto her stomach. Groaning as she struggled to get up, her knees threatened to buckle as she crawled towards the wall to use it as leverage. She winced when she felt the deep cuts on her body begin to bleed from her sudden movements.

 

Looking towards the kitchen floor, she spotted her phone from when she was thrown about like a rag doll. Limping towards it, she bent down to pick it up. The screen wasn’t cracked- much to her relief. It would already be expensive to fix up the mess here.

 

Ripped curtains, broken glass, and shattered wood were strewn across the apartment. Not to mention the various blood splatters that dotted the place.

 

The phone in her hand began to ring with an unknown number. Picking up, she brought the phone to her ear to answer. “Hello?” Her voice was more hoarse than usual.

 

“Lady?” Came Angeal’s voice. “Is everything alright? Why do you sound like that?”

 

“I’m fine.. why are you calling?”

 

“I’m here to bring you the materia, remember? We agreed to deliver it at your place. Should we come inside to bring it?”

 

Lady held the phone to her chest and cursed herself. She had almost forgotten about the materia and Angeal.

 

“Uh, no-! I’ll come out to get it. Just wait there okay?”

 

Hanging up, she slipped the phone in her ripped shorts. _Fuck._

 

She rushed to the bathroom to assess the damage and she groaned when she saw. There were bite marks going down her neck that still bled when she swiveled her head. Scratch marks went down her arms and some on her thighs. Turning on the faucet, she splashed her face with cold water and watched as the sink ran red. Rummaging through to find an unopened toothbrush, she quickly began to brush and wash away the taste of blood that lingered in her mouth.

 

She looked for a bathrobe or anything of the sort to cover up with and she spotted the Organization coat that she left here to dry. Slipping it on, albeit being a bit loose on her, she zipped it up all the way and left the apartment.

 

•••

 

“Angeal,” Lady greeted him. “I half expected your puppy to be here with you.”

 

“Zack wouldn’t wake up even if the world was on fire, but he managed to dig you up some decent materia,” he untied the box on the back of his motorcycle and opened it for her to see.

 

She leaned forward and inspected them one by one while mumbling, “Reflect.. Bio? Oh! This is.. curaga! Nice!”

 

Angeal smiled as she rummaged through the box, reminding him of a little girl going through a box of candy. The smile remained on his lips until the sleeve of her coat slid back a little and he saw the elongated scratches that began at her wrist.

 

“Hey,” he said as he took her hand and swiftly pulled back the sleeves to reveal her red scratches. She winced as she tried to pull away, looking away in shame.

 

He wrapped a hand gently around her waist and unzipped the coat slightly to see the bite marks that decorated the base of her neck.

 

“What the hell happened to you,” he muttered, his brows furrowing. 

 

She pushed him away but he remained steadfast, “It’s fine, just a couple days and I’ll heal up back to normal.”

 

“Those wounds aren’t normal, you need medical attention,” his eyes narrowed.

 

“It’s fine! My magic can heal it up-“

 

“Your magic can’t solve everything! So stop being stubborn and tell me what happened,” he said firmly, not relinquishing his grip on her.

 

“Angeal.. that hurts,” her eyes lowered and he sighed. His grip softened and she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

 

“Talk to me,” he whispered. “Stop trying to do everything yourself.”

 

She bit her lip and nodded. “I need help first with my wounds then, do you mind?”

 

“Of course not,” he smiled. Leading her towards his bike, he handed her a helmet. “Hop on.”

 

•••

 

They arrived at the Shinra building much to Lady’s chagrin. “Why here?”

 

“Stop complaining, I’ve got everything to heal you up here.”

 

“But what if anyone sees me?”

 

“I’ve got your back, don’t worry. In and out like a mouse,” he offered his hand and she took it. Angeal reached behind her head and brought the hood up to cover her face.

 

They walked in and almost immediately a foot soldier greeted Angeal with a salute. “Sir!”

 

“At ease,” Angeal saluted back with his hand still wrapped around Lady’s waist to guide her. “Send someone up to bring past that experimental wound salve from Hollanders lab, won't you?”

 

“Uh, yes sir! What should I tell him?”

 

“Tell him that Angeal of SOLDIER 1st Class needs it,” he stated and the foot soldier bowed and ran off.

 

When they walked long past him, she laughed. “You like pulling rank don’t you?”

 

“You would too,” Angeal smirked down at her.

 

“As if I had a rank to pull,” she rolled her eyes while smiling.

 

“..You would have if you stayed.”

 

Lady didn’t reply, hanging off Angeal’s arm as he led her along.

 

“Angeal there you are, Genesis and Sephiroth were looking for- heeeyyy look who it is!”

 

Lady peeked up from her hood and groaned, “Reno.. not now.”

 

“Decided to come back? Good on ya!” He grinned and brought up a hand to slap on her back. Lady bit down on her lips and turned to moan into Angeal’s shoulder. Hoping that it would muffle the pained noises she was ready to let out. 

 

“That.. hurt,” she hissed through gritted teeth. She swore she felt her wounds opening up again.

 

“Reno, leave us alone and keep your mouth shut,” Angeal growled.

 

Reno raised his hands in defense, “It’s my off day anyways, it’s good seeing you Lady! Let’s talk later.” The redhead waved as he took off.

 

“Sorry about that,” Angeal rubbed her shoulder.

 

“Just.. get me to where we need to go.”

 

“Well, it’s be faster if you walked a little bit more hastily.”

 

“Oh, _I’m_ sorry. I’ll try to ignore the bleeding razor claw marks on my legs,” she scoffed, trying her best to pick up her pace. 

 

Angeal shrugged and bent down to pick her up into his arms. Lady looked at him flustered, “What are you doing? This is embarrassing and you’re causing a scene!”

 

“This way’ll be faster, besides- no one would have the gall to speak up to me,” he smirked.

 

Jogging down the hallway until they reached a sliding door, he stopped as it swished open and they stepped in. Lady looked at the room before looking up at Angeal, “Three beds? Are you sharing the room with Seph and Gen?”

 

It was a dull room with standard beds with grey sheets covering it along with a desk in the corner with a lamp shining light on the papers scattered about the top. She only identified their respective beds by trademark items she remembered them by.  Nonetheless, it was a bit boring and even depressing to look at. 

 

“It’s temporary since the building is new, they’re planning to make separate rooms for us,” he set her down on his bed.

 

“Or you guys can live at the Alstroemeria, it has better scenery and company,” she grinned.

 

“Maybe, we’ll see about that,” he winked and handed her a towel. “Go ahead and shower to clean off that blood.”

 

Lady pushed herself off the bed and straight towards a drawer with a red leather coat draped over it which could only be Genesis’. Taking a black long sleeve out, she threw it over her shoulder and stepped into the bathroom. Turning on the shower until she saw steam come off the water, she sighed and began to strip.

 

Whatever clothes she had under the coat looked like it went through a shredder. It was a small mercy that the mirror began to fog up so she wouldn’t see the wounds across her body. Stepping into the shower, she sighed as the water seeped into her skin. Leaning against the metal shower walls, she looked down at her feet and the pooling bloody water around them.

 

Looking to the corner of the shower, she held in a laugh when she saw a large bottle of shampoo and conditioner. Grabbing it, she inhaled the scent of roses and vanilla.

 

_I wonder if anyone knows that Sephiroth has to use a whole bottle of shampoo and conditioner every time he washes his hair._

 

•••

 

Angeal sat on his bed and looked up to see Lady walk out with her wet hair sticking to her face. Genesis’ shirt went past her thighs and it swayed sightly when she walked over to sit beside him.

 

“You ready?” He held up a metal tin of opaque red gel and she sighed.

 

“Is this gonna hurt?”

 

“Just a bit- did you use Sephiroth’s shampoo?” He sniffed.

 

She grinned at him and leaned back on the wall to stretch her leg. Angeal took a scoop of the gel on his finger and hovered over the scratches on her thighs.

 

“You ready?” He looked up at her.

 

She nodded and he slowly spread the gel onto the open wounds on her thigh; she began to feel the burn come from inside of her skin as the wound bubbled up and then dissipate. Lady watched incredulously as the skin closed and leaving a tiny silver scar in its place.

 

“That one wasn’t as bad, the scar will fade over time but the big cuts might hurt more,” he noted as he repeated the procedure on all cuts on her legs.

 

When he was done he leaned back and rolled up her sleeves, taking her hand as he spread the gel on her arms. She hissed as the skin began to smoke before bubbling.

 

“Grab onto my hand if it hurts,” he assured her. Lady nodded and squeezed his hand tightly.

 

“We need to do your back.. do you mind-“

 

“Yeah yeah, hold on,” Lady turned her back to him and pulled the shirt over her head until it revealed her marred skin. Bracing herself against the wall, she heard Angeal mutter something under his breath behind her.

 

“Is it that bad?” She quietly asked. 

 

“It is,” he responded. “Ready?”

 

She bit down on her shirt and pressed her front body against the wall, her hands trying to find a grip against the cool metal wall. It was then that Angeal had spread the gel into the wounds and immediately felt the scalding burn that began to build up in her back. She felt like she had been tossed onto an open flame as the searing only intensified.

 

“Hang on a bit longer,” Angeal soothed her as he worked quickly. His rough hands made the burning worse as he spread it all over her back.

 

_Screw that x faced bastard and his claws..! I’ll give him hell when I come back!_

 

“I’m done, you can relax.”

 

Lady let the shirt fall down her back and she turned to face Angeal. Her forehead was covered in a light film of sweat and she leaned to bury her face into his chest.

 

“That wash terrible.” She muttered into his shoulder, her voice muffled by the heavy cotton of his turtleneck. She looked up, her face close to his chin. “Thanks Angeal, I'll head out now.”

 

As she moved to scoot off the bed, Angeal grabbed her by her waist and moved her back. “Nuh-uh, you’re going to rest before heading back.”

 

Lady frowned, “But my wounds are fine now.”

 

“You’re still tired, I can see it in your eyes. Stop being so difficult and rest. A SOLDIER needs a break sometimes too.”

 

“Ugh fine, don’t give me that speech again. I’ll take a nap and then I’ll leave,” she pouted as she laid down on her side.

 

“I’ll get breakfast, do you still like your coffee with creamer and two sugars?”

 

“Mmph, yeah.. and two bagels-“

 

“-With a layer of cream cheese on it,” he finished for her. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.”

 

She smiled at him before closing her eyes and wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. The fatigue rapidly catching up to her as the wet strands of her hair soaked into the pillow beneath her head. 

 

•••

 

Lady woke up to someone’s monologue. A smooth voice that she could listen to for days.. had it not always say something that would irritate her. 

 

“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess

We seek it thus—“

 

Lady got up, balancing herself on her elbow while continuing. “—and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest.. Loveless, act one.”

 

She wiped her sleep-ladened eyes and looked at Genesis who looked back with a satisfied expression. “You remembered.”

 

“I couldn’t forget that poem even if I tried.” Lady flipped her hair over her shoulder.

 

“Is that.. my shirt?” Genesis sighed as he closed his book with one hand.

 

“Maybe it is. You’re the one closest to my size here.”

 

“So you’re wearing my shirt-“ Genesis chuckled.

 

“Using my shampoo and conditioner as well,” Sephiroth’s voice drew Lady’s attention and she saw the silver SOLDIER lean against the wall with Angeal sitting on Seph’s bed.

 

“And sleeping in my bed,” Angeal finished.

 

“I missed you guys too,” she sighed and reached to where a plate of bagels sat on a makeshift nightstand.

 

“You always have the most peculiar ways of showing up in our lives,” Genesis leaned forward to balance his elbows on his knees.

 

“Maybe that’s your goddess playing tricks on you guys,” she scoffed, sipping her coffee.

 

“We missed you too in our own way.. Lady is it? Why the change of name?”

 

“Long story, I prefer that name now so if you don’t mind.”

 

“Where have you been?” Sephiroth asked and Lady set her mug down sighing.

 

“Like I said, long story.”

 

“We have time. Mind telling us how our dear friend disappeared and showed up out of nowhere with a new alias?” Genesis looked at her.

 

Lady was silent, looking down and released a heavy sigh. “Fine. Seph can you just sit down? It makes me uncomfortable when you stand like that.”

 

“Humph,” he chuckled as he sat next to Angeal on his bed. “There, happy now?”

 

“Thank you. Okay, I actually don’t remember much after running away- it was all a blur really, but I guess the true story started when I got a land deal from an acquaintance I made years back for a portion of this city. And I decided to build an apartment complex on it..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry if I didn’t reply to anyone’s comment last chapter, I was tired and stayed up to write to post consecutive nights. Seeing everyone enjoy it and I’m thankful for everyone to take time out of their day to leave me a comment, it really keeps me going with this story and my sometimes dwindling motivation lol. (P.s. hope y’all enjoy the longer chapters!) xo 
> 
> P.p.s did y’all see that KH3 dlc trailer and the new FF7:R trailer, holy shIT.


	14. XIV

Lady told them the events that transpired till she reached the present, omitting a couple details but at least she told them the big picture.

 

“So this.. Organization XIII. They have your friend still?” Angeal raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, we’re planning a rescue but,” she leaned forward on her knees and massaged her temples. “I really don’t know how to go about it.”

 

“And before you offer help, I don’t want it. It would hurt me if something happened to you guys too,” she looked up at the three of them. “I already got Noctis and others fighting on my behalf and I’m sure King Regis would have my head if I got his son involved in fighting shady groups while his nation’s already at war.”

 

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. “What do I do? I just wanted to run my apartments in peace,” she moaned to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.

 

The door slid open and Reno with an irritated expression. “Hey, the blondie is out front yelling for you,” the Turk pointed at Lady and she exhaled through her nostrils in quiet frustration. “He’s been bothering other employees, mind telling him to buzz off?”

 

“How did he even- hey isn’t it your day off?” Lady frowned.

 

“He saw me and came straight for me- wouldn’t leave me alone till I agreed to find you, he’s with another blondie out front.”

 

“I’ll go, what’s the fastest way down?” She asked.

 

“The elevator, sorry there’s no windows for you to jump out from this time,” Reno smirked.

 

“Ah, What a shame,” she returned the smile. “I’ll be down shortly, don’t worry.”

 

As he was about to reply, a corridor of darkness appeared behind him and Roxas ran pat him and straight towards Lady who received him with open arms.

 

“Lady!” He turned to look at a flustered Reno who looked at the portal of oozing darkness with squinted eyes. “Sorry I couldn’t wait.”

 

Another figure stepped out of the portal, the darkness dissipating as the figure threw back their hood and she saw another set of familiar blond spikes.

 

“Demyx? What are you doing here?” Lady released Roxas and they both turned to him.

 

“Well I came to check if you were okay and Roxas here-“ his eyes narrowed at the smaller blond. “- _attacked_ me first. So we went to find you to tell you Axel’s not doing too well, I don’t know how long he can hold up.”

 

“I concur,” another voice echoed before another corridor opened and someone stepped through- throwing back their hood to reveal Xigbar’s perpetually smug face.

 

Reno groaned, “How did you make it past security.”

 

“You call _that_ security,” Xigbar retorted before turning his attention towards Roxas and Lady.

 

Roxas threw his hand to the side, a weapon made of obsidian shaped into a large key appeared in a flash of light in his open palm before aiming it at him.

 

“Calm down key boy, I’m here to help,” Xigbar sighed. “I’m not supposed to be here long and neither is water boy so we need to make this meeting quick.”

 

“And why should we trust you?”

 

Xigbar tossed a device towards Roxas and he caught it in his empty hand to observe it before the device projected a hologram of a large castle.

 

“This is..”

 

“A map of the castle. And here-“ he pointed at a room near the bottom. “Is where they’re keeping Axel. Xemnas has him encased in ice, I swear he’s slowly fading from the exhaustion.”

 

“Wait if your friend is missing maybe we can find him in the Turk database, what does he look like?” Reno piped in.

 

Lady, Demyx, Xigbar, and Roxas all pointed their fingers at the redhead.

 

“Woah, uh. Alrighty then.” Reno mumbled.

 

“It’s no good anyways, I doubt your database can find anything on Axel. He’s been considered officially missing and dead for almost a decade.”

 

“Excuse me?” Lady frowned.

 

“I’ll explain later,” Roxas reassured her. “We’re not really dead.. just- ugh, can we talk about this later?”

 

“There’s too many people in here,” she could hear Angeal mutter to Sephiroth.

 

“Interesting company she keeps,” Sephiroth replied back to him with an amused expression.

 

“We should go now, we don’t know how much longer Axel has,” Roxas pleaded.

 

Lady looked at the hologram, spinning it around with her finger while focusing on the glowing room that indicated the dungeon. She looked up at Xigbar, “Any backdoors?”

 

“One on the southeast side, heavily guarded with Nobodies. But it’s also the shortest way towards the dungeon.” He stated.

 

“Once the fighting begins, how long will it take for backup to arrive?”

 

“Couple minutes, you saw how quick we can teleport to a location.”

 

“How much energy do you need to open up a portal?”

 

“Not much to be honest,” Demyx answered this time.

 

“Any members I should particularly be wary about?” Lady crossed her legs.

 

“Xemnas, but you already know that. Lexaeus and Xaldin are the heavy hitters and pack a punch that’ll knock you on your ass. Vexen is crafty-old dude with long blond hair, defense is his game. Watch out for a boy with blue hair styled like his-“ Xigbar pointed at Genesis with his thumb. “He casts illusions that you could be trapped in for however long he wants. There’s Luxord, I don’t think he’ll be there today but he treats battles more like games but he plays fair. Marluxia, pink hair, and Larxene, blonde and likes lightning, are fast and pretty deadly, sometimes they fight together and that’s not gonna be pretty if they do. Also-“

 

“Xion.” Roxas sighed. “She’s a keyblade wielder like me, but.. I don’t think we have to worry about her.”

 

“Is that it?” Lady asked.

 

“Pretty much,” Xigbar replied. “Demyx and I are supposed to be on missions. Isn’t that right Demyx?”

 

“Yeah, but I don’t think anyone expects much of me anyways,” Demyx shrugged.

 

“It’s decided, I’ll go and get Axel and slip out of there before anyone notices.” She announced.

 

“Are we leaving now-“ Roxas jumped up from his seat.

 

“I’m going, you’re staying.”

 

“What, but it’s dangerous! You can’t go alone, what if you get caught too- plus I know the castle layout.”

 

“Better me than you because Xemnas wants _you,_ Roxas. Besides I used to do work like this before and I’ve been studying the layout since we started. I’ll be in and out, I promise.” She unfolded Saïx’s coat and slipped it on, zipping it all the way up and covering her head with the hood.

 

“How does this look? Do I look like I belong in your Organization?”

 

“Yeah.. from afar. The coat’s too big on you but I think you’ll be fine as long as you’re not too close,” Demyx tilted his head. “Is that Saïx’s? How is he?”

 

“He’ll be incapacitated for a while.” Her hand reached up to feel the hidden scars of his bites.

 

“And would you be ready for a fight?” Came Sephiroth’s voice next.

 

She nodded. “Always.”

 

“Lady. Are you sure this is a good idea? I can go with you,” Angeal asked as she adjusted her coat.

 

“I’ll be fine. Remember how I used to work?” She turned towards Roxas who had exasperation all over his face. “I’m sorry kiddo, but we can’t let Xemnas have what he wants and that’s you. Plus I’m changing plans, I’ll be deactivating the barrier for tonight only. Don’t worry about Saïx, I doubt he’ll be able to move. But I am worried about Noctis and the others..”

 

“You sure that’s a good idea? What if they attack us again like last time?” Roxas frowned, his anxiety visible on his facial expressions.

 

“They can stay with us, prince Noctis of Lucis right? He can visit under the guise of a royal visit, and bring his friends to stay here for the time being,” said Angeal.

 

“True, not even Rufus would pass up on an opportunity to dazzle the Insomnians,” Genesis gave her a half-smile. “Your friends will be safe here.”

 

“Then it’s settled! I was actually supposed to be on surveillance duty on you today but, I think I’ll turn a blind eye for a while,” Xigbar winked at her then turned towards Demyx. “Let’s go before our Superior gets suspicious.”

 

“Wha- fine! Bye, Lady!” Demyx whined.

 

“Wait,” she called out to them and they both stopped to look at her. “Thanks, Xigbar. Demyx. It means a lot.”

 

“Anytime, princess,” Xigbar saluted her as he pushed Demyx through a portal before he could even say his piece and stepped through shortly after.

 

“I still know how to open up the corridors, just tell me when you’re ready okay?” Roxas muttered. Lady nodded and he raised his hand up to conjure up one in the middle of the room.

 

“And so she leaves us again,” Genesis sighed and flipped his hair out of his face. “Will there be a day where she sits still and spends quality time with us?”

 

“Not with that attitude, it’s not goodbye yet Genesis,” she laughed. Looking towards Sephiroth and Angeal she gave them all a smile, “You guys should consider renting out a place at the Alstroemeria, the rooms are better plus we can see each other every day.”

 

“A possibility,” Sephiroth replied, amused.

 

She turned to Roxas who looked more dejected by the passing second. “I’ll be in and out and I’ll come back with Axel as well as your friend Xion. I’ll bring them back to you!”

 

“You’re my friend too,” Roxas muttered and she gave him a tight hug.

 

“I’m sorry but can you help bring Noctis and the others here too? I’m counting on you to keep them safe.” She stepped towards the portal, the darkness lashing out in cool whips against her coat then finally stepped through and the portal shrunk behind her as it enveloped her body in dark tendrils.

 

Roxas balled up his fists, staring at the ground when he heard Angeal speak. “Cheer up kid, she wasn’t always a landlady. She’ll be fine.”

 

•••

 

Lady stepped through the other end of the portal, looking up at the expansive White Castle that pierced the sky. A heart shaped moon loomed over the sky that illuminated her path as well as the bright neons that decorated multiple buildings around her. The streets were void of sound and people save for the quiet shower of rain that hit against the granite ground.

 

 _Southeast side.. but heavily guarded_.

 

Lady walked towards the south direction, pulling her hood over her face some more as she listened for any noise that could indicate enemies. Soon she heard sounds of something… _wiggling?_

 

Ducking behind a building, she stayed close to the wall as she moved to look at white creatures standing in front of a tall open doorway. The long white pathway that let towards the entrance was mostly clear of enemies except for the ones near the gate.

 

_If I could take them out silently, I can probably buy myself a little more time and the dungeon should be not too far after that._

 

Lady watched as the creatures- _What did they call them? ‘Nobodies?’_ They swayed their lanky bodies when it came to a halt, their comically oversized heads swiveling to the same direction and they all jumped into the air and slithered away in a snake-like motion.

 

 _Chance!_ She made a run for it, taking care not to land too heavily on her feet and came to a halt when she reached the entryway. Her hand reached out and felt for any magic- stepping through once she was sure it wasn’t trapped.

 

The castle was just as massive on the inside as it was on the outside, running down the corridors; her senses were on hyper alert as she stopped at every corner to make sure nothing malicious was around it’s turn. Stopping at a stairway that led down towards a room, she heard metal creaking open and the sound of footsteps running away.

 

Approaching what she assumed what she thought would the dungeon, she saw a man with long platinum blond hair sprawled on the floor- his face planted on the seamless white tile with a shield still attached to his arm.

 

“You must be.. Vexen,” Lady mumbled to herself. She readied herself in case the man stood up again. After a couple seconds of waiting, she sighed in relief. Someone had already taken care of him. Lady’s attention was brought to the gate swinging open of a now empty prison cell. The insides of the cell were coated in ice and as she stepped through the gate, the temperature dropped immediately and her breaths now came out in steady white mists. Inspecting the chains mounted on the wall, they had been broken- mildly incinerated and left soot marks on the floor.

 

She looked towards the other end of the dungeon where she heard footsteps run off too and decided to follow. A trail of soot laid footprints stopped at a crossroads of halls. Exasperated, Lady looked for any more clues for the escaped prisoner when she heard footsteps on the other side of the hall- big, ominous footsteps that had a confident rhythm to them. Definitely not the ones that sounded like someone trying to escape. Running the opposite way of that noise, she turned the corner and collided into another body. Readying her fist and coating it with ice, she brought it up to swing when the body grabbed her wrist and brought a finger up to his lips.

 

“Shh!!!” He shushed her and Lady’s fist loosened.

 

“Axel..?” She whispered back, a huge grin stretching across her mouth.

 

“Hey Lady. Came to rescue me, huh?”

 

“Yeah.. I see you took care of it yourself. We should go!” She whispered hastily, peeking back over the corner to see if anyone was down there.

 

He nodded, taking her hand and Lady almost shivered at the unusual coldness that came from him. But she couldn’t blame him, after being encased in an icy prison for a couple days- she’d be a walking ice cube too.

 

“Wait! We need to get Xion.”

 

His green eyes widened a tad. “How do you know about her?”

 

“Roxas told me everything, well- almost everything. She’s your friend too right? Let’s go rescue her and leave together.”

 

He shook his head with a small laugh, “She’s the one who helped me escape actually. I had her go first when I heard someone following us- I was surprised to see you though! I told her to meet at the Alstroemeria, I hope that’s okay.”

 

“Of course, I would love to finally have another girl around. There’s far too many men,” she grinned.

 

Axel stretched out his hand and watched as the familiar dark portal opened up for them. “Ladies first,” he motioned and she shook her head with a silent chuckle.

 

She stepped through and he followed her in shortly. Lady turned her head towards Axel as they walked, “I missed you. I was really worried about you, y’know?”

 

Axel wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer. “Yeah yeah. I can handle myself too, just needed a little help that’s all. But, I missed you too Lady.”

 

They stepped through the end of the corridor and arrived back in Lady’s room. She looked at the bed and sighed, “Looks like Roxas actually made the bed this time.”

 

“Roxas slept here?” Axel asked.

 

“Mmm only for a couple days when you were gone.”

 

“Lucky guy,” he smirked.

 

“Axel! He’s a boy, don’t be silly,” she pushed his arm playfully and Axel smiled softly at her.

 

“I.. really needed you.” His tone changed to a more serious one and he pushed her gently against a wall. “I always believed I didn’t have a heart, but ever since I met you.. can you prove me wrong?”

 

His face was close to hers, his emerald eyes boring into her as her breath hitched.

 

“Please,” he pleaded. Lady’s lips opened to reply but nothing came out, just the quickening beat of her heart threatened to betray her feelings. Her eyes were drawn to his lips as Axel moved closer to her face.

 

_Fuck it._

 

She grasped his face in her hands and his eyes widened a little when her lips crashed upon his but she was soon met with the same intensity when he brought his hands to grip around her waist and hoist her up against the wall. Picking her up with surprising strength as he pushed her against the wall to try and deepen the kiss. Taking one hand away from her, he reached up to unzip her coat and she worked with him to shrug it off- the black leather dropping onto the floor. Underneath she was still wearing Genesis’ shirt as a makeshift short dress and Axel’s hands traveled up her now bare thighs.

 

Lady shivered under his touch, not because of the lust that builded up inside her- but because of the ice cold touch that still came from his hands.

 

Axel pushed off the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist as he dropped her on the bed. The springs bouncing as she collided with the mattress and she looked to see Axel take his shirt off over his head. His body taut from years of working for the Organization and the countless fights he’s taken part of. She saw his eyes gaze over the claw marks on her thighs and he sighed.

 

“Saïx did this didn’t he?”

 

She was silent, getting up on her knees to meet Axel at the edge of the bed. Reaching up to take his face in her hands, she reached to give him a kiss on his forehead and Axel closed his eyes to relish the moment as well the awakening beat of what he assumed was his heart.

 

“Don’t worry about all that, right now it’s just me and you,” she took his hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

 

He laughed, “You really are something, you know that?”

 

“I’ve been told,” she giggled and craned her neck to kiss his lips. Axel returned her action in kind, dipping the bed as he pushed her back slowly to trap her body with his and as his hands pushed the cloth of her shirt upwards, she reached to stop him.

 

“As much fun as this is.. I don’t want you to see the scars, it’s pretty bad,” she blushed. “Can I get a rain check, babe?”

 

He smiled and gave a her a short nod, “Of course.”

 

“Wha- wait we forgot about Xion and Roxas! I need to tell everyone to come back!”

 

They’re not here?” He cocked an eyebrow.

 

“No, they’re at the new Shinra building.. I should text him.”

 

“I can handle it don’t worry, besides they’re not kids Lady.” He chuckled, “You don’t have to worry about them all the time. Get some rest, you worked hard today.”

 

“Can’t help it, I care about all of you so much. You come rest too.”

 

Lady took his hand and motioned for him to lay next to her; when he did so, she gathered him into her arms and brought his head close to her chest. Close enough to hear her steady rhythm and feel the rise and fall of her breath.

 

She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep, her fatigue sweeping over her body as her hand went lax in Axel’s.

 

•••

 

“So this is Shinra Inc., I've heard stories,” Ignis looked up at the towering building that had pipes with subtle green glow emanating from them.

 

“What kind of stories,” Roxas looked up at him.

 

“Concerning ones,” he muttered and waved away the rest of Roxas’ curiosity when he heard someone approach them.

 

“Angeal, Zack!” Roxas called out and he stopped to wave towards the group he led.

 

“This is Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, and Gladiolus. They’re Lady’s friends too,” he pointed at them respectively.

 

“Prince Noctis, welcome. Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER 1st Class- this is Zack Fair. 1st Class as well but still a little wet behind the ears,” Angeal shook the young prince’s hand.

 

“Hi there, just Noctis is fine. Is uh, is Lady going to be okay?”

 

“She’ll be fine, she’s stubborn and reckless but she has the skills the back up that sass of hers,” he huffed.

 

“Don’t worry Noct, she’s a tough cookie. It’ll be hard to break a spirit like hers,” Gladio clapped his hand on Noctis’ shoulder.

 

“Where’s Sephiroth and Genesis?” Roxas asked.

 

“They’re upstairs helping prepare the room for the prince and his entourage,” Zack answered. “You’ll be there too of course and I think I heard the Turk’s saying that the president and Hojo are going to welcome you too.”

 

“Great,” Noctis sighed.

 

“It’s not a totally wasted effort, highness. King Regis did talk of collaborations with this company for new projects,” Ignis nudged him. “Might as well save face and bear with it.”

 

“Yeah Noct, after all Lady does for us- you can do this favor for her,” Prompto whispered rather loudly to him and for everyone else to hear as well.

 

“Yeah you don’t think I know that? I just.. _hate_ meetings,” Noctis shivered.

 

“This way, your majesty,” Zack stepped aside to motion them into the building. Roxas went first but stopped when he began to feel the familiar presence of darkness and turned around. Both of his hands stretched out and curling around two keyblades that materialized into his hands.

 

“What’s wrong?” Angeal asked as he put his hand on his sword as well as the rest of the party gathering around Noctis with their weapons sheathed.

 

“Someone’s coming and they’re using a corridor of darkness,” Roxas growled.

 

As he finished his sentence, a portal appeared a couple paces from them and out stumbled a small figure with Axel’s almost frozen body leaning onto the other person.

 

“Axel!” Roxas yelled, his keyblades disappearing and he ran towards them to catch Axel as the flaming redhead fell forward into his arms. The frost still visible on his skin as Axel looked up to see Roxas and everyone else.

 

“Ro-xas,” he shivered and placed a hand over his shoulder to give him a half hug before putting his arms around him to garner what little warmth he had.

 

The smaller figure that helped him through pulled back their hood and revealed a small girl with short black hair.

 

“Xion!” Roxas grinned and grabbed onto her for a tight hug. “You guys made it!”

 

Xion hugged him back, happiness glimmering in her blue eyes. “I’m happy we’re all finally here.”

 

“Come on, you have to meet everyone. We all live in these really cool apartments, you’ve met out landlady right? She’s really nice and she already agreed to set up a place for you with us. Hey, where is she by the way? Did she go through another portal?” Roxas asked.

 

“What are you talking about,” Xion helped Axel up, looking at her friend in confusion.

 

“She.. she was supposed to rescue Axel and bring you with her..” his voice faltered. “Was she not with you?!”

 

“Roxas,” Axel coughed out. “Xion helped break me out. Lady wasn’t there.”

 

“N-no.. that’s impossible. She went to the castle by herself.” He clenched his fists. “What now..”

 

“Yes, what now I wonder?” A voice echoed in the courtyard and another hooded figure appeared in front of Roxas. With a flash of their hand, a thunder bolt sent Roxas flying back towards Noctis.

 

Taking their hood off to reveal Larxene’s sadistic grin. “I just came to confirm your location and it seems the info was correct.”

 

“Larxene.. “ Axel struggled to straighten up and she looked over to him. “What did you do with Lady?”

 

Larxene threw her hands up in the air and shrugged, “How would I know?”

 

Angeal unsheathed his buster sword and held it in front of him, “Tell us what happened to Lady.”

 

Larxene clicked her tongue, white thorns appearing in her hand and fashioned themselves into her signature yellow throwing knives. “Or _what,_ soldier boy. Are you gonna hurt a poor little girl like me?”

 

“Damn it, stop screwing around. What’s your game here!” Noctis summoned his sword and pointed it at Larxene.

 

She mocked a curtsy, “Ah, prince Noctis. So that’s what the landlady was protecting? How scandalous. Well, as much fun as this is, I should get going.”

 

“Wait! Larxene.. Xemnas wants me, right? If I go back with you.. will you guys let her go?” Roxas looked at her with scorn burning in his eyes.

 

“Roxas no!” Xion and Axel both yelled.

 

Larxene put a finger on her chin and tapped against it, “Hmm let me think..”

 

“ _No.”_ Came her reply and a cruel laugh that followed after. “Listen up, brat. Xemnas doesn’t need you anymore. Let’s just say.. he found someone equally interesting to replace you.”

 

“What-?!”

 

“Tata for now,” she summoned a portal and disappeared into the darkness. Leaving the rest of the group looking at each other in worry.

 

•••

 

A knock came at the door and a deep voice answered. “Enter, VI.”

 

A man with dusty blue hair covering half of his face entered; the other visible eye was the color of the deep ocean.

 

“Zexion.”

 

Zexion bowed his head, looking up at the silver haired man sitting in a chair near his bed.

 

“Did you enjoy yourself, Lord Xemnas?”

 

Xemnas leaned back, looking over to the bed with a small smirk forming on his lips.

 

“It was.. fascinating. Your illusions prove to be useful, I expect a repeat performance when she wakes.”

 

“The illusions can only do so much, you must also act the part so it doesn’t raise suspicions.”

 

Xemnas waved him away and Zexion disappeared back into the darkness. He sat down on the bed and reached across to push strands of her hair away from Lady’s cheek. Her face peaceful as she grasped onto Xemnas’ lingering hand. The movement waking her and her eyes fluttered open slightly; the usual hues of her eyes were dulled and swirls of dark blue filled them. She looked up at Xemnas with a soft smile.

 

“Axel,” she murmured before she brought her head up to kiss him on the lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mansex stRIKES AGAIN.


	15. XV

“As you requested, my Lord.”

 

“And this will ensure she’s under control even if you’re not present?”

 

“It is in its testing phases and it’s time limit is unknown to me, but I believe in it’s efficacy and if need be we can distribute more.”

 

Zexion handed over the syringe with dark cloudy liquid flowing around it’s glass container. Xemnas pulled her arm towards him and followed her vein with his thumb.

 

“Superior..”

 

“What is it, VI?”

 

“With all due respect, is all of this trouble worth it? For her? What does she even bring for the Organization?”

 

Xemnas’ golden eyes turned to look at Zexion, and the illusionist regretted his words almost immediately. Xemnas’s cold facade was broken as he gave a light chuckle and Zexion almost wanted to make sure that this wasn’t another illusion that he cast- the Superior?? _Laughing?_

 

“She repairs hearts and bodies, it’s a marvelous gift of hers.” He said while he moved his free hand to caress Lady’s sleeping face.

 

“What do you mean? Repairs hearts- that’s impossible for us!”

 

“I do not know what it is myself,” Xemnas talked while keeping his attention on Lady. “It’s the attraction of the most intoxicating kind. You are immediately drawn to her- her laugh, her voice. If you do not believe me then you should see for yourself.”

 

“Guise yourself as one of her friends,” he told Zexion as he inserted the syringe into her arm.

 

•••

 

Lady woke up with a jolt and she looked to her arm and at the fingers that pinched her.

 

“Ow, what’s that for?” She frowned as she swatted the finger away and Axel grinned at her.

 

“I wanted to wake you up sleepyhead,” he replied.

 

“Yeah well you didn’t have to pinch me!” She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. Her vision went blurry for a second before focusing on another figure that stood in her doorway.

 

“Noctis, what’s wrong?” She tossed her legs over the edge of the bed and dangled them.

 

Noctis looked at her with wide eyes, looking at Axel and her before clearing his throat. “I, well. Um? I wanted to see you?”

 

Lady frowned, getting up slowly and approaching Noctis till she was inches away from his face. “Something’s wrong, this is wrong.”

 

Noctis’ eyes widened and looked over to Axel whose expression turned stone cold.

 

“It’s your hair,” she sighed. “You’re a prince, y’know. You should at least brush your hair when you wake up, you’re up early though- did you game all night with Prompto again?”

 

Her hands went up to fix his hair, combing through it with fingers and making sure each strand was uniformed. “There! Much better.”

 

She plopped back on the bed and smiled at him, “So, why’re you here? Hungry? I thought Iggy usually makes you food.”

 

Axel moved to sit next to Lady and brought out a large box tied with a black ribbon. “We went out shopping and got this for you. Just a little something to say thank you to our landlady.”

 

Lady untied the ribbon, going through the gift wrapping and pulling out an ankle-length black dress with thin ribbon straps to hold it up. The back dipped lower than the front and had ribbons criss-crossing to show off the skin; at the bottom hem was a slit that went up to her knee. Inside under another layer of tissue paper was another closed off box that revealed a pair of sleek black heels that paired perfectly with the dress.

 

She gasped and looked at the two of them. “This looks expensive, you guys shouldn’t have!”

 

“Too late, we did,” Noctis gave her a nervous smile and she jumped up to give him a hug.

 

Hugging the shirt over her chest when she backed away. “You’re sweet! I can’t wait to wear this.”

 

“You should try it on now and get out of that old shirt,” Axel pointed to the long sleeve she wore and she crossed her arms.

 

“This is my friend’s shirt and I’ll have you know that he usually has great taste in fashion.”

 

Axel raised his hands up in defense, “Sorry sorry, but you should change anyways. I’ve got a date planned for you and I!”

 

“Oh? Where’re we going?”

 

He held a finger up to his lips and winked, “Secret, hurry up and change so we can get going.”

 

“Fine, be that way. I’ll be back. I want to shower too okay,” she grabbed the box of clothes and wandered over to her bathroom.

 

•••

 

Xemnas looked at Zexion who had a minor blush on his face as he combed his hair back over his eye.

 

“Did you feel it?”

 

“Yes.. a spark.”

 

“Do you understand why it is we have to keep her under a vigilant eye?”

 

“Yes. I’ll take my leave and report my findings to Vexen. Have fun on your ‘date’, Superior.” Zexion bowed his head and excused himself from the room.

 

Xemnas walked to his desk and opened a box that sat in the middle. Taking out a broken silver chain with an x shaped pendant dangling off of it with the words ‘to Lady, from Roxas’ on it. Taken from her neck on the day that he tried to gain her submission.

 

Taking the chain off, he slipped a black ribbon through it and laid it down on the desk to wait for Lady to be done.

 

•••

 

Steam rolled out of the bathroom as Lady adjusted the ribbon straps that held up the dress. Smoothing out the material over her stomach, she flipped her hair behind her shoulder and approached Axel who sat with his back turned to her. Slipping her arms around his shoulder, she ruffled his hair before getting up in front of him.

 

“Hey how does this look?” Lady modeled the dress, rotating to show off the dress and the curves that it hugged.

 

“You look beautiful,” Axel smiled up at her, his eyes going towards the shirt she still held in her hand. “Why are you still hanging onto that thing?”

 

“Because.. it’s Genesis’ shirt and I need to give it back to him.”

 

“He sounds important, should I be jealous?”

 

Lady’s face became serious, she sat next to Axel while gripping the shirt close to her.

 

“Can I be honest with you?” She whispered.

 

“Always.”

 

“I was..” she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I was part of a militant group called SOLDIER, it was a long time ago and I left that life to find a place to settle. The guy whose shirt this belongs to.. he was my friend while I was still there. Back in Midgar, him and I used to always butt heads. Two of my other friends- Sephiroth and Angeal, they would usually just sit back and watch us bicker and laugh at how silly our arguments were. It was always something so trivial.. whether I bumped into him accidentally, a stray button on his jacket, whose magic was more superior..”

 

Lady’s fists tightened on her knees as she clenched the shirt harder. “I’m sorry this is a stupid story, I shouldn’t.”

 

“No, I want to know,” Axel placed a hand on Lady’s and offered her a sympathetic smile. “Let it all out.”

 

She nodded, taking another deep breath. “Sephiroth rose to be Shinra’s poster boy of _the_ perfect 1st Class SOLDIER- Angeal and Genesis became 1st Class in no time after him. It took a while for me to rise another rank to match theirs, but..”

 

“But?”

 

“When I did become 1st Class, a scientist called Hojo called me in for something. A ‘mission of the utmost importance’ he called it. What a joke. He took me to a lab and… after that, I couldn’t remember. It’s so weird.. it’s all so hazy.”

 

Lady gripped Axel’s hands tightly. “I don’t remember much after being with Hojo in that lab.. there was something there he was working on but I can’t seem to recall what it was. What I do remember was finding myself stranded in the middle of the desert and I could see a large plume of smoke coming from the lab I was in and like a coward I just ran away because I was afraid of what could’ve happened. I left Shinra, SOLDIER, all of it.”

 

There were tears threatening to build up in her eyes. “I left Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis with  the burden of thinking I was dead for a little while. And you know what? I sometimes don’t even remember our memories together clearly but-“ she wiped at her eyes. “-it’s annoying that Shinra found me, but this way I get to see those three again and spend more time with them. I want to make up for these past years.”

 

Lady looked at Axel, “I’m so sorry I made you listen to all that.”

 

Taking his thumb, he rubbed at her still wet eyes. “You’re okay Lady. Don’t be afraid to talk to me about anything.”

 

“Thanks Ax, it felt good to get that off my chest. I don’t talk to people much about my past.. it feels good.”

 

“Here, I got something that might cheer you up,” he took out another box.

 

“If it’s another expensive gift, I might have to forego your rent this month because this is all too much.”

 

“It’s something of yours actually,” he helped her up to stand in front of the mirror in her room. Putting his hands on her shoulders to move her directly in front of him.

 

“Lift your hair up for me,” he instructed and she did so, watching as he placed the black ribbon around her neck and tying it. The silver pendant feeling cool against her collarbone as she touched it.

 

“This is Roxas’, I thought I lost it! How did you-?”

 

“I got it back from Xemnas when he wasn’t looking, the chain was broken so I had to replace it. Hope you don’t mind,” his fingers traced against her neck.

 

“No, it looks great still. I’m relieved to have it back! Thank you.” Lady dropped her hand and her tresses fell against her back.

 

He smiled at her, looking at her through the reflection in the mirror and turned her to face him. “Stay still for me, would ya?”

 

“Um okay?” Lady gave him a confused smile but obeyed. His hand reached up to move her hair to expose the back of her neck; his palm covering the skin that showed. Taking his hand away from her neck, he looked in the reflection and saw a palm sized black x with curved lines form on her neck then slowly turned into an almost translucent silver. Axel looked at his reflection and the green eyes that turned a glowing gold for a slight second before blinking and returning to it’s emerald hue.

 

Lady found herself falling forward onto Axel’s chest, her eyes feeling suddenly heavy as he lifted her back onto the bed to lay her down. Axel took the shirt out of her hands and gripped it in one hand, incinerating it into a crisp until the dust blew it away to nothing.

 

•••

 

“A meeting?” Xigbar groaned as he kicked back on the cough. “Oh whatever for?”

 

“It’s not for me to say but he requests our presence now.” Vexen scowled before disappearing into a portal.

 

Xigbar sighed, annoyed that he was bothered over something that would probably turn into boring monologue on how the Organization should focus on the collection of hearts- _yadda, yadda, yadda_.

 

Dropping himself through a portal on the couch he sat on, he soon found himself sitting on an uncomfortable yet familiar throne surrounded by others of varying heights.

 

_The room Where Nothing Gathers, he only uses this one when he wants to sound reaaaaally important._

 

Xigbar watched as the remaining members gathered one by one before Xemnas himself appeared on his throne. He leaned on his elbow and balanced his cheek on his fist, waiting for Xemnas to speak in that low baritone.

 

“So, I’m assuming you’ve all wondered why I gathered you here today,” the Superior began.

 

 _No shit._ Xigbar tapped his finger impatiently, eager to go back to slacking off.

 

“And it’s because of someone very special. I’d like to introduce her all to you as I expect most of you will want to get yourself acquainted with her.”

 

A cloud of darkness hovered right over Xemnas’ lap and it took figure as legs first appeared and shortly after a very familiar head of hair.

 

Lady’s head lolled to the side and rested on Xemnas’ shoulder with her back turned to Xigbar, but he was familiar with what she looked like at all angles from days of just surveillancing her. Her legs were stretched over Xemnas’ legs as he rested a gloved hand on her knee to pull her closer to him. The other hand moved to pull her hair to the side to expose her neck and that’s when Xigbar squinted, his teeth gritting when he saw the silver x on gracing her skin.

 

_He put the fucking recusant’s sigil on her._

 

“I’m sure this face is familiar to all of you,” he caressed her cheek. “She’ll be of great use to us in the coming days. All missions that concern the recovery of Roxas are now dismissed, you will instead focus on protecting this woman at all costs.”

 

Xigbar glanced quickly at Demyx who looked back at him nervously before their eyes returned on Lady’s doll-like trance.

 

“Lady is the key to regaining our hearts, we no longer need the ones chosen by the keyblade. Vexen, will there be a way to speed up the process?”

 

“In a few days time, we will need to study her up closely. And if our dear Zexion can manage to keep the illusions up until I do so.” Vexen grinned, his eyes trained on the Zexion’s annoyed expression.

 

“My illusions are not the problem here,” he retorted and looked to Xemnas. “She’ll be under control until you completely own her, body and mind. A few more days of that serum working inside of her will do the trick, then she will no longer have a will of her own. She’ll be ours to do what we will.”

 

Xigbar’s leather gloves squeaked as he clenched his fist under his coat.

 

“Didn’t you say it was experimental, how do you even know it’ll work?” Xigbar asked aloud and he could almost see Zexion’s hair spike up in irritation.

 

“I believe in my work, Xigbar.”

 

Xigbar shrugged and leaned back in his throne.

 

“Superior, if I’m not being too forward,” Marluxia spoke next. “Will we all get a chance to play with the toy? Or will she be yours only?”

 

Xemnas’s eyes narrowed and his grip tightened on Lady’s knees.

 

Larxene looked at Marluxia incredulously. “Pervert,” she muttered.

 

“We’re all wanting a heart, what’s the harm in sharing for a bit?”

 

“Tread carefully, XI.” Xemnas closed his eyes before opening them slowly. “Very well, you can be the first to try her gifts for yourself. You’re all dismissed.”

 

•••

 

Zexion propped up Lady on a couch in the Grey Area, kneeling down and looking up at her half-lidded eyes. The dulled color intermingled with the swirls of blue, a gift from him.

 

Xigbar entered the room, approaching the two with an aloof stride.

 

“Hey so when are you supposed to give her to flower boy?” He stood behind Lady.

 

Zexion looked up with his one eye visible. “In a few, I’m making sure the serum I gave her is working. It seems to be depleting quicker than I anticipated for some reason, it’s getting tiring keeping up the illusions.”

 

“Ah,” Xigbar hummed as he moved her hair aside to expose the back of her neck. His finger tracing the silver x that shimmered under the pale moonlight coming through the window.

 

Footsteps approached them and Xigbar’s nose filled with the intoxicating smell of flowers.

 

“Marluxia, aren’t you a lucky guy,” he looked up to the pink haired man.

 

Marluxia ignored Xigbar’s smug grin and picked up Lady’s hand, caressing it with his. “How exciting. I am curious to see what this ‘gift’ of hers is. Will she be conscious or stuck in this mannequin-like status with me?”

 

“To keep up the illusion, you have to play the part too. Fortunately for you, she did mention one of her friends that you can possibly pass off as,” Zexion replied. “Don’t do anything idiotic, the Superior wants her back by tonight so your time will be short.”

 

“Oh? Are they doing something? Going somewhere so the rest of us can’t share this gift?” Marluxia’s blue eyes glimmered with violent curiosity.

 

Zexion waved away his inquiry and motioned for him to pick up Lady. Taking her up in his arms, he walked back to his room with Zexion in tow- leaving Xigbar standing alone.

 

_‘She will no longer have a will of her own’_

 

Zexion’s words echoed in his head as he pulled up his phone, the screen flashing a picture of Lady laughing in the midst of the hologram stars in the observatory.

 

_I won’t be able to see that smile ever again._

 

“Xiggy..” Came Demyx’s voice as he appeared before him. His teal eyes wrought with worry. “This is bad. Should we-“

 

Xigbar slapped a hand across Demyx’s mouth and shook his head. “I know, kid, I know. We need to be careful and we need to move. _Fast.”_

 

Demyx looked at his phone, holding it close to his chest and looking up at Xigbar with an affirmative nod.

 

•••

 

Lady awoke to someone patting her head and she stirred, her body feeling unusually heavy. She looked up to see soft blue eyes that looked at her and she sat up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

 

“Genesis? What-“ she looked around her to see the room she was in. “Why am I in your room? I thought I was with-“

 

“Axel went and dropped you off, said he had something to prepare so he entrusted you with me.”

 

“You met Axel? What did you think?”

 

Genesis shrugged, flipping hair out of his eyes. “Not much. You look gorgeous in that dress by the way.”

 

“You think so? Is it too much? I really need to give Axel and Noctis a gift for buying this for me.”

 

He sat on the bed with her, his arm outstretched towards her. “Hey, we haven’t seen each other in a while and you’re here talking about other guys. I’m getting a bit jealous.”

 

She blushed at the present smirk on his face.

 

_Genesis is the same as expected, always wanting to be the center of attention._

 

Lady leaned into his embrace and leaned her head back on his shoulder. “I really missed you.. I always wanted to tell you that I was sorry. Sorry that I left you and Seph and Angeal. There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t miss my boys.”

 

Genesis wrapped his hand around her waist and brought her closer. “Then let’s make up for lost time.”

 

“Ugh you’re not going to pull out Loveless again are you?”

 

“No no,” he laughed. “That’s not what I had in mind.”

 

“Then.. what?”

 

He lifted her chin up with his thumb and leaned down to kiss her gently on her lips. Lady’s eyes widened and she pushed him away slightly.

 

“No, this.. this isn’t right. What if Angeal or Sephiroth come in and-“

 

“So what? If they do, let them watch.”

 

The heat in her face flared up as she was backed against the metal wall, the low electrical light illuminating his handsome face as he brought his face down to kiss her neck.

 

“Tell me,” he mumbled against her skin between kisses. “Did you like anyone of us during our time together?”

 

Lady’s breath almost stopped, closing her eyes and trying to ignore the sensation of Genesis’ lips against her neck.  

 

“I,” she stammered. “That’s an unfair question!”

 

“Undecided?” He backed away and took her hand in his to kiss the tip of her knuckles while maintaining eye contact. “I’ll have to change that.”

 

“Even if I were to decide.. that’s unfair on the other two,” she looked down, her face visibly red even under the dull light.

 

He pulled her face back up to him, a small smile on his lips. “At least let me show you how I feel.”

 

Lady gulped as his hands grazed over her leg, traveling upwards until it reached her upper thigh. Squeezing her skin while moving her neck to leave trails of kisses up to her ear. Sliding back down, he nipped at her neck and she bit back a moan.

 

“Gen..” she winced as he bit.

 

“Let it all out, I want to hear the lovely noises you make,” he whispered and his fingers drummed along her waist as he grasped at her breasts, feeling them as she squirmed under his touch.

 

Genesis let his tongue lash out and sucked on her skin, eliciting a moan from her mouth as she began to feel heat build up between her thighs. Her hands reached to touch him, feeling the hardened muscle of his abdomen beneath his SOLDIER uniform. She pulled him towards him, looking at his lips to ask for a kiss and he obliged. Running her fingers through his hair, she pushed him forward to deepen the kiss as his hands traveled down her back to squeeze her ass.

 

Lady moaned into their kiss, the sound of lust only launching him forward to be more aggressive as he lifted her onto his lap- grinding her against him.

 

Her mind raced, it was like she was in a dream. _No way any of this could be real._ And yet here she was in her arms, his lingering touches sending her body to her limit. It felt as real as it’s gonna get.

 

Moving her to sit sideways in his lap, he trailed his gloved fingers across the skin of her leg- leaving a trail of goosebumps as he stopped at her inner thigh. Squeezing as he lifted his middle finger to run against the cloth that covered her slit, a smug grin on his face when he felt the fluids that coated her panties.

 

“My my, is that all for me?” He smiled, blue eyes flashing in the dark.

 

Lady’s breath came out unsteady as he pulled aside the piece of clothing that covered her increasing heat. A long finger massaged around her labia as she gripped onto this red leather coat, Genesis smirked as he entered her with one thrust of his finger.

 

Slowly building up momentum as his thumb flicked at her clit, causing her to throw her head back as he worked his magic on her. Inserting another finger as his rhythm moved faster, twirling around her and curling his fingers that made her breath out his name in an attempt to calm herself down.

 

“Genesis-!” She moaned as he removed his hand from her, looking at the shining juices that coated his fingers before looking at her and not breaking eye contact as he stuck his tongue out to lick his fingers.

 

Lady’s blush deepened and she could only say his name like some dumbstruck animal in heat.

 

“Delicious,” he grinned. “If only it were my name you were moaning from that pretty mouth instead.”

 

She loosened his grip on his coat, confusion replacing her lust. “What do you mean..”

 

Suddenly her eyelids felt heavy and shut close, a darkness flooding over her and overtaking her body into a deep sleep.

 

•••

 

“That’s enough, Marluxia.” Zexion emerged from the darkness with his usual annoyed expression. “You nearly gave yourself away.”

 

Marluxia sighed, looking down at Lady in his arms who was passed out. His fingers still slick with proof of her lust as he brought it up to lick again, a sadistic smile forming on his lips.

 

“This is actually quite fun, I want another go,” he looked to Zexion.

 

“I’m afraid not, the Superior wants her back anyways.”

 

“Tch,” the Graceful Assassin clicked his tongue.

 

A corridor of darkness appeared and Xemnas emerged, looking at Lady who was laid in Marluxia’s arms. Quietly, he walked over to him and scooped her up.

 

“You’re far too brash, XI,” Xemnas muttered.

 

“She enjoyed it,” he shrugged as Xemnas turned away from him and stepped into his portal again.

 

“Will you let us all have our turn again soon, Superior? Or will you keep this toy for yourself?” Marluxia sneered and Xemnas disappeared without another word along with Zexion.

 

•••

 

Axel landed a square punch on Saïx’s jaw before tossing him onto the ground much to Xion’s and Roxas’ surprise.

 

“Damn it! Stop being like that! Just help us would ya?! You’re not Xemnas’ lapdog anymore!” He yelled as he picked him up to shake him.

 

“Axel, stop!” Xion held his arm back and he let go, breathing hard.

 

“It’s no use,” Gladio sighed. “He won’t budge.”

 

Axel put his arms on his head, closing his eyes and remembering the chilling feeling when he opened the door to his apartment. Blood was splattered everywhere, the curtains had been ripped, and almost every piece of furniture had claw marks or was broken. Notably, the only thing he didn’t find torn up in his room was the old picture of him and Saïx when they were still kids.

 

He turned to look at his old friend who stared back at him with his usual stoïc expression, flecks of dried blood still on his chin.

 

“Is that Lady’s blood?”

 

He didn’t respond, only maintaining his eye contact.

 

“We’re wasting time here,” Angeal crossed his arms. “You can open a portal to their base right?”

 

“Yeah, so what are we doing here when we could be there?” said Zack.

 

“It’s not that easy, the only reason Axel and I were able to escape easily was because they allowed us,” Xion answered. “They aren’t going to let her go easily.”

 

“So what, stay here and formulate a plan while they’re doing whatever the hell they want to her?” Roxas frowned.

 

“We can’t just perform a frontal assault on their territory, that’d be foolish.” Ignis sighed as he crossed his legs.

 

“Well what do you propose?” Axel said aloud. “Anybody?”

 

“Whatever it is you’re thinking of, you better act quickly,” Xigbar announced as he appeared from a portal. “You don’t have much time to sit around and be pretty, I’m afraid.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Xemnas has her under Zexion’s illusions, she thinks she’s back here in the Alstroemeria. He’s running some experiments on her and.. they’re not good.”

 

Prompto looked up, concerned. “What kind of experiments?”

 

“I’m not sure, but I think Xemnas is going to take her somewhere to perform them on her privately. He’s been.. particularly clingy to her. Always keeps her by his side or on his lap like some damn doll, it’s creepy as hell.”

 

“Where and when is she being taken?”

 

Xigbar didn’t respond, he shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “That’s all I could find out without looking too suspicious. Maybe the second-in-command over there might have an idea.” He pointed at Saïx.

 

They all turned to look at him.

 

Saïx frowned, shaking his head and Xigbar sighed loudly. “You really don’t know what’s gonna happen to Lady if you don’t comply, right?”

 

“They’re gonna use her, one by one-“

 

He walked towards the Luna Diviner.

 

“And they’re going to toss her from member to member to be used until they had their fun and she fulfilled her purpose.”

 

Xigbar was inches away from him. “Then after that? Don’t know what else will happen but we both know what happens when Xemnas gets bored with a toy.”

 

There was silence and Xigbar shook his head, “No answer huh? Fine.”

 

“Castle Oblivion,” Saïx finally spoke. “He will most likely take her there and lock her in a room where she can never see the light of day.”

 

“Shit, that place is an endless labyrinth of rooms,” Axel shook his head. “We have to go before they take here there, then she’ll rest be lost to us.”

 

Gladio leaned forward on his chair. “Well, Iggy’s right. A frontal assault on their turf is asking for death. I say we take the fight here.”

 

“Then what? The fighting will wreck this place,” Roxas scoffed.

 

“Take it to the Shinra building,” Genesis looked at them from his position against the wall. “That place is built like a fortress and we have plenty of security there. Including the finest that SOLDIER has to offer.”

 

“He’s right, the doors are reinforced for any type of attack. We can duke it out there.”

 

“Some of us can go to retrieve Lady while some help fend off the enemies, then we’ll all rendezvous at base.”

 

“It’s settled,” Roxas nodded. “I’m going then. We just need enough people to match the Organization’s members and the rest can be back up at the Shinra building.”

 

“You’ll need at least seven more people to go against them one on one. Demyx and I are excluded of course, we’ll help from the inside and make sure Xemnas stays within the castle.”

 

“Won’t that brand you guys as traitors too?” Xion looked at him.

 

“Meh,” he shrugged. “Think of it as our resignation letters from the Organization.”

 

“Okay, let’s go over the plan once more. We leave tonight!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uploaded a lot this past week, y’all don’t mind right? Sorry if it’s a bit much.
> 
> On a side note, the reaction memes and gifs you guys are linking are actually making me cackle.


	16. XVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, big FYI. The rating is now changed to M A T U R E
> 
> && this fic WILL have graphic depictions of violence and sex scenes so if that is not something you’re into I highly recommend you stop reading because we’re only going full steam ahead from here, baby.

Axel zipped up his old Organization coat over his chest, flexing the leather taut against his chest as he rolled his shoulders; linking the chain between the collar, he slipped on his gloves  and walked downstairs to meet up with the rest of the rescue team they’ve assembled.

 

Roxas was the first to volunteer, of course, and Xion volunteered herself afterwards along with Gladiolus. Angeal, Zack, Genesis, and Sephiroth readied their swords in the courtyard alongside the rest of their group. Prompto, Ignis, and Noctis took Saïx to the Shinra building to await their return- and if need be, provide the necessary backup.

 

Axel approached them, putting his hood up and looking to all of them. Roxas shrugged his coat over his shoulders, “Axel.. you sure you’re okay?”

 

“I’m fine, I can’t waste time worrying about being cold. Lady needs us, all of us.” Axel summoned his chakrams, the Eternal Flames, peering over them. He hasn’t used them in months, yet he held them with the same fluidity as the days where he used them on a daily basis.

 

“You guys might be SOLDIER, but don’t expect an easy fight from the Organization,” he said as he flexed his wrist. “Although you should be the ones to get Lady out of there first. We know how the other members fight so they’ll be easy to fend off for the most part.”

 

“And where do you think this Xemnas is keeping her?”

 

“Most likely by his side at all times and he’s almost always in the Altar of Naught at the very top of the castle- or his room that’s right below it. Probably showing Lady that stupid heart shaped moon of his. Thing’s fake anyways. You guys ready to move out?”

 

They all nodded and Axel held out his hand, conjuring up a corridor of darkness. Pulling his hood further down his face, he stepped through and the rest followed suit.

 

•••

 

Xigbar leaned against the wall of the Grey Area, his watchful eye scanning the horizon for the signal and soon he saw it- a flash of fire that quickly dissipated.

 

He opened his phone and texted Demyx to alert him. Putting his hood up, he disappeared behind a corner with his hand outstretched to let his weapon appear in his hand.

 

_Soldier boys are supposed to get Xemnas and Lady and make a quick retreat. Just gotta make their escape easy._

 

Xigbar stopped as Demyx appeared next to him, a worried look marring his face.

 

“Nervous, water boy?”

 

“I was never a good fighter,” he replied. “You really think I can do this?”

 

“Mmm, probably not,” Xigbar shrugged and Demyx’s face fell in disbelief. Laughing, he put a hand on the shoulder of the crestfallen member and shook him gently. “But I know Lady would believe in you more than anything. She needs you, so don’t mess up tonight, cool?”

 

“Cool,” He nodded, smiling.

 

“Then keep your head on your shoulders, kid. They’re about to begin.”

 

•••

 

Xemnas held Lady upright as they stared up at the remnants of Kingdom Hearts together. Lady’s head fell gently atop his shoulder and he looked down at her still face, void of any emotion.

 

“Right now you are a mere doll, but soon you will come to love the darkness.. and me.” He spoke to her as if she truly listened.

 

“Lord Xemnas, I must make sure her vitals are normal,” Zexion appeared, bowing his head.

 

“Fine, be quick. I wish to spend more time with her before I take her to Castle Oblivion,” he helped her into Zexion’s arms and watched as she disappeared into a corridor with him.

 

Zexion appeared in Xemnas’ room, laying Lady down on the bed and propping her against the wall to sit upright. He took a moment to look at her face before taking out another vial of liquid and checking the veins in her arm. His gloved thumb ran over the multiple holes that scarred the crook of her elbow and he sighed.

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. His eyes beginning to get blurry and he wiped at them, not knowing why liquid fell from them and onto the injection scars on her arm. He shut his eyes and remembered the first day he officially met her; even under an illusion, she walked up to him and ruffled his hair. His hair wasn’t ruffled like that ever since he was human-

 

“This is ridiculous,” Zexion sniffed, the syringe in his arm began to shake. How he wished to feel that again, that overwhelming sense of happy emotions that she gave him. But what he was doing, it was wrong. The syringe dropped onto the bed, the tears beginning to flood his eyes once more as he wished for a way out of this hopeless situation.

 

He called out to Lady from what he thought his heart would be and he soon felt a hand reach up to wipe the tears. He looked up to see her looking at him with those dull eyes and sad smile.

 

“Don’t.. cry, Noctis.” She whispered and Zexion cursed himself for accidentally awakening her.

 

He took her hand and pressed his face against it, relishing the small warmth that emanated from her. “I’m sorry, go back to sleep Lady.”

 

And so she did, her eyes shutting close once more as Zexion sat on the bed and pondered his head for an answer. For all of his supposed brilliance, there was naught an answer for this. If he were to let her escape it would mean his imminent death. And if he wasn’t helping Xemnas, that would also mean his death or a continued existence within a lesser being.

 

The door to the room burst open and Zexion jumped, wiping his tears and seeing two figures approach him through his blurry vision.

 

“Finally figured out that what you were doing is fucked up, huh?” Xigbar cocked his head. “Pick her up Zack and let’s go.”

 

“W-wait!” Zexion stood up and Zack looked at him apprehensively.

 

“You gonna stop us?”

 

Zexion shook his head, crossing his arms. “No..”

 

“Zexion, come with us.” Xigbar turned to him.

 

The blue haired member looked to the ground, “I-“

 

He was interrupted by a large explosion from further inside the castle and Xigbar cursed, motioning Zack to hurry up as he scooped up Lady in his arms and ran out the door. Xigbar looked behind once more. “Last chance Zexion, you comin’?”

 

For once, Zexion was speechless as Xigbar shrugged and ran after Zack. His hand stretched out to reach for them, his legs refusing to move as he wished he had the courage to run after them.

 

•••

 

“Ah, so _you’re_ Genesis,” Marluxia leaned on his scythe, smiling at the red cloaked SOLDIER before him.

 

“What of it?” Genesis readied his rapier, imbuing it with glowing red energy as glyphs appeared down the blade.

 

“I just wanted to tell you how much fun I had impersonating you.” Marluxia ran forward, flashing his scythe and blocking an attack from him. ”You should really hear how Lady can moan your name, it’s the most loveliest thing.”

 

“You’re disgusting, I’ll make you regret hurting her-!” Genesis gritted his teeth and summoned a fireball, aiming it right at Marluxia’s head as the Graceful Assassin blocked it with the end of his scythe and jumped back.

 

“I only regret she didn’t know the name of who was the one giving her that pleasure instead,” Marluxia taunted, his laugh echoing in the empty hall.

 

“Your name won’t be worth remembering,” Genesis jumped forward, his rapier aimed for the kill. “I’ll erase your existence.”

 

•••

 

Angeal fended off an attack from Lexaeus as Roxas jumped overhead and launched his keyblades at Xaldin at the same time that Xion jumped to attack him from behind. Their attacks were in synch as they fended off Xaldin’s lances while Angeal held back Lexaeus with ease- his buster sword on par with that of the Silent Hero.

Luxord attacked at Xion while her back was turned to him and she turned to make quick work of his cards with a slash of her keyblade.

 

Up above them, Larxene readied her attack- gathering lightning in her palm before striking it out. As the bolts left her hand, a sphere of water crossed paths with it causing an explosion that sprayed onto her. She scoffed, looking at the culprit and only finding Demyx’s determined face.

 

“So you’re a traitor now too? Fine, never liked you anyways,” she summoned her knives in her hand and throwing it at him with her known precision.

 

Demyx quickly ducked and summon clones of water to absorb the attack, quickly melting once they touched her element.

 

“Water against lightning, do you really think that’s a good idea?” Larxene grinned, laughing as she readied another attack.

 

•••

 

Zack and Xigbar ran down the corridors as the latter sniped at the dusks that pursued them. Zack held Lady tightly as he sprinted, “We need to get the others and leave now!”

 

As they approached the Hall of Empty Melodies where the others fought, Xigbar’s feet stopped moving and he looked down to see them encased in a heavy block of ice.

 

“Xigbar!” Zack stopped, looking over to him.

 

“No, just go! Don’t worry about me- just get her out of here!” He barked as he shot at the ice that held him still. “Come out, you old coot. I know this is your trick.”

 

Zack hesitated before running off with Lady tight in his grip and Vexen appeared out of the darkness.

 

“Should’ve known you’d be one to betray us, how expected,” Vexen sneered. “Tell me, is it because of that woman that you pretend to care so much?”

 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Xigbar replied as he broke through the ice and jumped back, combining his arrowguns into one big rifle and aiming it at Vexen.

 

Vexen blocked it off with a shield of ice as Xigbar continuously shot at the blocked off man until he began to see cracks in his defense.

 

“Damn, I won’t let you beat me,” the old scientist growled as ice formed onto a sharp point on his shield and he launched himself forward to smash it against the ground. Xigbar leaped out of the way, taking shots at any opening he saw.

 

The battle wasn’t going the way he wanted, Vexen specialized in defense whilst Xigbar was made for long distance damage. To be completely honest, his arrowguns weren’t making much dents in Vexen’s icy shields.

 

“Xigbar, duck!” Gladiolus leaped from behind, swinging his greatsword at Vexen and knocking him to the wall, rendering him unconscious for who knows how long.

 

“Zack already has Lady, get the others and let’s go,” Xigbar grunted, dusting off the remains of frost on his coat. Grabbing Gladio’s shirt and pushing him forward, they both ran into the Hall of Empty Melodies as Angeal, Roxas, and Xion fought off Lexaeus and Xaldin.

 

Xigbar looked up to see Larxene throw bolts of lighting as Demyx blocked them, waiting for his opportunity to strike at the Savage Nymph. Pillars of yellow energy cackled along with her maniacal laughter as the water clones fell at a large puddle in his feet.

 

Larxene stood back with hands on her hips, laughing uncontrollably as she held her knives against her chest.

 

“What’s so funny?” Demyx frowned.

 

“Ah, you’ve trapped yourself like an idiot.” She grinned before she thrust forward a ball of sparks that missed Demyx by a hair and instead hit the pool of water that he stood in.

 

Demyx’s teal eyes widened in horror as the sparks bolted through the water and traveled up his body, shocking and burning him as her lightning hit every nerve in his body. He let out a yelp as he fell forward, barely catching himself on his arms as smoke raised from his body.

 

Xigbar pushed Gladio ahead, “Go and get everyone to leave, I need to help Demyx!”

 

Gladio nodded, whistling loudly to get their party’s attention as he balanced his sword on his shoulder. “Let’s go!” He barked.

 

Xigbar phased onto the platform, summoning a myriad of bullets to shoot at Larxene as he helped Demyx up. “Come on water boy, you did great.”

 

The blond looked up at him, cuts on his face as he gave Xigbar his best smile without wincing too hard.

 

“And where do you think you’re going?” A deep voice tremors as rays of light shot at them.

 

“Uh-oh, this isn’t good,” Xigbar sighed, throwing Demyx’s arm over his shoulder as Xemnas appeared in front of them. His ethereal blades , humming with violent energy, readied to cut down on them when a flash of silver and black blocked off the attack.

 

“Need some help?” Sephiroth looked over his shoulder at them before pushing back Xemnas’ attack, gripping his masamune tightly.

 

“Impeccable timing, we’ve got what we came here for so let’s leave.”

 

At his words, Xemnas’ eyes turned toward the hall that Zack ran through and immediately made his way towards the fleeing soldier. Sephiroth followed, blocking off his path as they clashed with their weapons- the sounds echoing loudly in the hall and leaving sparks of raw energy crackling in the air.

 

“Sephiroth, lets go!” Angeal shouted as he waited for his friend and Sephiroth once more blocked Xemnas’ attack, jumping back and turning tail to follow with the rest of the rescue party following.

 

“You’re not leaving so soon,” Xemnas growled. “Follow them.” He commanded the remaining members behind him as they all ran to follow until a huge wall of water barricaded them in the hall, forbidding their pursuit.

 

“Demyx!” Roxas turned and looked as he raised his arm to block off the Organization members and trapped them with himself and Xigbar.

 

Demyx winced as he kept his arm steady to keep the wall of water up. “Just go! Get Lady out of here!” He yelled as the Organization members turned to attack at the two.

 

Roxas stepped back, shaking his head and focused on escaping.

 

•••

 

Axel launched his chakrams at Marluxia as Genesis jumped back to ready another attack.

 

“Axel,” Marluxia hummed. “Do you wanna hear what Xemnas did to Lady while he was guised as you? Do you think your relationship with her will stay the same after all of those things he’s done?”

 

“Fuck you, you always did get on my nerves- know that?” He scowled as he commanded flames to burst from the ground.

 

“Genesis, Axel!” Zack cried out as Marluxia looked over his shoulder at him. His blue eyes shining with cruel intentions when he saw Lady fast asleep in his arms.

 

“I should thank you for bringing me my prize,” he grinned before swinging his scythe at Zack who jumped out of the way. Marluxia brought the dull end of his scythe to sweep Zack off his feet as he fell to the ground and dropped Lady.

 

“Shit,” he cursed as he tried getting up to try and grab at Lady, but was quickly stopped by thorns that rose from the ground and blocked him off.

 

Marluxia stood over Lady, scooping her in his arms as he looked at her still face. He could take her and disappear, without anyone to bother them or share with.

 

Forming a portal behind him, he grasped her tightly against him as he moved to step towards the portal.

 

“Not so fast!” Gladio moved to swing his sword at Marluxia and the latter was forced to move backwards to avoid the attack.

 

Roxas jumped to attack him, keyblades swinging wildly as Angeal cut down above him. Scowling, Marluxia sidestepped and collided with Zack as he wrestled Lady from his arms. Before Marluxia could attack him, Angeal commanded his attention when the buster sword threatened to cut at his limb. Stumbling back, Marluxia barely missed the cut and his arm began to bleed through the torn leather. Behind him, the heads of the other Organization members ran towards them at an alarming pace.

 

“Stand back!” Axel yelled as the group stood behind him as he summoned a large wall of fire that burned fiercely, the tips of the flames licking at the ceiling. “Roxas, opens up a corridor already!”

 

Nodding, Roxas did so and made sure everyone else ran through first before he grabbed Axel and pushed him through the portal with him- the darkness closing off as they all escaped.

 

•••

 

“We made it,” Zack sighed, running out of the portal with Lady in his arms. The group took their moment of respite, some more worn out than others from the arduous battles.

 

“No time to rest, we have to get inside the building,” Gladio clapped his shoulder. “Want me to carry her?”

 

“I got it, don’t worry,” he shook his head and gave his usually cheery smile.

 

Ignis, Prompto, and Noctis ran out of the building. Ignis approached them with a first aid kit ready in hand as Zack slowed down to meet him.

 

“Is she alright?” Ignis looked her over and Sephiroth stepped forward to take her arm and pressed his two fingers against her wrist.

 

“It’s a steady pulse,” he observed, his mako eyes squinting when he saw the injection marks on her arm. “They’ve drugged her.”

 

“Will she be okay?” Prompto peeked at her arm.

 

“After a few days rest and running a few tests, she’ll be fine.”

 

“Xigbar and Demyx, are they-“ Ignis started.

 

“We don’t know,” Axel answered. “They.. they blocked the members from following us so we could escape.”

 

Even though their truce was short-lived, the group felt a pang of regret for the duo. A sliver of hope embedded in their hearts that they were actually still alive.

 

“Come on, we need to get inside.” Ignis sighed as he walked in the building with Prompto and Noctis in tow. The rest followed suit until their way inside was blocked by a barrage of black and white thorns that scrambled to block the doors and their attention turned to the sounds behind them. Watching as Xemnas appeared along with every remaining member of Organization XIII sans Demyx and Xigbar.

 

“You have something of mine,” Xemnas pointed at the limp body laying in Zack’s arms.

 

“She isn’t yours!” Roxas yelled, throwing a protective arm across Zack.

 

“Zexion, do it.”

 

Zexion stepped forward, he looked at Xemnas who looked at him with a piercing glare and shakily lifted a hand towards Lady’s direction. The body shifted slightly against Zack, her eyes opening slowly as she squirmed- pushing against Zack’s chest as she struggled to stand on her feet.

 

“Lady..?” Zack muttered and she didn’t respond. Only walking and pushing past them gently as she made her way across the large round plaza towards Xemnas.

 

“Wait, Lady!” Roxas grabbed at her hand, stopping her momentarily. “What.. what are you doing??”

 

Her head turned to look at what was grabbing her hand and she only gave the boy a blank look with no sign of recognition in her eyes.

 

“Lady..” Roxas felt tears of frustration build up in his eyes. “Snap out of it!!” He shook her arm, yelling.

 

“I told you already, she’s mine.”

 

“No!” Roxas shouted as he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her back from moving any further. Axel ran forward to hold onto her arms while Genesis and Angeal took defensive stances in front of her.

 

“We won’t let you take her,” Genesis frowned, readying his weapon. “We’ll fight you until you get it through your head.”

 

“It won’t be me you have to worry about fighting.” Xemnas nodded at Zexion and the blue haired boy hesitated. “Do it. _Now.”_

 

“Ye-yes.. Superior..” he mumbled as he raised his arm again.

 

•••

 

Lady woke up in a daze, her body being held tightly as she slowly came to. Her surroundings slowly coming into view as she recognized it as the Shinra building.

 

_Why.. why have I been so tired lately?_

 

Her thoughts came to a stop when she looked down to see black coated arms wrapped around her waist and arms. She looked back and saw those familiar and despicable golden eyes framed by white hair; the arms wrapped around her waist belonged to another that bore the coat of the Organization. She gritted her teeth as she struggled, the grip around her arms tightening.

 

“Let go of me, Xemnas,” she growled.

 

“..Xemnas?” He answered in a confused tone.

 

“I said. Let. _GO._ ” She yelled as she held a free hand towards the sky, channeling bolts of lightning to strike at those around her and hitting some of them.

 

“What the hell-“ one of them yelled as blocked her attack. “Lady, stop!”

 

“Like hell I would,” she readied her fists as she looked at the eight Organization XIII members that surrounded her- expecting a fight.

 

“Lady!” She heard someone call and she turned to see Axel and Genesis along with Noctis standing across the large Shinra courtyard.

 

“Stay right there, I’ll come to you!” She shouted as she turned to face the Organization. Her head rang and she held up a hand to her head, flinching.

 

“Lady, please,” Xemnas stepped forward and she stepped backwards, watching them approach her slowly with unusually pleading looks in their eyes. “We don’t want to fight you, just stop this!”

 

Her head rang again and she flinched, shaking it away.  

 

One of them spoke, “She’s under an illusion, we will be forced to fight her if we continue this.”

 

“An illusion..?” She frowned.

 

“Forget them, let's go home!” Axel called behind her.

 

A member with long pink hair attempted to reach for her hand and she pulled it away, glaring at him. “Don’t touch me.”

 

Backing away, Lady walked towards Axel as he held his hand open to her.

 

•••

 

Xigbar limped through the portal with Demyx, both of them collapsing on the roof as they fell forward on their arms.

 

“You okay Xiggy?”

 

“I’m fine,” he groaned out, nursing a cut on his shoulder. It was purely by luck that they managed to evade and escape. _Call it Lady Luck._ He chuckled to himself.

 

“Look!” Demyx pointed down below to see Lady standing in the middle of the Organization and her friends. And the fact that she was taking steps towards Xemnas’ outstretched hand.

 

“Shit,” Xigbar summoned his guns, combining the two and watching as it changed into a large rifle with a scope. He looked through the scope and aimed it over Zexion’s outstretched hand- lingering to watch as his hand trembled before traveling up his arm and aiming it at his head. Xigbar watched as Zexion’s face grew more anxious with the more steps Lady took towards them.

 

His finger lightly pressed against the trigger as he watched Zexion’s actions.

 

•••

 

Zexion’s hands were now trembling terribly and Xemnas looked at him with dissatisfaction in his eyes.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“This.. is wrong,” Zexion whispered, watching the exasperated expressions on her friend’s faces.

 

“What was that, VI?”

 

“Do you really want to find out what it would be like to live the rest of your existence as a dusk?” Xemnas growled.

 

Zexion closed his eyes, remembering the genuine smile that Lady once gave him- albeit it was under a disguise. But, he would want to see that again. This time, a real one and not fabricated.

 

He lowered his arm and turned to Xemnas.

 

“I said.. this is wrong-“ his words were cut short as Xemnas’ hand gripped his neck and lifted him up.

 

“It seems you fail me as well.”

 

Zexion struggled against his grip, looking towards Lady’s expressionless face; lifting his arm he choked out his words. “Wa-ke.. up!”

 

•••

 

Xigbar fired his rifle at Xemnas’ hand and he dropped Zexion who held his throat, coughing.

 

Lady’s dull eyes soon returned to their original shine and the illusion around her shattered like glass from a foggy mirror. She watched as Axel’s visage turned into that of Xemnas’; Genesis’ image reverted back to Marluxia and Noctis, who was on the ground, turned into Zexion.

 

She turned around and saw as the Organization member’s slowly turned back into people she knew. Her friends.

 

Xemnas who was on the ground, holding his shoulder, turned into Axel. Roxas sat next to Xion, lightning still coursing through his arms as well as Angeal and Genesis who stood next to Sephiroth and Gladio.

 

“What.. what’s going on?” She mumbled to herself. Looking back and forth, her mind racing as she turned towards Xemnas, the real Xemnas. “What did you _do?”_

 

“You were under an illusion! Xemnas tricked you into thinking they were us so you could trust us!” Zexion yelled, loud and clear for everyone within the vicinity to hear.

 

_So that means.._ her eyes widened as she remembered Axel and Genesis’ face turn back into Xemnas and Marluxia. _Those two.._

 

Lady felt like throwing up. The wave of emotions that overtook her threatened to wash her away in a sea of rage and disgust. She wanted to burn away at the skin they touched under the guise of people she trusted and she felt a burning sensation when she realized she confided her feelings towards complete strangers that _used_ her.

 

Her head began to spin, how could she be so naïve?

 

“You always have to ruin the fun, don’t you Zexion,” Marluxia sighed.

 

Xemnas stretched his hand towards Lady. “That may have been a ruse but your pain didn’t go unnoticed.”

 

Lady’s fist trembled- whether it was rage, fear, despair, or simply confusion. She didn’t know what it was just yet.

 

“You’ll find that I know you almost as well as you know yourself,” he continued. “We are kindred spirits. I can understand your loneliness when no one else can.”

 

Lady looked behind her at her friends and their injured state, raising her hand and placing a barrier that surrounded around her- trapping her in with the Organization members.

 

“You made me.. tell you things. Things I would only tell people I trusted and feelings that were reserved for the special people in my life.”

 

Larxene scoffed, “Are you planning to fight us? With your barrier up and powering you down? You wouldn’t last a second against all of us. You don’t even have a weapon!”

 

“I am the weapon,” Lady’s eyes honed in on Larxene’s, a violent rage building up inside her.

 

Genesis banged on the barrier, the translucent hexagons shimmering at the impact. “Don’t be foolish! You can’t face them all by yourself! Let us help!”

 

Lady turned to them with sadness welling up in her eyes, “I’ve put you all through enough trouble already.. This is my fight.”

 

Turning back towards Xemnas, her eyes gained a coldness he hasn’t seen before. “If you know me so well, then tell me the reason why you think I moved to this town.”

 

When he didn’t answer, she spoke again. “The mako runs strong in this town.. SOLDIER’s thrive in its energy and this-“ She motioned to the Shinra building around her. “-I couldn’t ask for a more perfect battleground.”

 

“I usually don’t let my emotions push me to fight..” she spoke as she held her hand atop her head. The very foundation of the building began to shake, the pipes beginning to creak and groan as they broke off from the sides of the building and erupted through cracks in the ground. The green light of mako leaking onto the ground and they watched as it rushed towards Lady, enveloping her in it’s light; her body teeming with raw energy as her eyes began to flash a brilliant glow. Clapping her hands together, she slowly opened them as a luminescent sword made of calcified mako began to form and she gripped it’s handle; flourishing it and pointing it directly at Xemnas.

 

“But you’ve really pissed me off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I’m on vacation so I’ll try to work on the next chapter ASAP buuuut we will see so yeah. It’s hard to explain to my family what kind of stuff I’m typing so furiously into my phone lmaooo.


	17. XVII

Reno looked overhead at the flickering lights of the meeting room, playing with the tips of his fiery red spikes. Eyes glazing over slowly at the mundanity of the regularly scheduled meeting the Turks had with the chairman along with any businessmen Rufus has the displeasure of dealing with. Always something about security detail here, a concerning amount of mako-infused monsters there, never truly exciting. The room began to dim once more then the lights completely went out, coating the room in darkness.

 

“Weird,” he muttered as he leaned back into the wall to look at Tseng who looked calm as usual, his pale face unbothered at the lack of illumination.

 

“Power outage?” Elena whispered, tucking her short blonde hair behind her ears.

 

“Can’t be. Mako’s supposed to keep this place up and running even if there’s a power outage in the whole city. Somethings wrong.”

 

“Sir!” A foot soldier, not even one from 3rd Class, burst through the doors of the meeting room, the inhabitants looking at him. Especially Rufus who’s eyes closed as he sighed. “Why is there no light?” He peered over to the soldier with annoyance.

 

“There’s.. there’s something you have to see! We’re being attacked!”

 

“Is it those same guys from before?” Reno asked the soldier.

 

“N-o!! Come look!” He yelled, the oversized helmet falling over his face as he ran towards the large window that overlooked the courtyard down below.

 

Rufus looked down to see the building’s mako energy pour from the pipes that distributed them around the building and burst forth like an ocean’s wave towards a figure donning a long black dress.

 

“Lady.” He murmured.

 

“Sir, should we interfere?” Tseng stood next to him, sharp eyes observing the amount of people down below.

 

“No,” came a commanding voice from the doorway. Rufus turned to greet the scientist.

 

“Hojo, are you insisting we just let this occur?”

 

“That’s precisely what I’m insisting,” the aged scientist laughed to himself. “She has a barrier up around her and her enemies anyways.”

 

Hojo stood in front of the window, hands clasped behind his back as he observed. “Not even Sephiroth could break through her barrier. Let us watch.”

 

Reno looked at Elena with confusion and she shrugged.

 

“Come Rufus, and watch with me. Let me show you just why we followed her all the way to this town.”

 

•••

 

Lady twirled the blade in hand, feeling the particles of mako begin to course through her veins and even the very air she breathed felt different; her senses heightened so much so that she could see a bead of sweat on Zexion’s paled face.

 

“Zexion, fight with us,” Vexen called to his old associate and Zexion shook his head.

 

“I won’t-! Not for you!” His dusty blue hair moved as he shook his head vehemently.

 

“Then you’re useless to us,” Xemnas raised his hand, a glowing red light shooting out of his palm and aimed it at Zexion’s head. He only watched with widened eyes on the verge of tears as the red blades flashed in his blue eyes.

 

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind knocked back his blow-blocking Xemnas’ ethereal blades and sent Zexion flying towards Lady who grabbed him by the scruff of his coat. Jumping back, she opened a hole in her barrier and tossed him out of the fighting ring. Zexion landed with a grunt, catching himself with his hands and knees as he turned towards her.

 

He looked up at her as she only gave him a single look over her shoulder with her glowing eyes leering at him. Closing the barrier once more, she counted the amount of people she faced. Counting seven, she looked to them- inspecting the edge of her sword.

 

Vexen growled, his green eyes flashing as Lexaeus readied his huge blade to strike. All of their weapons flashing in their hands as Lady took hold of the fabric on the slit of her dress and ripping it apart until the slit reached her upper thigh, she turned her attention back towards them holding onto her sword in front of her. They all looked at her apprehensively, not sure what move to make next.

 

“Seems our numbers have been cut in half,” Marluxia sighed.

 

“You’re called Organization XIII yet you had fourteen members originally, no?” Lady twirled her sword with a flick of her wrist.

 

“An unfortunate turn of events, but we will regain our numbers soon.” Xemnas said.

 

“Just seems like you can’t count, either accommodate properly or go through a rebranding.” Lady polished the side of her sword on her forearm, looking up at him. “Well?”

 

Silence.

 

“Fine, if you don’t want to hurry up.. allow me!” Lady closed her fist, a surge of energy going through her arm and gathering up in her palm as she summoned the lingering mako from the cracked ground to gather overhead in a large ball of energy that crystallized into stalagmites that showered on them, giving them no choice but to scatter. Larxene narrowly dodged the projectiles, the edge of it cutting her cheek as she reached up to feel the blood beginning to drip down her cheeks. Cursing, she conjured balls of electricity that launched towards Lady leaving yellow sparks in its wake.

 

Lady swung her sword, waves of energy breaking through Larxene’s attack and hitting her. Before she could rush to finish her off, Lexaeus swung his sword and blocked her off from making the kill. Jumping back, Lady fended off his swings when a spear came flying at her which she dodged- scowling when she saw the person who threw it at her was charging straight at her. But Lexaeus wouldn’t have himself forgotten as he swung his sword at her and she blocked it with hers, holding the blade sideways with both hands. The ground began to break under her with the immense pressure that he was applying.

 

Lady scowled when she heard someone else approach from behind, tilting her blade at an angle; she pressed the blade to snap to hold off the great sword and send the other shard flying with a powerful thrust at the one behind her. When the edge of the mako sword was blocked by Xaldin, the one who commanded the projectiles. Lady closed her fist and opened it, watching as the mako sword dissolved back into energy and turn into bolts that flew towards him, piercing through his long black locks and slicing away at his coat.

 

Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer, followed up his attack with a large pillar of lances that aimed for her. Breaking the ground as she dodged them, some of them being blocked with her sword as she summoned gusts of wind to knock most of them down. Taking one of the lances, she threw it and watched as Xaldin was pinned to the barrier with one of his lances piercing his shoulder.

 

Turning back to Lexaeus, she pushed him off only for him to launch his sword back at her. This time she caught the blade between her hands, stopping it inches away from her shoulders as she was slowly being brought to her knees by his strength. The ground began to rumble underneath her as a pillar of rock pushed her upward and she backflipped off just as Lexaeus crushed it with one blow.

 

Running towards him, she ducked as he swung his sword and she brought her fist- coated in ice- to punch him in his rib and brought her leg to knee him in his stomach. He staggered back as she twisted around, taking his arm and twisting the sword out of his hand then used her leg to throw off his balance as she threw him to the ground with his sword now in her hand. Gripping it, she brought it over her head and struck the ground- sending the earth crumbling as the path of destruction was headed straight for the disoriented man. But before it could even reach him, a shield of ice broke off the attack and Lady clicked her tongue, annoyed.

 

Behind the shield of ice, Vexen poked his head out with his green eyes narrowing at her. Without waiting for her to react, the ice he used to defend himself went flying towards her and Lady raised her hand- blocking it off with flames as the ice dissolved into water that splashed onto her feet. Lady looked up at the blond man with a devilish smirk on her face. Sending the sword flying at him, he raised a large wall of ice to catch it. Vexen scowled as he turned to escape but his eyes widened when inches away from his nose was Lady’s fist that came closing in. The punch sent him back as he landed on his back and she approached him with murderous intent glinting in her eyes.

 

“Get up and fight,” she growled in a low voice as she clapped her hands together and brandished another mako sword.

 

Vexen struggled to get up as pathways of frosty spears traveled towards her and she jumped out of the way, her light footwork making it seem as she was gliding over the ground until she landed directly in front of him. Her smile being the one sending chills down his spine instead of the icy masses that surrounded them.

 

“Too cold for you?” She whispered to him as he felt fear manifest in his chest- a feeling he didn’t feel unless the eyes of Xemnas was upon him.

 

Lady stood up, sidestepping as Larxene threw a knife at her. The air whizzing past and crackling with electricity as thorns arose from a portal of darkness at her feet and grabbed at her ankles. Marluxia appeared behind her in a shower of petals as his hand snaked around her waist.

 

“Hello beautiful,” he chuckled in her ear as he spoke words of unknown origin to her. The language sounding forbidden and forgotten as dark thorns wrapped around her legs and arms, piercing her arms as it pricked at her skin until blood formed. “That color of red looks ravishing on you.”

 

Lady scowled, twisting her body until her sword clashed with his scythe; she winced as the thorns began to wrap around her waist and tighten the more she moved her body. “Be mine and I’ll make it go away,” he assured her, his voice like velvet despite the pain he inflicted on her. “We can spend countless nights like that one we spent together, just you and I for eternity. How does that sound?”

 

The thorns grasped around her tighter as she looked down to see cards aimed at her legs, cutting past as it dissipated into the air. She gasped and pushed back Marluxia as another man with shortly cropped hair and clear blue eyes appeared next to her- sending a barrage of playing cards that cut at her arms as she blocked it.

 

“Terribly sorry for that, but I’m afraid I’ll have to fight you too,” Luxord said as he summoned his cards once more. The sleek blue and white card bearing the Organization symbol on it flipping smoothly between his fingers. “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t want to if I was given a choice.”

 

“What a gentleman,” Lady scoffed as she sliced at the cards that came at her.

 

“Luxord, slow her down!” Vexen yelled as a shadow of a card slid under her feet that slowed her down and she watched in shock as the card absorbed the mako that emanated from her body. Before she could try and run, her feet were planted in the ground by a round of ice holding her still. Her arms moved to try and hack at the ice until the dark thorns slithered around her body; when she struggled it only made the thorns pierce her body even more. Balls of lightning surrounded her as well as a ring of rotating spears and floating gravel that was ready to strike at her.

 

Black and white thorns curled from the ground, up her body and forced her arms up to cross over her head as the thorns intertwined tightly around her wrist.

 

“Lady!” She heard someone behind her scream as fists pounded on the barrier, making a dull sound as voices called her.

 

Xemnas appeared in front of her, his hands behind his back and that pretentious look on his face. “Did you really think you could take all of us on?”

 

She gave him a sickly sweet smile, “I’ve taken on worse.”

 

He reached out, a gloved hand stroking her face and she pulled it away while keeping her glare fixated on him.

 

“It’s not too late to give in to me. I’ll show you how much pleasure you can receive from the darkness.”

 

“I’d rather pierce my tongue with rusted barbed wire.” She quipped.

 

“Some of us gathered here today posses no heart. Yet you would freely offer your light to a select few when others crave a heart too? Would you leave us to suffer in the darkness alone?”

 

“Xemnas..” she muttered, shaking her head. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

 

He wrapped his hand around her neck, feeling against the x shaped mark on her skin. “As long as you’re marked, I will always be able to find you and you will be mine.”

 

“I will never be truly yours,” she hissed as she struggled against her restraints.

 

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Then I will break you over and over again until you’re on your knees begging for me to stop.”

 

Xemnas stepped back until he aligned with the other members. His hand raising as beams of light formed a dome around her, humming in the air. Lady took a deep breath and maintained eye contact even as began to feel the sharp cuts of the weapons the Organization pierce and cut her body.

 

•••

 

“Lady!!” Zack yelled, turning to Sephiroth. “Can’t you break through this thing? We need to help her!”

 

The silver haired man shook his head, “Even if I wanted to, it would take me a while.” He answered in a dejected tone, his shoulders heavy with possible loss.

 

“But we have to try! We can’t just leave her there!”

 

“We told you Zack, her specialty is her magic,” Angeal muttered, his fist tightening as he watched the projectiles hit Lady’s body. Electricity, ice, and darkness forming a large shadowed dome that concealed her body from their sight. But her screams were enough to notify them of the damage being done to her. The floating lances constantly went in and out, blood dripping on them every time they exited the dome- only for it to go back in for a fresh coat of blood to cover its blade.

 

Axel looked away, not wishing to see the moment that the dome would dissipate and Lady’s body would fall to the ground. Xion held Roxas’ hand as he watched with wide eyes, she heard him whisper to himself that this was all just an illusion.

 

Gladio shut his eyes, cursing himself as he recalled the events leading up to his moment and just how useless he was that he couldn’t protect her.

 

Up above, Hojo and Rufus watched. The old scientist looking down the bridge of his nose, tapping his finger against his other hand as they were held clasped behind his back.

 

“Is that it? How disappointing.”

 

•••

 

Lady’s body fell through the darkness, her eyes were closed yet she could see a faint green glow on the horizon. Through the thick darkness, a path of stars illuminated a way for her towards the light.

 

_Was this it? Was this the end?_

 

She looked around her at the opaque cloak of night that covered the rest of her environment. She shivered, hands moving up and down her arms to try and stave off the cold. Lady had no choice but to walk amongst the path of stars towards the weak light. Her body feeling lighter as she approached it, feeling a slight warmth from the glow as her hand reached to touch it.

 

**“Is that it then?”**

 

A voice echoed in her mind and she retracted her fingers, looking around her to pinpoint the owner of the voice.

 

**“Is that all you have in you? Pathetic.”**

 

Lady frowned, “That voice..”

 

**“Do you not remember me?”**

 

“No..”

 

**“... Shall I make you remember?”**

 

“Am I dead?” Lady asked, ignoring the entity’s question.

 

“ **Your body is failing in battle. Soon your existence will be finished.”**

 

“Then I can’t waste time talking to whoever you are. I need to wake back up and fight.”

 

**“I can give you power to help you. Like I did long ago.”**

 

“What?”

 

The green light began to glow brighter in front of her and hovered before flying directly into her chest.

 

**“Come. And prove yourself a worthy vessel to make them tremble.”**

 

**•••**

 

They all watched as the attacks stopped, the dome of darkness still covering what was inside but everyone had a good idea of what it looked like- and it was an image they didn’t wish to see.

 

The Organization members relinquished their group attack, some panting at the amount of energy they expended for it.

 

As the dome began to dissipate, they heard a creak and groan come from the buildings and ground around them. They all looked incredulously as more pipes burst forth and jets of mako burst forth into the air, shaking the foundation violently as the planet’s energy hovered in the air for a while before zooming into the dark dome. Sigils then surrounded the floor around it, hovering inches over the broken floor as they glowed brightly and was connected by a large hexagon with symbols from ancient and far away civilizations.

 

“Finally,” Hojo smiled, licking his lips in anticipation. Rufus looked at the scientist and back at the battleground below, not sure what he was about to spectate. 

 

A large column of multi-colored flares then burst forth that struck the barrier above them, breaking through it and piercing the sky; dark clouds forming around the pillar of magic as if it was a maelstrom.

 

The dome dissipated and smoke rose from the broken ground as everyone saw a green glow emerge from inside the continuous pillar of fire. A large oval shaped sphere covered Lady’s body, they watched as the mako made a cracking noise as the sphere began to separate at the front of her. The mako stretching and unfurling until it formed a large set of ethereal green wings that shimmered under the flames of her magic.

 

The expansive wings covered Lady’s body and with one gust of air that was exhumed by them, the pillar of flame around her was extinguished.

 

Lady’s eyes trained in on the standing Organization members, her eyes now glowing a brilliant purple as her wings rose high into the sky.

 

Xemnas watched as the wounds covering her body emitted a soft green light and quickly closed up, leaving naked spaces in the tattered black dress. He could only stand to observe silently as a set of smaller wings unfurled on the bottom of the larger ones, fluttering against the remnants of wind that rushed about her.

 

They backed away from her as Lexaeus dug his sword into the broken gravel, lifting it up with a hand and flinging it at her.

 

“Lady, watch out!” Zack yelled as her eyes snapped towards the boulder flying towards her. As it approached her- she raised her fist up, backhanding the incoming hit and Lexaeus watched as the boulder was crushed on impact. Lady stood unphased, her fist still raised in a defensive stance with nary a scratch.

 

“Got some more tricks up your sleeve? We do too!” Larxene created a cage of lighting around her as clones of herself appeared up above her. Lady’s wings unfurled and immediately flew up to her as Larxene tried to back away with her knives aimed at her. Lady grabbed onto Larxene’s slender throat, purple hued electricity flowing from her arm and shocking the Savage Nymph- her clones fading away. Arching her arm, Lady flung Larxene’s limp body and watched as it collided with Marluxia; sending them both flying back into the ground.

 

 **“Enough games,”** Lady’s eyes looked to the sky, her arm stretching out as she summoned a ball of plasma that drew the remaining members in towards the middle. The gravity of the black hole that formed was inescapable, their resistance futile as it drew them in towards its mass. Looking down at them, her wings keeping her afloat with slow flutters; she raised an arm towards the sky with her index finger tracing a circle up above her. Down below the same shape was mirrored as the glowing sigils appeared again, encasing the Organization in her arcane snare.

 

Lowering her arm, she exhaled through her breath coming out in a whitish mist. The geometric shapes began to rotate at an alarming speed and a multi-colored flame burst forth from both sigils, trapping them in the middle as the rising flames concealed their bodies. She heard their cries rip through the flames and her head began to throb; eyes glazing over as she watched the destruction that threatened to consume them. Her eyes snapped to life and she ceased fire, landing softly on the ground when the smoke began to dissipate.

 

The Organization members fell to their arms and knees, their faces scratched with gravel and soot, the fresh flames still lingering over their black coats as Lady walked past each one without a second look and headed straight towards Xemnas. His usually pristine silver hair was singed slightly and his proud stance was reduced to one of defeat.

 

Lady summoned a sword in her hand as she used the edge of the blade to lift up his chin to have him look at her and the glowing amethyst hued embers that burned in her eyes.

 

Raising the sword above her, she aimed it directly at an angle for his carotid arter; bringing it down with a strike meant to dismember, she felt time slow down momentarily. Her eyes gazed at him and for a moment his skin turned a lighter color, hair turned brown- slightly shorter than the length he had now and his amber eyes turned to a lovely shade of blue. Blinking again, the vision went away and she continued her attack.

 

**_See? You were meant for destruction._ **

 

The voice shook her as she stopped herself just millimeters from Xemnas’ head. She looked around to the defeated members, the pain visible on their sullen faces.

 

Lady pulled the blade back to let it dissipate back into the ground, shaking her head as she stepped back.

 

“Leave.” She said.

 

“What?! After all this you’re just gonna let us walk away?” Larxene scoffed.

 

“Would you rather let me continue? Get out of my sight-“ Lady announced to them. “-and if you ever cause harm to me or to anyone I care about, I’ll gladly incinerate your existence to ash and finish what I’ve started.”

 

Marluxia raised an eyebrow, amused. “Fascinating choice.”

 

Deactivating the barrier that surround them, Lady watched as they traded looks before opening up their corridors of darkness.

 

“Lord Xemnas, let’s take our leave,” Vexen muttered before getting up and summoning a portal for his leader.

 

Xemnas stood up slowly, his shoulders squared despite his somber face. “Why.”

 

Lady placed a hand over where his heart would’ve been, shaking her head. “You’ll have to find other means to get a heart and for your sake.. I hope you obtain it- everyone deserves a chance at a happy ending.”

 

She pushed him gently back towards the darkness, her fingertips lingering over his chest, “Goodbye, Xemnas.” Watching as the dark curled over his body, enveloping him and soon disappearing within; his deep amber eyes lingering on her and for a moment she swore she saw despair in them. One by one, they followed his example and left. Lady stood amidst the cracked ground and broken pipes, looking up as the sun’s rays broke though the dark clouds and shone on her wings- the mako slowly disappearing from her body and fell in a hazy green shimmer around her.

 

“Lady!” Roxas yelled as he ran towards her, his arms hugging her waist tightly as she patted his head. Taking his hand, she walked towards her friends with a smile on her fatigued face- her eyes returning back to their original hue.

 

“Let’s go home,” she says, her attention turning towards Zexion who was still on the ground with wide eyes looking up at her.

 

“That includes you too, if you want,” she ruffled his head and offered him a hand to help him up which he took gratefully, standing up on his feet with an almost puppy like expression on his young tear stained face. Lady reached to wipe his tears with her thumb, fixing his hair and giving him a warm smile.

 

Zexion shook his head. “Thank you.”

 

“Come on then,” she turned her back towards the group as they followed her as she walked away from the Shinra building.

 

Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis exited the building to a waiting Gladio and followed with a grumpy looking Saïx behind them with his arms bound. Xigbar and Demyx sighed in relief, conjuring a portal to appear next to a surprised Xion and Axel. As they materialized, the two smiled and walked next to them.

 

Angeal shook his head as he stood next to Sephiroth and Genesis. “Reckless as always,” he laughed to himself as his friends nodded in agreement, amused smiles on their faces. Zack grabbed onto his mentor’s arm, “Let’s escort her back!”

 

Lady stopped walking.

 

**How long do you think I’ll let you continue to ignore me?**

 

Her vision blurred and she began to see double of everything, catching herself with a foot as her body started to lack balance. Her temperature began to reach a fever pitch with the waves of delayed exhaustion finally being released within as her head throbbed painfully. She fell forward, her world being erased to black as she heard the echoes of her name being called in the distance.

 

•••

 

Hojo stood back, a maniacal grin on his face.

 

“And there we have it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by Professor Hojo.
> 
> Also, I’m in Canada rn and I hope to the gods that this posts properly omg.


	18. XVIII

_Darkness. And.. green light refracted off the water._

 

_Pr—j-ct —E—N rea-dy._

 

_Proceed…?_

 

_“Vitals are normal.. this should be good.”_

 

_A purple light flashed and the scene went dark once more._

 

_•••_

 

Lady woke with a start, a fresh coat of sweat forming on her forehead as she squinted at the dim room she laid in. The windows were blocked off by curtains and let in a fracture of sunlight that entered the room in slips of warm lines. Her eyes scanned the room, the realization soon hit her that it was her own back at the Alstroemeria.

 

She got up slowly, her body aching horribly as she pushed herself up- stopping when sharp cold objects touched the side of her hand. Looking down, she was surprised to see a neat line of colorful seashells of varying sizes arranged on the side of her pillow. Each one unique and shaped differently, taking a large blue conch with pink and yellow swirls on it; she held it up to her ear and closed her eyes to listen. The ocean- actually more like the blood rushing through her ear that echoed back to her- but she liked to pretend it had a more magical explanation to it.

 

“Hey,” the door creaked open and Angeal stepped through, a small white towel resting on his shoulder. “You’re finally up.”

 

“Angeal..” She sighed, sitting upright and massaging her shoulder. “Wait. How do I know this is the real thing. Tell me something the real Angeal would only know.”

 

The man sighed, taking a chair and moving it next to the bed and close to her. Leaning on his knees, he pressed his hands together. “Five years ago in Kalm, you were on a mission with Genesis, Sephiroth, and me. You went off to investigate the rumors of monsters in the deep forest alone. Later, we went to try and find you and you were so spooked that you thought Sephiroth’s hair was a ghost and promptly attacked him.”

 

Lady looked at him with a frown forming on her face.

 

“Still don’t believe me? Okay, there was one time you were in Junon trying out that aero spell but failed miserably and landed face first in the water or what about that time you went undercover as a dancer to infiltrate the Golden Saucer amusement park but the chocobos there smelled your perfume and proceeded to-“

 

“Okay, okay I got it! You’re real!” A blush formed on her face. “Don’t remind me, those are so embarrassing. I begged you guys to not report that in the mission log, ugh. You could’ve just told me what I said to you when we first met.”

 

_“Why is your sword so big? Can I hold it? I want to see how heavy it is.”_

 

_“Why do you ask so many questions?”_

 

_The girl was silent, cocking her head at the man before her. The man sighed and held out his hand to shake hers._

 

_“The name’s Angeal. I’ll be helping you train, what’s your name?”_

 

_“My name is—“_

 

She shook her head, wishing that she never asked. Lady looked at the black cotton tank top he wore that wasn’t shy to show off the years of SOLDIER work that developed his biceps; he wore dark jeans that was stained with a few splotches of what looked like flour.

 

“Not in your SOLDIER uniform, huh? You look good!”

 

“I can’t be marching around in full armor, especially when I have to take care of you,” he smiled. “Sephiroth and Genesis take turns visiting. Along with me, of course.”

 

“Don’t you guys have to work?”

 

“Well, the building we work at was promptly destroyed and will take a while to rebuild,” he snorted.

 

“Destroyed..? Wait,” Lady looked down, frowning. Shutting her eyes as the rush of memories came flooding at her. Organization XIII. Xemnas. _It._

 

“I’m in trouble aren’t I,” she sighed.

 

“Surprisingly no, Rufus asked us to thank you for defending the building and Hojo and Gast provided us with medicine to help you. Didn’t seem mad at the slightest.”

 

“How thoughtful,” she rolled her eyes.

 

“You’re running out of the weekly dose so I might have to go back tonight to get some more-“

 

“Wait-“ she grabbed his arm. “- _weekly?_ How long was I out?!”

 

“A week and a couple days, you were out cold. Sephiroth, Genesis, and I have been taking turns watching over you since your body radiated off too much mako for anyone else.”

 

Lady looked at the oversized shirt she wore and she felt heat creep up in her cheeks.

 

“Did they-“

 

“No, I changed and washed you-don’t worry.” He says calmly as if he was just announcing the state of the weather or how he liked his eggs cooked.

 

“Angeal!” She cried.

 

“Lady I’ve patched you up many times remember, especially after that chocobo attack? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he leaned back with his arms crossed, smirking.

 

Lady sighed, coming through her hair with her fingers. Huffing as silence filled the room and the sound of her stomach growling broke the gap in their conversation.

 

“Hungry? I’ll whip you up something before I leave.” He got up.

 

“You’re not staying?” She asked as she scooted over to the edge of the bed.

 

“No, Gen is coming by tomorrow to check up on you. Don’t worry.” He winked.

 

Gathering up the seashells that was laid out carefully in her hands, she placed them on her bed stand before looking at them once more.

 

“Roxas and Xion got those for you, asked me to lay one out every day you were sleeping,” he smiled as he offered an arm to help her up. “They also gathered these for you too.”

He handed her a clear jug filled with popsicle sticks that rattled when he shook it; Lady took one out and inspected it. The wood was dry but she could see the telltale signs of the ice cream that melted on it, the sticks all having an insignia of a crown and the word ‘winner’ on it.

 

“Come on, I was making something to eat anyways,” he helped her out of her room and sat her on her couch while he walked to her kitchen, the smell of waffles wafting to her nostrils.

 

He set down the plate in front of her, noticing the fruits laid out on the side. “Trying to give me my daily nutrients, ‘doctor’?”

 

“Only for my favorite troublesome patient,” he laughed.

 

“Soo.. am I confined to my room for all of eternity until the great professor Hojo decides I’m better?”

 

“More like until the end of your treatment because the amount of mako you absorbed was almost lethal..” he set his fork down and sighed. “You’re always doing risky things. It makes us worry you know?”

 

Lady brought her knees to her chest, mashing the edge of the waffle with her fork. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Just stop.. trying to do everything yourself.”

 

She leaned over her plate, quickly finishing her food while the crust retained its integrity.

 

“...Are you guys helping me on Hojo or Rufus’s orders? You don’t always have to come running after me even if I’m in trouble you know.”

 

Angeal set his plate down on the table with force, shaking it slightly as he looked at her and began to form the first letter of her real name in his mouth before shaking his head, sighing. “Lady- and I speak for all of us- we’re doing this because we’re worried about you. Get that through your head.”

 

He continued. “All those people outside worry about you too, they were pretty upset when we wouldn’t let them come visit you while you slept.”

 

“And what about you guys? Do you really care?”

 

“Of course we do-“

 

And her emotions began to flare, all the pent up emotions from the last four years began to release. Adrenaline began to pump through her body.

 

“Or are you mad because I left so abruptly. I know how you feel about your pride and honor for SOLDIER.. so all this time I thought.. I thought.. you hated me. You and Seph and Gen would think I abandoned you, that I was a coward or something that ran away without a word. Angeal.. Hojo and Rufus- you can't trust them. I thought I could at first but what if they’re just using you three?”

 

“That’s enough,” he said. “Shinra would never do anything bad to us.”

 

“But how do you _know_ that? You trust Hojo and his shifty eyes and the way he _drools_ over anything that could potentially be stronger than Sephiroth? And the fact that they let me off so quickly even after I practically destroyed that building? Shinra is shady and you know it, all this time-“

 

“All this _time,_ you ran away. So how could you know anything about how Shinra works now?” He glared at her, his dark blue eyes teeming with growing anger.

 

Lady’s eyes widened and she felt them sting as water welled up. She turned her head to avoid looking at him.

 

Without another word he took the plates and washed them in the sink. Taking his jacket before heading for the door and turning around to give her one last look before shaking his head and grabbing the door handle.

 

Lady looked up as she heard the door unlock and ran towards him, her legs hurting with every step. Arms embracing his back and burying her face in his shoulder muscles.

 

“I’m sorry. I’ll say it as much times as you want, just come back soon okay.” She said, slightly muffled as she spoke into his back.

 

Shifting and turning around, Angeal slipped one arm around her waist to hold her tightly against his chest. Lady looked up, her eyes looking up at him with torrents of emotions.

 

He opened his mouth as if to say something, his deep blue eyes reminding her of the most obscure part of space where nature laid untouched. Turning away from her, he pushed her away and exited the room.

 

She didn’t know what hurt more, her pride, her feelings, or her whole fucking body. Lady stalked back to the couch, bundling up her knees against her chest and laid down on her side. She felt compelled to wipe the tears staining the grey leather couch but promptly ignored it as she heard Angeal start the engine of his motorcycle outside and drive off.

 

•••

 

Lady awoke to the door opening and closing as she stirred slightly. She felt a leather coat being draped over her bare legs and she smelled the faint whiff of cologne as it settled on her.

 

“Gen..?” She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

 

“Heh, no.” A deep voice chuckled and her eyes adjusted to the dark, the moonlight seeping through the curtains and reflecting on his silver hair.

 

“Oh.. Seph.”

 

“You sound disappointed.” He sat down on the couch across from her.

 

“I’m not! I just expected Genesis that’s all. I’m happy you’re here too. I thought he would come tomorrow morning.”

 

“Zack’s room has been destroyed so I found him sleeping on my bed. Genesis went to go train with Angeal per his request.”

 

“I messed up, I got in an argument with Angeal and I feel bad..” Lady sighed.

 

“Don’t feel bad for Angeal, you should feel for Genesis instead. I’m sure he’s getting the brunt of his anger right now,” he laughed, a subtle noise. “It amuses me that you’re probably the only one who can get a rise out of Angeal.”

 

“That sounds like a horrible trait.”

 

“I.. consider it a talent to make someone feel so strongly.”

 

Lady shifted in her seat, using the black leather jacket to cover her legs. She felt uncertainty cloud her mind, stealing looks at Shinra’s indisputably best SOLDIER.

 

“Seph-“

 

“Your battle prowess has gotten better since we last sparred.” He cut her off and at the realization of his mistake, he looked up. Mako green eyes looking at her apologetically. “I’m sorry, you were saying something?”

 

“There’s more to life than being the strongest in the field,” she frowned.

 

He didn’t reply and she continued. “Are you here.. because you were told to?”

 

“I’m here because I was worried,” he stated, confidently. “Also because since Zack took my bed, I decided to sleep here.”

 

“Oh.. um. You can sleep in my bed, I was fine sleeping on the couch.”

 

“It should be the other way around,” he smirked.

 

Lady shook her head and took his arm to pull him up. Leading him to her room as she pulled him in and started fluffing out the sheets. After she was done, she turned to exit the room- already feeling awkward and embarrassed after her fight with Angeal.

 

She stopped at the door, “Hey.. were you mad when I left all those years ago?”

 

Sephiroth took a seat on her bed, moving his head to motion her to sit next to him and she shook her head. “Answer the question.”

 

“For a time, maybe. Hojo told us what happened but only bits and pieces. I wouldn’t trust that hack to tell the truth even if his life depended on it so I went to investigate myself..”

 

Lady stepped closer, her nails digging into the crook of her elbow. “And what happened?”

 

Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed and almost appeared feline in nature. “The real question is what didn’t happen? The lab they sent you to was decimated, the only trace left was the foundation but even that was partially destroyed. Do you remember what happened?”

 

She bit her lip, “No.. I.. I don’t.”

 

“Then don’t worry about the past. You’re here, with us, in the present. All we should worry about is the future.”

 

She didn’t have any words, she tried to remember desperately. The wires in her brain going frantic and she felt herself mentally grasp at information that evaporated into smoke that slipped through her fingers, dancing in the air as to mock what she lost. Her emotions were pushed once more past the threshold and she didn’t notice Sephiroth get up and move next to her. Looking up at him with confusion, she saw his arm hesitate slightly before he reached to wrap it around her- albeit rather awkwardly.

 

To help him out, she leaned into his hug. The ends of his bangs tickling her face as she slowly inched to put her face on his chest. After a while of just standing there, she felt vibrations in his chest as he spoke.

 

“It’s okay to cry.” He simply said.

 

Lady looked up at him as he looked down at her.

 

“That’s one of the first things you told me.. do you remember?”

 

Lady shut her eyes to recall.

 

_A lone teenage boy stood in the middle of the dimly lit training room. His long silver hair tied down his back as he let the masamune drop onto the platform. He didn’t move. He didn’t blink. It almost seemed like he didn’t breath either._

 

_She stepped into the room, nervous and using the wall as a tangible grip to get ahold of herself. The boy only stared at her, his face unmoving but his eyes speaking volumes that he would never express. The girl breathed and spoke._

 

_“It’s okay to cry.”_

 

Lady felt herself laughing at that almost forgotten memory and how silly she was for being so nervous.

 

“You remembered something that menial?”

 

“It wasn’t menial to me.”

 

She smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Thank you, Seph.. you’re probably one of the most caring people I know.”

 

He chuckled. “I wonder about that.”

 

“I see it in your subtle actions. You help your friends and care for those in need. I.. I’m glad I was able to get close to you. And see the man behind the facade that Shinra put up for you. I just hope it’s not too late for you and I to become that close again.”

 

“Do you really care for me that much?”

 

“Yes,” she nodded. “Of course. I promise I won’t ever let you feel alone as you did that day in the training room.” She spoke as she took his hands in hers.

 

“Do you mean that?”

 

“What do you want me to do? Pinkie swear?” She laughed as she held his hand, folding in his fingers except for his pinkie.

 

“Fine, whatever it takes,” she smiled, intertwining her pinkie with his as she raised her right hand. ”I, Lady, will promise to never ever let you be alone ever again and whatever darkness begins to take you, I’ll get you out no matter what.”

 

They looked at each other and each passing second donated an extra feeling of heat forming in her cheeks. “I- uh.. too much?”

 

Sephiroth’s pinkie tightened around hers, a slight smile on his lips. “No. It was good.”

 

“You know, for all of your experience and prowess in combat and strategy.. You’re kinda horrible at hugs,” she giggled.

 

“I don’t hug people that much.”

 

“Hmm well maybe you should start. Try Angeal or Genesis, maybe Zack? But he would immediately think somethings wrong with you.”

 

“I’ll just start with you then,” he said.

 

“That’s fine,” Lady replied, looking over to the clock on her bed stand. “It’s getting late, you should sleep.”

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to take the bed? I can sleep on the couch.”

 

“Nah, I already slept for a week so I should be fine,” she assured him. “Goodnight, Seph.”

 

•••

 

_“Her vitals are starting to fail.. should we-“_

 

_“No. Continue the process.”_

 

_“But professor —o, he- b—y won’t survive -E—N. She’ll die!”_

 

_“Not this time—She is— perfect.”_

 

_Purple flashed brighter, threatening to burn off her very eyes._

 

_•••_

 

Lady woke up with a start again, sweat covering her forehead as she woke up. Sitting up and holding her hand to her chest, feeling the rapid rhythm of her heartbeat as she wiped the sweat off her face with the back of her arm.

 

She looked around rapidly and noticed she was in her bed. She tried moving her other hand and noticed it was anchored to something warm.

 

Lady looked and saw her arm held down by a larger and more muscular arm.

 

“Sephiroth,” she breathed.

 

“You were having a nightmare. It woke me up.”

 

“I’m sorry.. I’ll move back,” she shook her head.

 

“You can stay, you stopped whimpering when I moved you.”

 

“But what about you?”

 

“Do you ever stop asking questions,” he sighed. Taking her arm and pushing her down onto the bed while draping her body with a blanket. Lady gulped when he moved to lay next to her and her heart began to pick up the pace as he wrapped an arm around her to bring her closer to him.

 

Before she could protest, he shushed her and closed his eyes. “This way you won’t have to worry about nightmares.”

 

Lady breathed in his scent, the typical vanilla and rose of his shampoo mixed in with his natural musk. Fixing her position, she rested her head on his bicep as her hand fell over his stomach- closing her eyes and falling asleep once more.

 

•••

 

Lady woke up to the door to her room creaking open while Sephiroth stirred under her.

 

“Well well, I didn’t expect you two to be so close.”

 

She sat up, squinting at the red cloaked figure standing in her doorway.

 

“Genesis, good morning,” she yawned.

 

“Is it?” He frowned.

 

“Gen, what’s wrong?”

 

His soft blue eyes flashed to Sephiroth’s sleeping face before returning them onto her.

 

“Tell him to wake up already, you don’t need two people to watch over you,” Genesis said as he turned to exit her room.

 

Lady was taken aback by his sudden coldness, confused and irritated. She turned to Sephiroth, shaking his shoulders slightly and smiling at him when his blue-green eyes fluttered open to look at her.

 

“Hey, you’re needed back at base.”

 

To her surprise, he turned to touch his nose to her wrist. “There’s days where I don’t want to get up for work. This seems to be one of those days.”

 

“I know, but you can always come back here to visit after. Ya know, if Zack decides to crash on your bed again.”

 

“I guess I know where to hide if Angeal gives his famous speeches-“

 

“-about dreams and honor,” Sephiroth and Lady both said at the same time. Their eyes locked and they both chuckled.

 

“Are you both finished?” Genesis stood at the doorway again, arms crossed and leaning against the frame.

 

Sephiroth frowned. “Hmph. You’re a bit more grumpy than usual today.”

 

“And you’re more relaxed than usual,” Genesis retorted. “Get a move on before Rufus or Angeal throw a fit.”

 

Sephiroth got off the bed, standing up and walking past Genesis. Both of them locking eyes, before Sephiroth left the room. In the background, Lady heard the sound of the front door opening and closing.

 

“Genesis, what’s wrong-“

 

“Nothing.”

 

He turned to leave once more, leaving Lady in her room by herself.

 

_What’s wrong with him?_

 

Getting up to walk to her bathroom, she turned on her shower and stepped in. Letting the steaming water hitting her back as she formulated a strategy in her head to talk to Gen.

 

After freshening up, she wrung out the water droplets in her hair and changed into a nightgown.

 

_I won’t be leaving my apartment anyways, might as well be comfortable._

 

Coming out of her bathroom, she was surprised to see Genesis sitting on her bed with Loveless opened in the palm of his hand.

 

“You kept a copy of Loveless in your room?”

 

“Uh, yes. Believe it or not, I missed hearing you read it.” She sat next to him.

 

“You did?” He looked at her with an amused smile. “You used to hate me reading this aloud.”

 

_“Ugh, that again?” The girl groaned as she saw him take out Loveless out of his red leather coat._

 

_“It’s my favorite, get used to it,” the boy rolled his eyes._

 

_“Why join SOLDIER when you could just be in theater-your coat buttons are uneven by the way.”_

 

_“Your hair is uneven, have you looked at the mirror?”_

 

_“Asshole.”_

 

_“Whatever.”_

 

She grinned at the memory. “Of course!.. Um, Genesis?”

 

“Hmm?” He cocked an eyebrow.

 

“About your shirt that I borrowed, I couldn’t return it to you. I’m sorry,” she sighed.

 

Genesis was silent, his expressions hardening slowly. “Is that it?”

 

“What are you even talking about? What is wrong with you today?”

 

“What happened with that man. Marluxia.”

 

Lady’s eyes widened, gripping onto her bedsheets. “Nothing happened..”

 

“Liar. He told me the things he did to you.”

 

“Okay and what of it? I was stupid and I was caught up in an illusion that I thought was real, what do you want me to say?”

 

_They’re just pushing my buttons today._

 

“..did you enjoy it,” he whispered.

 

“What?”

 

“Did you _enjoy_ it? While he pretended to be _me_?”

 

“Genesis, I-“ she looked away.

 

“Answer my question-!”

 

“Shut up!” She yelled, gritting her teeth. “I did, okay? But-“

 

“But what?”

 

“Gods, you are so full of it. You know that? Why do you wanna know so bad?”

 

“Tell. Me _.”_

 

“Maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more if it was actually you and not him, not Marluxia.”

 

Lady looked at the ground. She stood up, storming away from him; red with embarrassment and anger. She felt a hand grip her wrist and pull her back.

 

“What’s your problem?” She tried to shake off his grip. “What is you and Angeal’s _problem_?”

 

“Oh, is Sephiroth not included. Is he that perfect?”

 

“He has his own issues to deal with as well-“

 

“Is that why you slept with him?”

 

“We didn’t do anything! We were just sleeping and nothing more!” Lady yelled.

 

“Angeal and Sephiroth _always_ get treated so special. Frankly, it pisses me off.”

 

“Good for you, stop being such a brat.” Lady scoffed as she pushed him off and headed for the door.

 

Genesis reached for the handle, pulling her back as he slammed it shut and pushing her against the closed door. Holding her body against his as he trapped her in his arms- his eyes searching for something in her face when at last he leaned down and kissed her. It started out slow and wanting, his lips brushing against hers and it soon became more hungry- more desperate. He gripped her waist and pushed her up against the door the more he leaned down to kiss her and Lady moaned slightly when he gripped her tighter. Her hands slid up his chest and pushed him off, panting heavily to catch her breath as she brought her hand up and slapped him across the face. Hard. 

 

He brought a hand to his cheek, his face in mild shock as she brought her hands forward- taking a fistful of his coat and spinning around to slam him against the door. Lady closed her eyes and kissed him and she felt him smile against her lips as their mouths opened to let their tongues intertwine.

 

“What did Marluxia do?” He said between chaste kisses.

 

“He-“ She was cut off momentarily by him biting on her lips. “Fingered me.”

 

“Hah, is that it?”

 

“If it wasn’t truly you, then I’m glad it didn’t get any farther than it did.”

 

He hummed, picking her up by the underside of her legs and walked to the bed. Sitting down where they were both visible by the large body-length mirror mounted in her room, he twisted her around in his lap so she faced the mirror.

 

“What are you doing?” she mumbled as she looked at herself and his smug face in the reflection.

 

He took the tip of his gloves off between his teeth and ripped them off with a turn of his head. Tossing them back onto the bed, he gripped her thighs and slid his hands down to her knees to spread them out.

 

“Genesis-!” Lady looked back at him.

 

“Look back at the mirror,” his velvet voice whispered. “Watch who’s really giving you this pleasure.”

 

And so she did, watching and feeling as his hands squeezed her legs- effectively warming her bare legs up as she watched his hands move closer up her inner thighs. His bare fingers drumming on her as she fidgeted in his lap.

 

“Why in front of the mirror? It’s embarrassing,” she whispered.

 

“You always ask so many questions,” he shook his head. “Is there any way to just shut you up?”

 

To answer his own inquiry, he gave a quick swipe of his finger against her panties that began to dampen. Lady shook at the sudden touch and she sighed, leaning back against him.

 

“So I guess there is,” he smiled. Moving the strap of her nightgown, his tongue slid across her shoulder until he reached her neck. Without warning, he lightly nipped at her neck while his finger inserted into her- the cloth blocking his full entrance.

 

Her mouth opened and she let out a quiet moan only for her hands to reach up to try and cover her mouth. Genesis grabbed her hands with his and twisted it behind her back then held them there with one hand while his other reached back around to play with her some more.

 

“Don’t try to hide it, let me hear everything you got,” he muttered as he twirled the panties in one finger and grabbed onto it as he ripped it off and tossed it on the floor in front of them.

 

His tongue moved in tandem with his fingers as he traced around her clit, his teeth biting down on her neck as he did and then proceeded to kiss the spot as a quick apology. His fingers continued teasing her, only circling her labia until his fingers spread her folds open and he took a moment to look at the mirror. She took a peak at what he saw, her nightgown straps were falling off her shoulder and her face was flushed, eyes almost glazed over at the amount of lust she was experiencing as well as her breasts moving up and down with her breath.

 

“Mmm I can see it glistening,” he chuckled. “I wonder how it tastes, but I’ll save that meal for another day..”

 

“This,” he swiped a finger against her slit and brought it up to his mouth as she watched him slide it in his mouth, tongue swirling against his digit. “This is just the appetizer.”

 

“Hah,” she breathed. “Bold of you to assume you’ll get another chance.”

 

“Trust me. You’ll be begging for another after I’m done,” he whispered against her ear, not breaking eye contact with her in their reflection as he inserted _one.. two.. three_ fingers in her at once. His smile growing as her eyes widened, her hips bucking involuntarily against his hand- eager for the building tension inside of her to be released.

 

As if he heard her inner wish, he began to move at a slow pace that soon became faster as her breaths became heavier with his quickening speed. His thumb moved to flick at her beam and she threw her head back at the sudden contact. Rolling her head on his shoulder, she looked to the mirror and she felt her face heat up when she saw Genesis looking at her with the most smug smirk she’s ever seen on him.

 

His smug grin deepened when he curled his fingers to hit her trigger and she couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her mouth in the form of his name.

 

“Genesis-!”

 

“Say it louder,” his voice was a feral command. Fingers dipping in and out of her as she began to feel the wet warmth coat her inner thighs as well as that lewd sound that came from _her._

 

The hands he held fast behind her back reached for something- anything, as she felt her body shiver with sensation. Her fingers brushing against his belt and slid down to his groin where she felt something hardening against her touch. A small part of her satisfied that she wasn’t the only one getting a rise out of this, literally.

 

Unfortunately, the pleasure of her discovery was short lived as he began to curl his fingers more; the pads of his fingertips rubbing against her g-spot as it edged her closer to an explosive finish.

 

“Genesis, Genesis,” she could only pant and moan his name as his blue eyes flashed with pleasure, the mako beginning to make them illuminate. She was captivated, like a moth to a flame by his dusk blue eyes, his scent, and his velvety voice whispering the most seductive things that led to the further unraveling of her self-control.

 

She shut her eyes, biting her lip. “I’m going to-“

 

“Keep your eyes open, let me see them when I bring you to a finish.”

 

And so he did, his fingers not stopping as he twirled them around inside her as she felt the tension release in the form of bodily fluids- coating his fingers. Her body went limp, using his body as her wall to hold her up. Her chest going up and down as she panted.

 

He took his fingers out and licked them, taking her face by her cheeks and faced her towards the mirror, “What’s the name of the person who did this to you?”

 

“Gen—..” She said weakly.

 

“Full name.” He gave her a light tap on her cheek.

 

“Genesis Rhapsodos.”

 

He smiled, turning her head to give her a kiss on her lips. She still tasted the tart fluids that coated his mouth as they did.

 

“I want you to remember that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s why we call it the g-spot. ‘Coz it’s for Genesis, right ladies?


	19. XIX

Angeal looked at his phone and at the blinking cursor that seemed to almost taunt him and the blank he was drawing.

 

He typed out a message, shook his head, and hit the backspace with his thumb. Throwing the phone onto his bed as he leaned back, sighing heavily.

 

“Angeal?” An older man with large rectangular glasses and a relatively unkept mustache appeared at his doorway. His kind brown eyes were a rare sight in the Shinra research division, a welcome inclusion nonetheless.

 

“Oh, professor. What can I help you with?”

 

“About your inquiry earlier, I was just going to say-“

 

“An-geeeaaal, let’s train I’m so bored!” Zack burst in and stopped when he noticed the older scientist.

 

“Oh, professor Gast! How’s it goin’?”

 

“Hello! Zack Fair was it?” Gast smiled. “I just needed to talk to Angeal in private.”

 

“Oh, my bad,” Zack gave him a sheepish grin as Angeal sighed and got up.

 

“We can talk elsewhere professor.”

 

Professor Gast nodded and they both walked out, leaving Zack alone in the room.

 

Zack puffed up his cheeks and blew air out, sitting on Angeal’s bed and laying on his side. His spiky black hair attacking the pillow as he rolled around, the boredom and stagnation giving him what he thought would be the worst possible case of cabin fever. He turned his head and noticed Angeal’s phone that was still unlocked and lying there with an empty text message bubble.

 

He sat up and took the phone, his curiosity getting the better of him. After all, Angeal’s never one to text- he always called.

 

Looking at the name at the top of the non-existent conversation, Zack’s eyes narrowed.

 

In bold black was ‘Lady’ and her number displayed right below it.

 

Zack tilted his head, a mischievous smile crossing his face when he pulled out his phone and copied the number down.

 

•••

 

Lady brushed her hair on her bed, after last night she refused to look at the mirror in her room for at least a couple days. She set her brush down and laid on her back, looking at the ceiling to try and stave off the boredom.

 

Genesis knocked on her open door as he entered anyways and laid on the bed next to her. His body was propped up on it’s side, balancing himself with his elbow as he looked at her.

 

“Bored?” He asked.

 

“Extremely,” she sighed. “How much longer do I have till I can go out?”

 

“If I remember correctly, you should be okay to walk about today. But not do anything that can be too stressful on your body.”

 

“Well, too late for that don’t you think?” She rolled her eyes at him and he grinned in response.

 

“I guess I can check on Zexion and the rest.”

 

Genesis grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him at the mention of another’s name.

 

“You’re such a spoiled brat, you know that?” She laughed. “Growing up wealthy must be nice, you never shared did you?”

 

“Of course I have,” he scoffed. “Banora white apples. With Angeal.”

 

It was her turn to scoff. “Yeah, the apples that grow literally everywhere for _free_.”

 

Lady immediately got up to the sound of her phone going of and practically dove for it. She snatched it off her nightstand and answered.

 

“Helloo?.... ah, who is th- oh.. Zack? Of course I remember you..” Lady turned from Genesis, her face scrunching up in confusion.

 

“I- excuse me? Dat-? OH. Oh you remembered that wager, huh.. I- ugh. Fine, a promise is a promise. Do you mind coming by later? I’ll text you the time. ‘Kay, bye!”

 

Lady hung up and tapped on the unknown number, saving it under ‘Zack Fair’ with a puppy emoji next to it. She set it back down and laid on the bed again.

 

“Was that Zack?”

 

She nodded.

 

“What does that little puppy want?” Genesis groaned.

 

“A date,” she sighed. “I did tell him I would do it if he got my number from Angeal’s phone and he did.”

 

“Hmph, I could just tell him to back off.”

 

“Don’t be harsh on your fellow SOLDIER,” she tapped his forehead, pushing herself off the bed. “Besides, I’m bored so I don’t mind a distraction. Can you leave so I can change??”

 

“No, I think I’ll just stay here,” Genesis stretched his arms behind his head, his legs crossed at the ankles as he made himself comfortable.

 

“Whatever makes you happy, your highness,” she sighed and grabbed her clothes to freshen up and change in her bathroom.

 

•••

 

Angeal looked at the report in his hands, scanning the sentences and absorbing the information to his mind. Gast has given him what he knew and provided him with the little wisdom he had on 1st Class SOLDIER Lady.

 

And it wasn’t much, all of the information was eradicated by Hojo and that mad scientist probably remembered every single detail so writing them down was meaningless. Even Gast wasn’t able to get anything else out of him and thus lead to the lack of information on the secret project that Hojo worked on. The papers only containing basic information he already knew about her; her height, the color of her eyes, her hair color, the way she smiled, the way she likes her coffee mixed, and what flowers she was especially interested in-

 

He stopped himself. Remembering his last conversation with her.

 

_“Angeal.. Hojo and Rufus- you can't trust them. I thought I could at first but what if they’re just using you three?”_

 

He shook her words from his mind, trying not to remember the way her face fell into despair when he shouted at her.

 

_“All this time, you ran away. So how could you know anything about how Shinra works now?”_

 

Angeal sighed. He had been too harsh on her, the memory still fresh on his mind as well as the image of her eyes ripe with tears he caused. He walked back into his room and noticed how empty it was. He placed the documents in his drawer and walked back to his bed; his phone was at a different angle from when he threw and he frowned.

 

Waving the thought away, he sat forward on his knees thinking. After a few minutes deciding, he got up and left the room.

 

•••

 

As Lady smoothed down her clothes, she turned to look at herself in the mirror. It was a simple date so she opted for something equally as simple.

 

“How does this look?” She looked behind her at Genesis who looked at her up and down.

 

“This is all for Zack? Can’t you go in sweats or something?”

 

She rolled her eyes at him and looked back at her reflection, making sure there were no stains on the white off shoulder dress. Patting down the ruffled fringes at her thighs, she swished side to the side- watching the white fabric sway above her knees. Flinging her hair behind her shoulders to reveal the bare skin of her neck, she patted down the mauve lipstick and made sure her mascara didn’t smudge along her lower waterline.

 

“Is this too much blush?” She took a hand to her rouged cheeks, blending it out with a ring finger. “Okay that’s better.”

Tucking her hair behind her ears to reveal the silver diamond earrings that dangled an inch below her love. As she looked at her reflection, she could see Genesis approach her from behind.

 

“You look beautiful,” he said with a sour look. “Why don’t you ever dress up like this for me?”

 

She sighed. “Can you not? It’s not always about you, Mr. Loveless.”

 

Genesis frowned, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and moving her hair to uncover the side of her neck to him. His eyes flashed as his other hand wrapped around her throat and tilted her neck to bring his lips down on her skin.

 

Lady’s lips opened to protest but her words escaped as a moan as she felt his tongue run in small circles and his teeth nip at her skin; sucking the spot as if she was a sweet piece of candy.

 

“Genesis, what in Ifrit’s name?!” She elbowed him and he backed away, a satisfied smirk on his face.

 

His hand reached to move her hair and reveal the fresh new mark he left on her that bloomed slowly into a kiss composed of red and purple.

 

“Genesis..” She hissed.

 

“Hope no one sees that,” he said. “Or let them, I’m not the one who’s going to be embarrassed. Would you tell them who marked you?”

 

Lady frowned, working to braid her hair loosely to the side to cover up the hickey. “I’m leaving before you could do anymore damage, are you staying here?”

 

“I think I’ll lounge about for a while,” Genesis laid back on the bed with an arm behind his head.

 

As Lady walked out of the door, she stopped and looked back at the auburn haired man. “Gen.. is Angeal coming back to visit anytime?”

 

Genesis shrugged, “I haven’t the slightest idea.”

 

Lady’s shoulders sagged as she picked up her heeled sandals and left.

 

•••

 

Roxas bit his thumb, facing the rest of the Organization with a serious expression.

 

Axel shifted his eyes from Roxas, to Xion, and to Saïx who sat on his right. Xigbar sat back with his one good eyes glaring at Demyx who in turn looked at Zexion nervously.

 

“Well..”

 

“What will we do about that.”

 

“How are we gonna tell _her.”_

 

“Maybe we should find-“

 

“ _NO.”_

 

“Then what do you suggest?”

 

“Why don’t we-“

 

“Hey guys! What are you all doing here?” Lady jumped up to the raised gazebo where they all sat in chairs formed in a circle.

 

“Lady! We were just-“ Demyx was cut off by a hand slapping him on the back and Xigbar’s intense stare.

 

“Oh look who’s finally up,” Xigbar smiled. “And you’re dressed up, where ya headed?”

 

“Lady!” Both Roxas and Xion greeted her with an eager smile.

 

“Hey kiddos, thanks for the popsicle sticks and seashells. I’ll stick them somewhere nice to display,” she said to them before turning towards Xigbar. “Just somewhere with a.. friend.”

 

Axel got up and embraced her, inhaling the perfume she sprayed on prior. “I’m glad to see you up and running. I was really worried.”

 

Lady looked over his shoulder up at Saïx who looked at her with his usual impassive glare. “So, you decided to stay?”

 

“I was given a choice?” He raised an eyebrow.

 

“No ones making you stay, but you could at least pay for the damage you did to one of my rooms.”

 

His eyes narrowed, slightly bending the x-shaped scar resting between his brows. “I-“ he cleared his throat, “-I am sorry. I’ll make amends.”

 

Lady leaned against Axel, staring down the blue haired man. “Hmph, I was half expecting you to run up and bite me again. But that’s a start.”

 

“Woah, you bit her x-face? Not cool,” Xigbar wagged his finger dramatically.

 

“You need to get that under control,” Axel shook his head.

 

“Ew.. why would you do that?” Roxas muttered and Demyx made a face; Zexion and Xion looked incredulously at Lady.

 

Saïx shut his eyes and sighed vehemently, speaking through gritted teeth. “It was _lunar.”_

 

The Organization members all said ‘ah’ and nodded their heads.

 

“At least the gazebo was fixed, thanks guys,” She whistled, looking at the newly built wooden fixture. It almost seemed like it wasn’t destroyed in the first place during their initial attack.

 

“Oh, actually Angeal and Gladio built that. None of us don’t really know how to do that stuff.”

 

“I see,” Lady mumbled, her fingers running through the carved wood absentmindedly. It made sense, Angeal always had a way with anything that was handy or having to do with the outdoors.

 

“Lady?”

 

“Hm, oh,” she turned back to them with a grin. “Sooo, did you guys make yourself comfortable? What do you guys think?”

 

“It’s a really nice place you run here, way better than the old castle,” said Xigbar.

 

“I really like it here so far.. thank you for letting me stay,” Zexion smiled.

 

“Me and Xiggy are taking the three room apartment next to Axel’s. Zexion is staying with us too!” Demyx pointed at his roomates.

 

“I’m staying with Roxas!” Xion smiled.

 

“Saïx and I are sharing a room,” Axel sighed. “We cleaned up the mess but the furniture is still broken.”

 

“I can help with that later. But if you guys need anything let me know, I want to make sure it feels like home as much as possible.” Lady reached in her purse to take her ringing phone out and holding it up to her ear.

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming! I can see your puppy tail wagging from here… okay, bye.” She hung up and put it back in her purse. “Well I’ll be back later, bye!”

 

She waved to them as she walked towards the front, leaving them alone as they all waved her off.

 

“So… who’s gonna tell her we don’t have money for the rent this month?”

 

•••

  


Lady walked out to see Zack at the gates with a huge grin, he was wearing a blank tank top and blue jeans with white sneakers. He gave her a wave as he slipped his phone in his pocket as Lady closed the gates behind her.

 

“Hey you look-“ he whistled. “Really cute.”

 

“You don’t look so bad out of your uniform either, soldier boy,” she smirked. “So, where are we headed?”

 

“Well, I was thinking we should go get something to eat ‘cause I’m starving! Then we can go walk around at this park-“

 

“Zack, what are you doing here?” A voice called his name and they both looked to see Angeal approach.

 

“Oh.. Lady.” Angeal stopped when he saw her.

 

“Angeal,” she breathed, turning to Zack she spoke. “Uh, could you just give us a minute? I’ll be right back.”

 

She walked over to Angeal, pulling him along the wall bordering around the Alstroemeria until she made sure Zack was out of earshot.

 

“I just wanted to say-“

 

“Look, I was-“

 

They both started at the same time then they both quickly uttered an apology before staring at each other- waiting for the other person to speak first.

 

Angeal cleared his throat and spoke first. “Well, I wanted to talk to you earlier. I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said..”

 

“I am too, I didn’t want to hurt you but I guess I always end up doing it by mistake,” she laughed, the sound being laced with bitter notes.

 

“Are you.. going somewhere with Zack? You’re dressed up really nice today.”

 

“Yeah, just a quick little date. He ended up getting my number from your phone and we did have a deal, I just have to hold up my end of the bargain now.. Angeal?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Have you thought of what I said? About Shinra?”

 

“What of it?”

 

She gripped his arm, sliding down until she held his hand. “Leave Shinra. You, me, Genesis, and Sephiroth. We can all leave and be together. Shinra is bad news, you have to trust me!”

 

“I can’t just leave.. it’s not that simple.” He shook his head and he looked at her, regretting his decision as he saw the moment when the hope in her eyes almost flickered out.

 

“Lady, what happened to you all those years ago? What caused you to leave?” He tried to ignore her plight, the desperate call that she so desperately exuded.

 

“I- I don’t know.. I can’t say,” she mumbled.

 

“Why can’t you?” His patience began to wane. “Is it because you don’t want to talk about it?”

 

“Because I can't remember,” she hissed. “Look, I just remember waking up a few miles away from the lab I was at and then I ran away, I didn’t have a choice.”

 

“But you did. You did have a choice.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“You chose not to contact us, a text message. A letter, just _something._ Do you know how long we thought you were dead for?!” His voice began to rise. “You _chose_ to leave us behind.”

 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was a coward, is that what you want me to say?” Lady’s hands gripped the strap of her purse tightly to prevent her voice from becoming louder. “Look I have a date with Zack, can we continue pissing each other off later?”

 

“So you’re just gonna run off again,” he scoffed.

 

“I’m not running away, it’s just a date and I’ll be back tonight!”

 

“How do I know that?! Every time I see you and every time I see you leave, there’s always the fear that you’ll never come back. You’re reckless and brash and you always do such stupid things. You know how much it hurts me to watch, because I- I..” He stopped himself, his breathing heavy.

 

“You what?”

 

Angeal took a deep breath, closing and opening his eyes and looking down at her. “It’s.. nothing. Honor.. can be a heavy burden sometimes.”

 

Lady balled her fists, resisting the urge to push him out of her face. “To hell with your honor.. and Shinra.”

 

She turned from him and walked towards Zack.

 

•••

 

“So this is the place, there’s a bunch of food stalls that open till midnight plus we can go play some games and go on rides!” Zack handed an admission ticket to Lady and she took it absentmindedly. “Uhh.. Lady? You sure you doin’ okay?”

 

“Yeah, sorry. I guess I’m just a little hungry,” she smiled. They both entered the park and her eyes were dazzled by hundreds of overhead string lights that illuminated the pathways leading down multiple streets propped up with food stalls and games.

 

“Are you and Angeal-“

 

“Oh gosh, do you smell that? I think that’s barbecue. Are you hungry? I’ll get some for us,” she zoomed off towards the stall and Zack jogged after her. Paying the cashier, she handed Zack the barbecue skewer while she nibbled at the tip of hers.

 

“It’s really good, try it!”

 

He took a bite and smiled. “Ya know, Angeal makes a sauce just as good as this-“

 

“Zack.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Can we just focus on you and I for the remainder of this date? I really don’t want to think about anything else right now.” She looked up at him through the wisps of her eyelashes with a sweet smile, her fingers lingering on his forearm.

 

“Sure,” he flashed her his trademark grin- it reminded her of a blooming sunflower. “What do you wanna do now?”

 

“How do you feel about checking out the stalls and looking at the games after? I always perform better when I’m fed,” she pointed at the long line of stands that had various smells of food wafting in their direction.

 

“What are you craving?” Lady asked.

 

“Hmm..” he tapped his finger against his chin and looked to the sky thoughtfully. “Your affection.”

 

Lady laughed, “Do you use that line on every girl you come across?”

 

“Nah,” he winked. “Only on the ones I think are really special.”

 

“Ah, so you talk to a lot of them?”

 

“Pfft no, of course not!”

 

“Hmm,” she circled him, looking him up and down with perceptive eyes. “That smile, handsome face, and outgoing personality- not to mention a pretty good career, would attract many girls.”

 

“Does it attract you?”

 

“Do you wanna find out?” the side of her mouth turned up into a grin. Lady leaned in, hands traveling up his chest until she took a finger and flicked his forehead. “Come on little puppy, let’s go before all the good food and prizes are gone!”

 

They walked down the paths until the crowds became thicker the further they went. Lady looked behind her, trying to spot a tall guy with spiky black hair amidst the waves of people. Getting on her tiptoes to try and peak over the heads, she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her closer. Looking up, she saw Zack smile at her and pull her closer to him- enough to feel his skin against hers.

 

“It’s getting crowded, we’ll get lost if we don’t stick together,” he said as they navigated through the crowds.

 

Lady slipped an arm around his waist as she grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “Then don’t let go.”

 

His blue eyes shimmered as he grinned and held her tighter.

 

They went stall to stall to sample the street food, some better than others but Zack didn’t complain as he ate all of it without question. The boy could certainly eat.

 

After getting their refreshments, they sat at a wooden bench illuminated by prop trees that changed their color every time Lady looked up at them- from red, blue, yellow, green, pink. She sipped on her smoothie while looking around her and spotted a sign that warranted her attention.

 

“Hey look, there’s a fireworks show later on. We should check it out!” She nudged him.

 

Zack wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at the sign, reading. “Fireworks to signify the end of summer, huh? Sounds cool, I like this city better than Midgar.”

 

“Me too,” Lady nodded, looking up towards the clouds. “I get to see the sky everyday. I feel so free here.”

 

“Did you have any friends in Midgar??”

 

“Besides people in SOLDIER, I made friends in Nibelheim during my stay before I moved to Midgar.”

 

“Nibelheim?” Zack laughed. “Sounds so backwater!”

 

Lady nudged him playfully, mock hurt on her face. “Hey the people are nice there! Then where are you from?”

 

“Me?” He pointed his thumb towards him. “Gongaga.”

 

Lady laughed aloud, “That sounds even _more_ backwater! You’re a country boy, huh? Adorable.”

 

“Hey,” he pouted. “Gongaga is a nice place. You should come visit with me! I can introduce you to my parents.”

 

“Isn’t it too soon for all of that?” She held a hand over her chest, the other hand resting on his. “Besides.. we.. we aren’t even married yet, Zack. Will they approve of us?”

 

After a quick second of seeing Zack’s eyes widen and a pink flush forming on his ears, Lady tapped his forehead again. “I’m kidding. Did you really believe me? Besides.. I really would want to visit Gongaga. And Nibeleheim again just to see if my friends are alright still.”

 

“You have a lot of friends, huh?”

 

“I would like to think I do. I traveled a lot after I-“ she cleared her throat. “Never mind that, wanna play some games?”

 

“I thought you’d never ask,” he stood up, offering a hand to pull her up as she took it and hopped up from the bench.

 

They walked until Lady spotted a crane machine with pretty sizeable stuffed animals filling it’s glass case. Taking ahold of his arm, she pulled him with her towards it; pointing at the cute plush keychains inside, she looked at him.

 

“Want to try your luck?”

 

“Of course,” he grinned. “Which one would the lady like?”

 

He stood in front of the glass, looking at the assortment of animals and flower keychains inside. “Which one do you want?”

 

“The bear with the ribbon is cute! That one!”

 

“As you wish,” he winked as he inserted a coin in. His face now serious with concentration as he carefully moved the claw over the chubby bear doll; pushing the button, the tension was almost palpable as the claw wrapped around it’s fluffy body and lifted it up slowly. Zack watched intensely as it hovered to the dropbox, then groaned as the claw loosened its grip and dropped the doll back on the pile.

 

“Let me try,” she pushed past him gently and inserted a coin in. The claw starting up with retro bit noises that played in a melody as she moved the claw towards the bear, pressing the button as it dropped to pick up the doll. Lady watched as the claw draped over it and bring it to the dropbox. As the claw’s grip began to loosen, she quickly lifted a finger and wagged it.

 

“Aero,” she muttered as a mini gust of wind formed under the doll and launched it towards the dropbox where it fell in successfully. Retrieving her prize, she handed the keychain to Zack with a beaming grin.

 

“Hey, that’s cheating!” He laughed.

 

“These things are always cheating people though, I just leveled the playing ground,” she shrugged with a satisfied smile on her face.

 

“Hmm, I still need to win you something since you so graciously offered me this prize!” He scanned the horizon until he saw something that caused a figurative lightbulb go off. Grabbing Lady’s hand, he ran towards it.

 

“I bet I could win you something nice here!” He pointed at the large scaled pole with a bell resting at the very top. There was already a line of couples that wanted to win one of the prizes there; them being big dolls that Lady could definitely use as a pillow at home. The large dolls were dangling on the chain link fence surrounding the area, a large moogle, chocobo, tonberry- looking absolutely squeezable.

 

“Which one do you want?” Zack asked. “How ‘bout the chocobo?”

 

Lady shuddered. “Please, no. How about the moogle instead?”

 

She pointed at the sizable moogle. “Think you can do it?”

 

“Of course,” he winked at her, bringing his arm up to flex it. “You think these muscles are just for show?”

 

“Show me then, soldier boy,” she said as Zack handed her the keychain to hold as he took the large hammer from the operator, holding it over his head with ease as if it was a mere feather.

 

Bringing it down with a grunt, Lady watched as the weight shot straight up and hit the bell- announcing his obvious win to the rest of the crowd.

 

“Congratulations, sir! Which doll would you like?”

 

“I’ll take the moogle!” Zack pointed and the operator handed him the doll which he held over his head like it was the most precious prize of all.

 

Lady couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm as he presented it with a flourish towards her. “How’s this for a prize?”

 

Her arms wrapped around the moogle’s fluffy white body and she grinned, “I love it, thanks Zack!”

 

As they both left the caged off area, Lady leaned in to whisper to him. “Isn’t it considered cheating if you’re practically infused with super soldier serum?”

 

“If you don’t tell, I won’t tell ‘bout you cheating either!” He whispered back.

 

Lady laughed, rolling her eyes playfully. She sat down on a bench and Zack sat down beside her.

 

“I feel bad, you got me this amazing plush but all I got you was this lame keychain,” she sighed as she dangled the bear around her finger, feeling the soft blue satin ribbon that tied around its neck.

 

“You kiddin’? It’s the best thing ever,” he patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll wear it on my uniform everyday.”

 

Lady shook her head, “No, I need to add something to it.” She handed the moogle to Zack as she cupped her hands around the bear. Whispering words he didn’t understand and blew on it lightly, her eyes began to glow slightly as a small green sigil appeared in the middle of the bear- sinking into its fluffy body and disappearing completely. Handing the bear back to him, she looked at it with a triumphant grin.

 

“What was that?” He asked.

 

“Protection spell, if you’re going to wear it on your uniform everyday. It might as well be doing something useful!”

 

Zack looked at it and he swore it began to shimmer every time he moved it. He got up and tied it around the belt hoop of his pants, the bear dangling near his pockets as it shimmered lightly.

 

“I love it,” he grinned. “Hopefully they don’t penalize me for it!”

 

“I doubt it, you’re 1st Class- you can do what you want with your uniform.”

 

He nodded, looking behind him at the gathering crowd headed for a large platform near a stage. “Hey, I think the fireworks are about to start. Let’s go!”

 

Zack held out a hand and she took it, her other hand gripping tightly onto her moogle as they zoomed into the crowd to look for a good vantage point.

 

“Wait here, I need to get something!” He said as he zoomed off, leaving her alone. Lady shook her head, chuckling.

 

_So full of energy, that one. I never want to see that sunflower fade._

 

Lady turned to look at the sky which was now darkening, the purple and blue beginning to overtake the vivid oranges and reds of the setting sun. She hugged her moogle, looking up at the open environment around her. Contentment. Just being around Zack made her smile automatically, the natural energy he had was probably what attracted Angeal to recruit him to 1st Class.

 

She shook her head, trying not to let thoughts of Angeal overtake her current happiness. _Right now it’s just me and Zack. That’s all._

 

As the crowds began to file in around her, she felt hands reach around her shoulders. Looking at what the hands held in front of her, she noticed the blue ribbon that dangled from the fingers. Spinning around, Zack held it up daintily. “May I?”

 

She nodded, moving her hair slightly as he wrapped the ribbon around her neck. Lady turned her head slightly in hopes he didn’t see the bruising kiss that Genesis had left on her earlier.

 

He tied it slightly to the side and gave it a gentle tug. “There, now you match with my bear!”

 

Lady looked at the bear dangling off his belt hoop, the blue ribbon reminiscent of the one she had tied around her neck and she smiled.

 

“You’re so..”

 

“Amazing? I try.”

 

“I was going to say silly, but amazing works too.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You really know how to make a girl smile.”

 

He responded by wrapping his arms around her shoulder as they both looked up when the crowds went silent- signaling the start of the show.

 

One by one, the darkened sky was illuminated by colorful fireworks that flashed. They looked like different galaxies that made themselves visible to the crowd below them, the sparks setting off different hues that varied from every spectrum of the rainbow. The loud popping drowning out the sound around them as Lady and Zack’s gaze both turned down from the sky and towards each other. His blue eyes reflected the light show and his lips parted slightly the more he looked at her face. She gave him a sweet smile, holding his hand as the fireworks fizzed in the sky- signaling its grand finish.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

•••

 

“Are you sure you don’t want me walking you home?”

 

“Nah, I like walking at night. Besides, I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”

 

They approached the Shinra building- or what was left of it at least. This was her first time seeing what became of it since she was last here during her fight with the Organization. Even in the dark, she could see the stone ground erupted in certain areas as well as parts of the surround buildings completely blown off. Mako pipes laid strewn everywhere and Lady thanked the astrals that it was too dark to see everything in it’s full picture.

 

“Who’s there?” A voice called out and Lady looked to see a familiar head of fiery hair approach them.

 

“What’s up Reno? Patrolling?” Zack called back.

 

“Nah, just curious who would be out here at weird times of the night- yes I’m patrolling Zack.” The red haired Turk sighed.

 

“Oh, hell-o, Lady!” Reno smiled, striding towards her. “Say, since there’s not much to do here since you wrecked the place. How ‘bout a round of drinks at your place?”

 

Lady sighed, looking up at the moon as if it held an answer. 

 

“Come onnn, it’ll be fun! I’ll even bring something cool to spice up the games.”

 

“Ooh yeah, that would be fun, right Lady?” Zack agreed.

 

She sighed again, looking at the two buddy boys in front of her that eagerly awaited her answer. “Ugh, I’ll think about it.”

 

“Great, we’ll be by tomorrow night!” Zack and Reno grinned and ran off back into the building.

 

“Wha- I said I’ll _think_ about it-! Aaaand they’re gone.” She groaned, shaking her head.

 

•••

 

Angeal sat at his bed as Zack entered his room with a goofy smile on his face.

 

“Did you have fun?” He asked him without looking up from the book he was reading.

 

“Uhh duh!” Zack plopped onto a chair, untying his shoes. “Man, Lady is something else. There’s something about the way she smiles that makes you feel like your troubles go away, y’know?? I wonder if she would wanna go on another date! Hey Angeal, what kinda stuff does she like- Angeal?”

 

Zack looked up confused as his mentor stood up, slamming his book shut, and promptly left the room without a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Angeal got An-jealous.


	20. XX

Lady’s phone rang and she picked up.

 

“Hello? Who’s this?... Reno? Yes, I remember- wait how did you even get my number?... _Tonight?_ But I-“

 

She was cut short by the dial tone ringing as Reno had already hung up. Groaning, she set her pen down in the open spine of her ledger. Leaning forward on the desk, she closed her eyes and sighed. She had the misfortune of restless sleep ever since she fought Xemnas; the same old dream consisting of hazy fog and bright lights. Every time she tried connecting the pieces, it would only fall apart into even smaller fragments.

 

Picking up the pen, she drew a pair of eyes on the top right of the ledger’s page. Taking a purple highlighter, she colored in the irises to give them a fluorescent look. Whatever the dream she was having, the only thing consistent were the eyes. The purple eyes that seemed to bore into her soul and would move with her everywhere she went. Underneath she wrote out the words she heard in her dreams.

 

_‘Project E...N??’ What the hell is that? Why can’t I remember?_

 

A shiver went up her spine as she wrote it down on her ledger with a huge question mark right next to.

 

_Whatever it is, do I even want to know?_

 

Lady placed the pen back into the spine and closed her ledger. Shaking her head, she got up to make preparations for tonight’s fiasco.

 

•••

 

“Where do you want this?” Gladio motioned to the large wooden table.

 

“Maybe over there, do you mind moving the furniture so we can all just sit on the floor around it? I don’t think I have enough chairs..” Lady hummed as she moved bags of fruits and placed them into bowls.

 

“What foods do the guests enjoy? I can help,” Ignis came behind her and eyes the bowls of fruit in front of her.

 

“Don’t worry, just make what you like and I’m sure everyone else will enjoy it,” Lady smiled at him. “Uh Ignis, you sure you wanna drink?”

 

“I’m really here to keep an eye on Noct and Prompto,” he pushed up his glasses, sighing. “Besides.. I believe I can keep my inhibition better than those two anyways.”

 

“How ‘bout you, Lady? You a drinker?” Gladio asked her as he moved the furniture against the wall to make room.

 

“Hah, I’d like to think so!”

 

“We’ll see.” He winked.

 

“Who’s all coming?” Gladio wiped down the table.

 

“I’m actually not sure.. I can’t guess what Reno is up to,” she shook her head. “It’s nothing good though.”

 

“Your place is very beautiful,” Zexion observed, his visible eye looking around him.

 

“Thanks! You did a good job replicating it,” she winked at him as his face flushed in embarrassment. She walked over to him and patted his hair, “Don’t worry, it’s all water under the bridge.”

 

“Sooo, who’s all coming?” Xigbar leaned back on her couch with his legs crossed and flipping through a picture album.

 

Lady walked over, snatching the album overhead. “Not sure, I just wanted to invite everyone. I think we all deserve a little break after what’s happened.”

 

“True, we haven’t had a day off in forever! This is great,” Demyx sat next to Xigbar and pulled out his phone.

 

“Hmph if you two aren’t here to help then at least wait where you’re _not_ in the way,” Saïx growled as he walked past.

 

“You’re not in charge anymore, x-face,” Xigbar yawned.

 

“Besides we’re only here for the view, right?” He hit Demyx as the blond shushed him urgently, looking over his shoulder to make sure Lady wasn’t listening.

 

“Heeey babe,” Axel called as he walked in with Roxas and Xion in tow. “I got the juice for the kiddos.”

 

“What? Why can’t we drink?” Roxas turned to his friend.

 

“Roxas you’re not old enough,” Lady sighed. “I got juice for you and Xion.”

 

“I’m okay with that, right Roxas?” Xion turned to the upset boy.

 

“I guess..”

 

Prompto and Noctis entered the apartment with boxes of cake from her favorite local bakery and set them down on the table.

 

“Hey sunshine,” Lady greeted Prompto.

 

“Hey, sleepyhead.” She turned to Noctis. “Thanks for helping out, I was afraid that the prince wouldn’t like running errands for a peasant like me.”

 

“You? A peasant? That’s funny,” Noctis shook his head in disbelief. “How else could you have built this place?”

 

“Yeah, I kinda wanna know too,” Prompto leaned into his buddy, both of them looking at Lady.

 

“A story for another day,” she waved the question away. Turning back to the living room that was now much more spacious with the couches moved against the wall and the table sitting in the middle to accommodate all of the food, snacks, and drinks- as well as the people drinking tonight.

 

“I hope it won’t get too wild tonight.”

 

•••

 

_How did this happen?_

 

That was the first thought that ran through her mind as she sat on the floor, criss-crossing her legs as she looked nervously around the table. The bare wooden floor felt cold against the shorts she was wearing, the large hoodie she wore was the only respite against the chill of the room. Was it always this cold in her room? Or was it because she was nervous?

 

She looked to her right where Genesis sat comfortably next to her. On her left was none other than Sephiroth who had his arms crossed, his face unreadable. On his left sat Angeal, who looked honestly irritated- his eyes looking down and his body language denied any type of communication from anybody.

 

Starting from her right, it was Genesis, Saïx, Axel, Xion, Roxas, Demyx, Xigbar, Zexion, Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, Gladio, Reno, Zack, Angeal, Sephiroth and back to her again. They all sat on the floor, shifting their eyes to each other.

 

 _This was a mistake._ She gulped. _This feels like an interrogation room._

 

“Okay, since everyone’s awkward as hell I’ll start,” Reno reached under the table and pulled out a metal circle with a ring of light in its center and a tall bottle of dark liquor that swished around in its glass encasement. The liquid glimmered red under the lights of her apartment and she sensed magic emanating from the bottle that had a dragon’s body carved into its side.

 

Lady frowned, “Slide that here, lemme see.”

 

Reno obliged and slid over the bottle first along with the disc. Taking the bottle, she inspected it and uncorked it- the scent of multiple exotic spices filling her nostrils as she took a whiff. The liquid inside shimmered at her touch as her fingers ran through the individual scales of the glass dragon.

 

_Wait, this is.._

 

“Reno,” Lady growled. “This drink is _illegal_ in three different countries. How did you get this?”

 

She frowned as her finger rested upon the metal disc that he slid over, her forefinger and middle finger directly on the circular light.

 

“Being a Turk has its perks.. not a lot of people are aware about it’s illegality status. That’s interesting that _you_ know about it, have you dealt with this drink before?” He leaned against his hand, his elbow resting on the table with a smug smile.

 

Lady scoffed, “Me? Of course not.”

 

As the words left her lips, the disc under her fingers began to glow and an intense red light flared out along with a computerized voice that beeped out a word: _“-Lie-“._

 

Lady’s fingers retracted as she looked up at Reno whose smile was only growing into something devious.

 

“This is-“

 

“A lie detector, Shinra made so that’s how you know it’s good stuff. Rarely fails,” Reno whistled.

 

_Yeah, this was a big mistake._

 

“Those can be hard to prove apt,” Ignis looked at the disc. “It depends on how good the individual is at lying.”

 

“Well yeah, so that’s why tonight’s game is going to be good ol’ truth or dare! Can you pass that bottle back-“ Reno caught the sliding bottle. “-it won’t matter how good you are at lying after a couple shots of this. If you’re caught lying, it’s two shots and if you can’t do the dare then it’s four shots. The winner is the last one standing.”

 

“What does the winner get?” Prompto asked.

 

“Hmm, I guess we can discuss that later because I honestly have no idea but at least they get the right to call themselves the champion of all drinking games.” Reno answered. “Since Lady already graciously demonstrated how the device works, who wants to start first?”

 

“Does he really look like me?” Axel whispered to Roxas and Xion as they both looked at Reno and back at him.

 

“Um, kinda. He could be your Somebody,” Roxas sniggered.  

 

“There’s only one of me! Got it memorized?” Axel rolled his eyes.

 

“Ooh, hand it over,” Xigbar signaled and as Lady slid over the device to him, Reno stopped them.

 

“Wait, everyone’s gotta take a shot first. House rules!” He nodded at Gladio who began pouring shots and sliding them across the table with expert precision.

 

Lady looked down at the dark, amber fluid that sloshed in her shot glass. The smell of spiced fruits came in strong vapors as it entered her nostrils. Everyone lifted their alcohol- save for Roxas and Xion who lifted their juice cups- banging it on the table and tilting it into their mouths.

 

_Oh gods._

 

The liquor started slow, notes of honey and some type of berry began dancing down her tongue until it reached her uvula where it threatened to burn it on the way down. The rest of it being liquid fire on her palate.

 

She looked to Sephiroth, Gladio, Saïx, and Angeal who drank it as if it water- their faces unchanged and unmoved.

 

_Damn._

 

Xigbar cleared his throat. “Well, my first victim issss… you, key boy, truth or dare?”

 

“Dare.” Roxas narrowed his eyes.

 

“Oohoo we got a daring one over here! Fine.” He reached for the device and bottle and poured into Roxas’ juice cup. “Dare ya to take a shot of that.”

 

“Oh gods- Roxas don’t!” Lady shook her head.

 

Roxas looked at her with determined eyes, “I’m a man too, I can do this!”

 

He shut his eyes tightly as he dunked the drink into his mouth, his blue eyes opening with shock as he slammed his cup down.  

 

“Se-e? I can do it,” he muttered before his eyes slowly closed and his head banged onto the table.

 

“Roxas!” Both Lady and Xion yelled, mortified.

 

Axel looked down at his best friend, his face serious as he picked up the boy to face him. Laying him down on his arm, his other hand took a pen out of his pocket and he uncapped it as he began to doodle on Roxas’ unconscious face. Finally, he lifted him for everyone to see the large x he crossed right between his eyebrows.

 

“Look, Saïx, he looks just like you!” Axel sniggered, soon bursting into laughter as Xigbar scooted to grab the market from his hand and drawing a curly moustache on Roxas’ upper lip.

 

“He doesn’t look that bad with facial hair!” Xigbar grinned, laughing as he poked Roxas’ cheek with the tip of the pen. “Looks like key boy is the first one out.”

 

Xion stood up and helped Roxas’ arm wrap around her shoulder as she supported his body. “I should have him lay down, you guys have fun without us!”

 

She gave Lady an apologetic smile before taking Roxas and excusing themselves from the apartment.

 

“Xiggy you did that on purpose, didn't you?” said Demyx.

 

“Maybe I did,” Xigbar’s fingers drummed on the lie detector as it glowed green and spoke. “The kids aren’t here anymore so we can get to the real fun.”

 

_“-Truth-“_

 

“It’s your turn next, we can just go clockwise,” Xigbar passed it to Zexion.

 

“Umm.. Lady,” Zexion looked up at her and slid the device. “Truth or dare?”

 

“Truth.”

 

“You’re not mad at me right?”

 

Lady gave him an amused look. “No, it wasn’t your fault I don’t know how long you have to keep asking. Trust me, I’m not mad.”

 

_“-Truth-“_

 

“It’s not my first hostage situation anyways, haha,” she laughed lightheartedly much to everyone’s disbelief.

 

_“-Truth-“_

 

“My turn,” Noctis caught the device as it slid towards him. “Prompto- truth or dare?”

 

“Dare.”

 

“Someone’s feeling brave, okay get one of those cherries and feed it to Gladio-“

 

“Pfft, easy!”

 

“-with your mouth.”

 

Prompto’s freckles stood out under the redness spreading on his cheeks as well as the irises of his cornflower blue eyes growing. “Ew no! With Gladio?!”

 

“Aww what’s wrong Prompto, I’m not pretty enough for ya?” Gladio nudged him.

 

“Not cool, man. I’d rather do that for a girl.” Prompto shook his head.

 

“Aw, I’m heartbroken.” Gladio laughed. “As if you would have the guts to do that with any girl.”

 

“Okay,” Noctis pointed at Lady. “Do it with her then.”

 

“Wha- um.. do you- do you mind?” He stuttered, eyes glancing up at Lady.

 

She shrugged and watched as he took a cherry and walked over to her, his face becoming even more red as he got on his knees and Lady turned to face him. Taking the stem of the cherry between his teeth, he bent down and his eyes widened as she opened her lips to receive the fruit.

 

Her hands reaching up and gripping his forearm to stabilize him, “You’re shaking too much, sunshine. Calm down.”

 

“You need to get closer Prompto otherwise you’ll drop it,” she heard Noctis say from behind her. She could envision the prince smiling at his best friend’s reaction.

 

Prompto’s head got closer as his eyes trained on her lips, puckered and as moist as the cherry he had in his mouth. His eyes flickered up and he regretted that decision as the eyes of everyone in the room were on him.

 

His mouth dropped open at the sheer wave of embarrassment that washed over him and the cherry dropped as Lady moved her head, barely catching it by the stem before it could drop onto the floor.

 

Lady turned around, wrapping the stem around her finger and snapping it off. Licking her lips when she swallowed, taking the pit out with a finger and closed her eyes. “Cherries taste good this year.”

 

“Hmph, that’s four shots Prompto,” Noctis tutted.

 

“No fair, why were you all looking!” As Prompto sat next to him.

 

“You don’t like an audience?” said Axel.

 

“What?! Of course not!”

 

“Shut up and take your shots,” Gladio poured for him as he took them successively. The sour face on his face growing with each passing drink.

 

“My turn, right?” Prompto grabbed the device from Noctis. “Gladio and um-“ he pointed at Angeal. “You guys arm wrestle and the loser has to take two shots!”

 

“Really? And you didn’t even ask truth or dare, dumbass,” Gladio shook his head before turning to Angeal. “You okay with that?”

 

“Come on, let’s see who’s stronger right Angeal?” Zack tapped his mentor’s arm lightly.

 

“If you lose, I might have to get someone else as my shield,” Noctis jabbed at Gladio playfully.

 

“Lets just do this,” Angeal sighed, his muscle flexing in his shirt as he put his arm down on the table- waiting as Gladio put his arm to match him; their hands grasped together as the ones sitting in between them moved out of their way. From the corner of his eye, Angeal could see Lady peek over Sephiroth’s shoulder to get a better view.

 

“On the count of three! One.. two.. three!”

 

Angeal and Gladio’s muscles bulged as they both tried to overpower each other, their faces serious with concentration as they both stared into each other’s eyes. Lady wanted to hold in her laughter, it would’ve been an intimate moment had it not been for the killer grip they had on each other that threatened to throw the other to the ground. Minutes had passed where they both kept their grip, neither one moving when Lady heard the sound of wood creaking underneath their elbows. She watched as it splintered under the sheer weight of their elbows and threatened to crack even more when she finally had it. “Boys. That’s enough, you’re breaking the table.”

 

“Sorry,” they both muttered.

 

“Wait but who won?” Prompto frowned. “And one of them needs to take the shots.”

 

“I’ll take the two shots because I stopped them,” she volunteered.

 

Angeal shook his head. “No, just split the shots between me and Gladio-“

 

“And I’ll take one too, to make it fair,” Lady insisted.

 

Angeal looked to Gladio and the latter shrugged. “If the lady insists.” Pouring shots for the three of them as they downed it.

 

“Here ya go, specs,” Noctis moved his arm to pass it to Ignis.

 

“Must I?” The man sighed, taking the device into his hands

 

“Oh but you must,” Lady mused.

 

“Noct, truth or dare?” Ignis turned to the prince.

 

“Dare.”

 

“Eat those vegetables-“

 

“Just give me the shots,” Noctis groaned, handing his shot glass to Gladio for him to pour and drink.

 

“My turn,” Gladio announced, tapping his fingers as he thought. “Okay, Lady. Truth or dare?”

 

“Mmm, dare.”

 

“Take your hoodie off.”

 

Her eyebrows raised as she muttered. “Alrighty then.”

 

Pulling the hoodie over head, she patted down the v-neck she wore underneath to cover the small part of her stomach that was exposed.

 

Zack turned to Reno who had a devious glint in his eye. He leaned in to whisper, “Who are you gonna do? It’s your turn isn’t it?”

 

“Yeah, I got a specific target in mind- I’ve seen some files on her in the Turk’s database and they’re pretty interesting. Say, do you know how close her and Sephiroth are?” He whispered back.

 

“Can’t say, he doesn’t talk about himself much.”

 

“Let’s find out.”

 

“Oi, Lady!” Reno smiled at her.

 

“Lemme guess, truth or dare? I choose dare.”

 

Her confidence faded slightly when Reno chuckled to himself.

 

“I dare you to sit on Sephiroth’s lap for the remainder of the game.”

 

Zack’s eyes widened as he looked at Reno and at the silver haired soldier who raised a single eyebrow at them as if questioning what their intent was. Out of the time Zack had spent with Sephiroth, he only saw him get remotely friendly with Angeal and Genesis. Everyone else received a cold stare as he dissected their intentions or an uninterested reaction that quickly discouraged anyone from talking to him. Either that or they would get too intimidated to do anything- let alone _touch_ him.

 

Reno’s smirk faded as Lady nudged Sephiroth’s elbow and he lifted it for her to crawl onto his lap, her legs in front of her as she made herself comfortable in between his crossed legs.

 

“Is this okay?”

 

“You feel fine.”

 

“Just fine? I’m insulted.” She laughed and Zack and Reno’s jaw dropped as Sephiroth himself cracked a tiny smile, leaning in to whisper something in her ear as she turned to look at him with an amused smirk and she shook her head.

 

“My turn! This one’s for you guys,” Zack pointed at the Organization members.

 

“Hey, you can’t do multiple people!” Demyx whined.

 

“Why not? If there’s more rules then it won’t be as fun,” Axel grinned and turned to Zack. “Shoot, we choose dare.”

 

“Don’t choose for all of us,” Saïx hissed.

 

“Too late! Okay uhh.. let us see your weapons. I didn’t get a chance to see them up close.”

 

They all looked at each other and held their hands forward to summon forth their weapons. Zack gave a low whistle as they looked at them one by one till he reached Zexion and Demyx.

 

“A.. book and a guitar? Why? Is that useful?”

 

“I wouldn’t underestimate the use of magic and bending the elements to your will if I were you,” Lady clicked her tongue at Zack before turning to Zexion and Demyx and giving them a quick wink as if to reassure them she had their backs.

 

“Hmm but that’s so cool, you guys can summon your weapons whenever you want. I have to get mine fixed every time I break it,” Zack pouted.

 

“Hmph, because you swing it around like it’s a toy,” said Sephiroth.

 

“We can summon weapons too!” Prompto held his hand out with his finger pointed and curved when a gun appeared out of crystallized blue light.

 

Xigbar whistled, “Fancy gun you got there kid, we should see who’s a better shot one day.”

 

Noctis held up his arm as a longsword with elegant craftsmanship appeared and he tossed it away, watching as it disappeared the same fashion it appeared.

 

“I want a sword like that,” Lady sighed longingly. 

 

Angeal cleared his throat, signaling his turn and looked at Lady. “I dare you to get off Sephiroth’s lap.”

 

Lady frowned at him, “You didn’t even give me an option-“

 

Sephiroth cut her off as he looked at Angeal, “And I dare her to stay on my lap.”

 

Genesis groaned. “I dare you both to shut up already.”

 

The room grew tense with the almost visible sparks flying between the trio as Lady looked at them irritated.

 

Lady turned to her right, “Hey you skipped me!”

 

“Take your turn then,” Genesis sneered.

 

Reaching for the device, she slid it over to Axel.

“Actually this question is for all of you guys!” She gave them her sweetest smile, leaning forward and resting her chin on her clasped hands. “It’s gonna be truth so don’t be scared.”

 

They all reached over to put a finger on the device, awaiting her question.

 

That’s when her sweet tone disappeared and was replaced by a sadistic look, her eyes gleaming slightly. “Tell me the truth, you guys don’t have the rent for this month right?”

 

And just as they all flinched at her question- all of them giving stunted excuses, the device glowed a vivid red to confirm their true answer.

 

_“-Lie-“_

 

“Knew it,” Lady leaned back until she felt Sephiroth’s chest. “You’re horrible liars.”

 

“We just didn’t know how to tell ya!”

 

“You’re not gonna kick us out, right?” Demyx yelped. “We don’t have anywhere else to go!”

 

“We’d be homeless, helpless, stranded in the rain,” Xigbar put his hand to his heart, mock hurt on his face. “We’d have to fend for scraps.”

 

“Come on.. Lady wouldn’t do that to us, right?” Axel laughed nervously as they looked at the mako infused landlady.

 

“Hm.. maybe,” she hummed, closing her eyes and making them sweat with anticipation. Opening her eyes again, she wanted to laugh at their horrified expressions. “I’m kidding, we’ll worry about this tomorrow. But you guys gotta take shots for lying to me,” she grinned. They all took two shots each as their faces twisted in disgust at the strong liquor.

 

“My turn again,” Genesis spoke.

 

“You already had your turn!” Zack frowned.

 

“Shut it, puppy eyes. I go after Lady, remember? Plus that wasn’t really my turn then,” he turned to his left. “Hey Lady, truth or dare.”

 

“It’s not fun if you keep asking me,” she rolled her eyes at him. “Truth.”

 

“Coward,” he clicked his tongue.

 

“Asshole,” She retorted.

 

“Whatever. Anyways, what was the most embarrassing thing you’ve done in front of a mirror?”

 

“In front of a mirror?” Lady looked at him, her tone quiet as her face began to heat up. Genesis took her hand and placed it on the device. Her mind racing with images of her body exposed as Genesis undid her with his fingers, her lips formed in the shape of his name.

 

“Why are you blushing? Why don’t you tell us?”

 

“I.. danced in front of a mirror once,” she frowned, trying to keep her pulse steady.

 

Genesis leaned close enough for her to hear him whisper, “I certainly like the way you danced for me.”

 

The device glowed red. _“-Lie-“._

 

“Now you got me curious.”

 

“That blush is certainly telling though.”

 

She heard someone chuckling and she ignored them.

 

Reno’s left eyebrow raised in confusion as he poured two shots for Lady.

 

 _‘I’m gonna kill you’_ she mouthed to Genesis before taking her shots. The heat of the liquor began to get to her as she moved her hair to one side, exposing her neck.

 

Sephiroth’s ever perceptive eyes glanced down, his finger lifted and prodded at the hickey still visible on her neck. Lady’s back stiffened as she felt the dull pain from where he pressed and she was too late to try and pull her hair back to cover it. His eyes narrowed at Genesis who looked back at him with a side eye and a taunting smirk. The sounds of everyone taking their turns tuned out in her head and Lady felt her hand being pulled just under the table’s surface and her fist being pushed together; then she felt Genesis take his ring finger and middle finger and stick it in her fist. Moving and twisting it around just like he did when he-

 

Lady pulled her hand away, slapping his before placing them in her lap. She shot him a warning glare as she leaned into Sephiroth’s chest. She looked at the clock hanging by her kitchen, telling her it was only ‘7:56’. She closed her eyes, it would be a long night.

 

•••

 

Lady looked at the clock. ‘9:03’.

 

About an hour passed and she looked around her, the guys all had flushed faces thanks to the alcohol. Noctis was handcuffed to Ignis, Prompto wore a chocobo mask after the boys all insisted the back of his head looked like a chocobo’s butt. Gladio had his shirt off and Zexion sat with his hair tied back with a ribbon to expose his face. Xigbar had his hair down and beside him, Demyx had a penis drawn on his face. Axel’s lips were covered with a beautiful shade of red to compliment his hair and Saïx’s face was completely flushed red from all the drinks he took as he refused any embarrassing dares.

 

Zack was standing up doing squats till his next turn, but he didn’t look like he was having any trouble as he repeated the continuous motion. Reno had his shirt unbuttoned down to his mid- chest as he moved his now braided ponytail around his shoulder. Genesis sat with his leather coat off with the heat beginning to fill the room. Angeal still looked irritated but slightly less because of the liquor and Lady still sat in Sephiroth’s lap, his arm resting next to her thigh. Her head was spinning and her body seemed to heat up at the amount of shots she ingested, she fanned herself with her hand.

 

“Has your inhibition left the room yet?” Lady asked him.

 

“Maybe, I’m afraid of what will happen if I completely lose my control,” Sephiroth muttered back and she noticed how close his fingers were from her legs.

 

“That’d be interesting to see, I’d like to see that,” she chuckled.

 

“Don’t ask for things you’re not sure you can handle.”

 

“And don’t underestimate me-” she turned to look at him. “-SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth.”

 

His eyes became almost feline and she could see them dilate for a quick moment before someone called her name, stealing her attention away.  

 

“What?”

 

Xigbar moved his fingers through his loose hair, “Truth _and_ dare.”

 

“Is that allowed? Whatever- what is it?”

 

“Saïx bit you right?” He said as Saïx scowled.

 

“Mhm he did,” she nodded. “What’s the dare?”

 

“Bite him back.”

 

All eyes turned to Saïx and towards Lady who pondered over her decision. Finally making up her mind, she got up off Sephiroth’s lap and crawled over Genesis towards Saïx who looked at her apprehensively as she made his way towards him on all fours. Now it felt like he was the prey being cornered by the predator as opposed to the night he went feral.

 

Getting up on her knees, she pulled on his pants leg to face her as she faced him at eye level. His face still cold and stoïc as when the game started and didn’t show any sign of fear or emotion. And honestly? It pissed her off. So she aimed to change that.

 

Her hand reached behind his head to bury her hands in his hair and in one swift motion, she pulled his head down so his skin was exposed to her as she buried her face in his neck; biting down hard without any warning, she heard a soft groan come from his throat. Her tongue slid against his neck as she nipped harshly with her teeth causing Saïx to grip the table suddenly and everyone watched as it began to splinter and break under the force of his grip. Lady didn’t know if it was the drunken courage or the excitement of eliciting a reaction, but she felt emboldened.

 

“Don’t you dare break anymore of my furniture,” she growled- licking his neck before she bit down again, even harder than the first attempt. An animal-like growl rumbled in his throat and she felt the vibrations on her lips as Saïx’s hands gripped at her back to pull her against him, his nails grabbing on her shirt as he brought his hands down- ripping the cloth on the way and exposing the back of her bra.

 

Lady stopped as she felt blood began to spill and she pushed him back, flicking the x on his face with a finger. Blood ran down her lip as she caught it with her hand and wiped it up towards her open mouth; licking the tips of her fingers with her tongue while looking at Saïx’s flustered expression.

 

“Good kitty,” Xigbar purred, watching everyone’s flustered reactions around the table with his ever watchful eye.

 

“Ah gods, that was hot. Can I dare her to do that to me?” Someone whispered rather loudly and the sound of someone slapping against skin was heard.

 

Lady sat back at her spot and looked down, not wanting to see Sephiroth or Angeal’s disapproval.

 

Much to her surprise she saw Sephiroth’s hand take her hand.

 

“You’re supposed to be sitting on my lap, remember?” He muttered and he wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her up into his lap with unsurprising strength. She looked up at his eyes and now they were definitely dilated when they met hers.

 

“We’re almost done with the whole bottle, but I got one last question!” Reno shook the almost empty drink. “This one’s for Laaaaa-dyyyy~!”

 

“What now?” She moaned.

 

Reno slid over the device and she caught it, barely trapping it under two fingers as it almost tipped fell off the table.

 

“Now it’s truth so don’t be s-cared.” He cleared his throat, his speech a bit slurred.

 

“Spit it out.” She took her glass of water and began to drink, the distinct iron taste of blood was begging to be washed down.

 

“Is it true you joined Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth’s fan club?”

 

Lady’s eyes widened as she choked on the water and set the glass down, gasping for air.

 

“You- how did you know about that?! That mission was top secret!” She hissed and hiccuped.

 

“A-ha! So it was true! Did you enjoy it?”

 

“No of course not!” She yelled.

 

_“-Lie-“_

 

“Didn’t you guys also have to write what you liked about them every week -hic-.”

 

“ _NO,_ we didn’t!”

 

_“-Lie-“_

 

“Also I heard the initiation was pretty fun wasn’t it? Something to do with-“

 

“Reee-no. Shut. Up.”

 

“You joined my fan club?” Sephiroth leaned over her ear to whisper and she felt goosebumps rise on her neck.

 

Genesis scooted close to her and took her hand. “How come you never told us? Did you hear that Angeal?” He called to his friend. “Our biggest fan was right under our noses.”

 

“I didn’t do it because I wanted to-!” Her face was flushed a deep crimson rivaling that of a setting sun.

 

_“-Lie-“_

 

“Mmm I also found out that you even had to read fan fiction-“

 

“Reno!” She screeched as she hopped up on the table, running across it and diving for the redhead. “ _Shut. Up_!”

 

•••

 

Lady heard shuffling from her living room as she stepped out of the shower, looking at her bed which was now occupied by Sephiroth who passed out as soon as his head hit her pillow. _I guess this was going to be as drunk as I see him_.

 

Walking out, she saw Angeal drape Genesis’ body with a blanket. Gen took the couch, opposed to sharing a bed with Sephiroth and he claimed her couch with a pouty face. Everyone had left, but she saw Zack and Reno being carried out by either the Organization members or the Insomnians- assuming they just crashed at one of their apartments.

 

“You’re not tired? Or drunk?” She asked, her head still spinning from the drink.

 

“A little, I’m fine.” Angeal answered her, wiping down the spilled drinks and food from the scene of the crime where Reno was almost strangled by his ponytail by none other than her in her drunken rage. “You made a mess.”

 

“And you always clean up after me.”

 

“That I do,” he muttered. “I’ll leave after I’m done, don’t worry.”

 

“Angeal?” She walked up to him as he stood up to throw away the rag. “Why can’t you stay? Seph and Gen are crashing here tonight and so is Zack.”

 

“I’m not that drunk, I can still go home-“

 

“Shinra isn’t your home!” She hissed, raising her voice so she didn’t wake the other two. “Your home is here.. with me, Zack, Seph, and Gen.”

 

Angeal’s stare hardened but she persevered, already used to that unsavory look of his.

 

“Truth or dare?” She asked him.

 

“Seriously?”

 

She nodded.

 

“Okay, tru-“ he was cut off as she held a finger to his lips and shook her head. “Uh okay, dare then?”

 

“I dare you to move into the Alstroemeria.” She put his hands on him, hovering over the pocket resting over his chest.

 

He looked down at her hands on him and held the hand that rested over his chest- pressing it tightly over his pocket.

 

“Would you ever lie to me? Do you really care about me? And.. would you ever leave us again without a word?”

 

“No, yes, and no. Angeal I care about you so much- you, Gen, and Seph? You guys are the best thing that ever happened to me since I joined SOLDIER. I ran away, yes, and one day I hope I can tell you what really happened but I can’t remember and I rack my head everyday to remember- but.. I get scared. But when I’m with you three, I feel like I can beat anything. And I just want to spend more time with all of you.”

 

_“-Truth-“_

 

“Hah?” Lady looked at him at the sound of the computerized voice.

 

“Reno was right,” he chuckled as he pulled a circular disk from his pocket. “This is a pretty useful device.”

 

“How did you..”

 

“I was a thief when I was a kid, remember? Pickpocketing a drunk person is a piece of cake,” he winked before slipping it back into his pocket and looking at Lady’s wide eyes.

 

“Come here,” he murmured and she buried her face in his chest as she tightened her arms around him, almost afraid to let him go; the way he held her, he felt the same way.

 

“So will you? Will you move in? You don’t have to quit SOLDIER just yet but at least come stay with me.”

 

“Lady-“

 

She pouted and gave her best puppy dog eyes; her chin on his chest as she looked up at him. “Angeaaaal.”

 

“Fine fine, I’ll talk to those three sleeping idiots when they wake up and we’ll discuss it tomorrow. Do you even have a room for us?”

 

“Yeah, I have plenty! But there’s one right next door,” she grinned. “We can all have breakfast in the morning, or walk on the beach, or we can just spend our afternoons in the garden-“

 

“Ugh will you two quiet down? I’m trying to sleep,” Genesis groaned, pulling the blanket further up to cover his face.

 

Angeal and Lady chuckled quietly as they looked at Genesis. She pressed Angeal’s hand over his coat pocket.

 

“Sooo, am I more important than your sword yet?”

 

“Yeah, you’re more important than my sword.” Angeal smiled as a subtle green glow came through the threads of his coat. “But just a little,” he winked playfully.

 

_“-Truth-“_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: it’s canon that the soldier boys have their own fan club. 
> 
> Angeal’s is Keepers of Honor, Genesis has two: the Red Leather AND the Study Group, aaaandd Sephiroth’s is the Silver Elite. Of course Zack gets his own too in Crisis Core hehehe.


	21. XXI

Lady woke to the smell of something cooking in her kitchen, the telltale smell of batter being fried and eggs sautéed in a pan- signaling a meal of something definitely delicious. She tried to stir when she felt a hand gripping her waist that prevent further movement. Looking down to her right, Sephiroth’s nose was buried into the side of her arm- his arm not relinquishing as she tried to move. She looked at his face, peaceful and soft, begging to be touched. Raising her hand, she swept back his bangs as she slowly tried to lift his hand from her waist but to no avail.

 

He only snuggled closer to her arm and Lady was taken aback by the sudden show of affection. It was strange to her. The Sephiroth she knew was always alone, if he wasn’t standing by Angeal or Genesis or her, he stood by himself- his cold and socially awkward demeanor driving away everyone- but here at this moment..

 

He almost seemed like a lonely child clinging to his mother, afraid that she would leave him.

 

“I’m not going anywhere, just gonna see what’s going on in the kitchen,” she whispered as if he could really hear her. He didn’t respond. Gathering her courage- _oh fuck, could I really do that?_

 

She tentatively caressed his face and bent down to kiss his forehead. “I’ll be here with you still, don’t worry.”

 

His eyes fluttered open at the contact and her face heated up in embarrassment as his eyes squinted up at her.

 

“Good morning,” he said plainly.

 

“Good morning Seph, sleep well?”

 

“I did.”

 

“Okay, well.. I guess I’ll go check what’s going on in the kitchen.” She told him.

 

“Say that again.”

 

“What? Uh, I guess I’ll go check-“

 

“No, what you said earlier. I heard you in my sleep.”

 

_Light sleeper. Of course, how embarrassing._

 

“Hm, I’ll be here with you still, don’t worry?” She said questioningly and he nodded slightly, closing his eyes in contentment and moving his arm for her.

 

She moved a lock of soft silver hair from his face. “You don’t mind if I touch you like this?”

 

“No it.. feels good.” He murmured. “If you feel inclined to do it more- I’d like that.”

 

“If you insist,” she bent down to kiss the strand of his hair and got up to walk to the bathroom to freshen up. She was quiet as she went about her routine and even when she left; closing the door to her bedroom lightly, she walked across her living room to the kitchen where she saw Angeal.

 

“Morning, Hewley,” She tapped his arm as she walked past him and towards the fridge to get a drink. “You’re up early.”

 

“Nope, you guys are just up late,” he shook his head with a smile. “We’re on assignment today so we need to get going soon.”

 

“Genesis-“ he grabbed an apple from a bowl, weighing it in his hands before throwing it at the auburn-haired soldier laying on her couch. “-get up.”

 

Genesis raised his hand and caught the apple swiftly as his other arm moved from his eyes to glare at Angeal. “Yes, mum,” he said before getting up to go to the bathroom.

 

“Is Sephiroth up?” Angeal asked her as she hopped up on the counter next to him, watching him cook as she dangled her legs.

 

“Yeah, I’ll get him in a bit. Whatcha cooking?”

 

“Something simple,” he raised a spoon up to her mouth, a bright candy red liquid splashed around. “Here, taste it.”

 

As Lady took his hand with the spoon in to put in her mouth but he pulled away as it was about to enter her mouth.

 

“Did you brush your teeth?”

 

“Of course! Don’t be dumb!” She pouted as she took the spoon into her mouth quickly, the red liquid spilling onto her lips and down her chin.

 

“Look, now you’ve made another mess,” he sighed as he took a napkin to wipe her mouth. Angeal’s eyes focused on the stain near her lips, concentrating on wiping it off completely. His eyes glanced up with contentment when he got it all off and they looked at each other for a while as his finger accidentally brushed along the bottom line of her lip- then their moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat loudly.

 

“Is it done yet, mother dearest?” Genesis frowned, pulling a chair at the dining table to sit down while Sephiroth mimicked his action at the seat in front of him. “Your children are starving.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s coming.” Angeal huffed as he prepared four plates, taking two plates to deliver it to them.

 

“I’ll help you,” Lady took the last two and put it down in front of Genesis before taking the other one to Sephiroth. As she moved to sit next to Seph, Genesis pulled her hand down to sit in the chair next to him.

 

“You could’ve just asked,” Lady muttered as she adjusted herself in the seat.

 

Sephiroth looked up to her and to Genesis, narrowing his eyes. Angeal sat in the other open seat, “It’s too early for this.”

 

“I thought you said it was late?” Lady grinned before turning to Genesis.

 

“My hand hurts from prying you off of Reno last night,” Genesis showed his open palm with no remarkable wounds visible.

 

“What do you want me to do? Feed you?”

 

He grinned, opening his mouth slightly to confirm his want and Lady rolled her eyes. “Here. This is the only one I’m doing.”

 

She spoon fed him and backed away to feed herself.

 

“Sleep well, Sephiroth?” Genesis asked.

 

“Mm.” He gave him an uninterested grunt, rolling a strawberry with his fork. “Nice bed head, Rhapsodos. Or should I say ‘couch head’, instead?”

 

Genesis picked up a strawberry coated in sweet red liquid and flicked it at Sephiroth who in turn caught it with his spoon and fork but not without the red liquid flicking onto his cheek and hair- staining the silver tresses with dots of red sugared coating.

 

“You’ll regret that,” Sephiroth hummed.

 

“The only thing I regret is not kicking you out of that bed first to wake you up, but alas, I’ll have other opportunities,” Genesis fired back.

 

“Enough,” Angeal sighed. “Can you just eat your food and not play with it like children?”

 

“Yes, mother Angeal,” both Sephiroth and Genesis nodded, an amused smile on their faces as they cut into their meal.

 

Lady set her fork down. “Soo.. I wanted to wait to talk about this but what do you guys think about moving here?”

 

“It would be a nice change of pace, if allowed to,” said Sephiroth. “I’d want to.”

 

“Professor Gast would allow it, not sure about Rufus though,” Genesis waved his spoon at her. “What are they going to do to stop us though? We’re 1st Class.”

 

“That doesn’t give you immunity for everything,” Angeal scoffed. “Taking up permanent residence here could be an issue for them. We’re always needed for something at Shin-Ra.”

 

“Yeah, but I’m sure Gast will help us with that or Reeve. They don’t mind where we are as long as we get work done.”

 

“Then there’s the issue of not being able to respond right away.”

 

“We’re not the only 1st Class in that building.”

 

“What if-“ Lady looked down at her plate, speaking absentmindedly and everyone’s attention snapped to her. “-what if you guys quit and leave.. like I did.. we wouldn’t have to worry about Shin-Ra or SOLDIER. It would just be us four.”

 

The three men looked at each other and back at her.  

 

“Shin-Ra provides and the benefits are ten times better than the opportunities I had as a young boy running around pickpocketing people and stealing food,” said Angeal, trying to avoid the look of disappointment in Lady’s eyes.

 

Genesis shook his head,“You don’t get it. To be hailed as a hero to save the world- it’s an honor to call yourself 1st Class.”

 

“ _Saving the world?_ You realize the mako they dig up literally kills the planet, right?” Lady looked at him. “Besides, is status and comfort that important? I may not have the status and ogling fan girls that you guys had but if I’m happy here maybe you guys can be too and I’m not constantly worrying about missions that test my morality.”

 

At her last words, Angeal flinched and looked down at his empty plate.

 

“And what about Sephiroth? What about his status as a world renowned hero? Should he just throw that away?” Genesis challenged her.

 

Before she could reply, Sephiroth spoke in her stead much to everyone’s surprise.

 

“Whatever fame or fortune I have. I don’t want it and never did.” His looked over to Genesis. “You can have it all, I don’t care for it.”

 

“You guys see it too, I know you do. The evidence is there, at this point you’re just denying it.” She didn’t let anyone else continue, choosing to regale them a tale of her disappearance. “Four years ago. I remember being deployed to an old mansion back in Nibelheim. I think they were experimenting with something; something really bad.”

 

Green lights flashed when her eyes closed, remembering what she could in the hazy fog of her memory.

 

“And I think..” she felt her hand begin to tremble and she clenched her fist tighter until she felt her nails dig into her skin to stop the tremors. She began to feel the phantom pain of surgical blades cut into her skin from a memory long past.

 

Her fingers traced along a vein in her neck, feeling the ghostly hands of someone grab her and jab a needle into her neck. “I think they experimented on me? But I don’t know what happened. It’s all so blurry. I woke up in the middle of a desert and the lab up in smoke in the distance.”

 

She looked down at her feet on the wood floor, remembering when she was looking down at them as they were dragging along a cold metallic floor when they tossed her into an isolated room- she shut her eyes to wave away the memory, “I keep trying to remember but I just can’t. It’s like my body refuses to try- I feel like I can, but do I even want to?”

 

Lady opened her eyes. “You can’t trust them, whatever they’re up to- it's not good.”

 

She shook her head as she got up to gather the now barren plates and headed to the kitchen. “I guess it doesn’t matter now. I heard the files on that assignment were destroyed so I can’t even read up on what happened- it’s best not to dwell.”

 

“I’ve seen some of the files on that last mission before you went M.I.A.,” Angeal intertwined his fingers. “Gast was kind enough to provide me with he knew and he said Hojo was working on something called-“

 

Lady was halfway to the kitchen, the three soldiers looking at her as she walked.

 

“-Project SIREN.”

 

Lady stopped abruptly, freezing mid-step, her eyes widening as her mouth opened to form the word ‘siren’. Her hands began to shake as a stray tear exited her left eye and dropped down onto the floor below her along with the plates that shattered at her feet. She felt as if her body refused to cooperate with what her brain wanted as she dropped to her knees, the splintered ceramics digging into her skin. Shutting her eyes, she opened them again and saw a glowing purple eye framed by long flowing silver hair in a sea of phosphorescent green liquid.

 

**“So you finally remembered?”**

 

The voice laughed cruelly as she raised her hands to cover her ears, the laughter only echoing loudly inside her head. Lady hunched over, a whimper rising from her throat as she felt hot tears drop onto her thigh.

 

**“But not all of it. Don’t worry, child. In time you will.”**

 

Lady clutched at her shirt, hugging herself to fight off the feeling of a restless chill coming to envelop her.

 

_No.. no.. fight it.._

 

She couldn’t stop the low sniffles that came from her as she tried to control her emotions, her breathing stippled as she tried to bring it back to normal.

 

Her whimpering stilled as she felt hands wrap around her gently to pick her up. Eyes still shut tightly as tears ran down, threatening to drench her shirt as she felt herself being sat down in someone’s lap, her head being pushed down to rest on someone’s shoulder; her eyes finally opened and although blurry, she could see silver strands of hair that blocked her vision. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything as Sephiroth spoke to Genesis and Angeal.

 

“Go on ahead. Tell them I’ll arrive later.” He said.

 

Lady heard the front door open and close after a couple minutes. Looking up, she saw gentle blue-green eyes along with arms that cradled her. Her bottom lip quivered and she bit down on it to hold it back. She felt his hand hum against the skin of her legs, the minor cuts beginning to close as he casted a simple cure spell.

 

“S-eph..” she murmured, her voice cracking and her body trembled at the unstoppable waves of chills that courses through her body.

 

“Cry all you want. I’m here,” he said.

 

“I’m so-rry. I can’t s-top,” she clung onto his shirt. His hand stroked her hair and her breathing slowly became normal once more. Wrapping his arms around her body, he brought her closer and occasionally tapped his hand across her thigh in a steady beat.

 

Lady sniffled, a smile beginning to form on her face at his actions. “You’ve gotten better at comforting someone.”

 

“This is how I imagine my mother would comfort me.. if I knew her,” he muttered.

 

She looked up at him, at the far away look in his eyes. Moving up to wrap both of her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his hair.

 

“Oh,” she whispered, backing away to look at him face to face. “I didn’t know.. I’m so sorry, Sephiroth.”

 

He gave her a mildly amused look. “Isn’t it supposed to be me comforting you?”

 

“Yeah but I can’t help worrying about you. You can talk to me about anything, you know that?” She stroked the back of his head and the other held his face. “Besides, I need a chance to collect my thoughts before I bring _that_ up again.” 

 

Sephiroth reached to press her hand harder against his cheek, his eyes closing tightly and he released his breath that he seemed to be holding.

 

“My mother, from what Hojo has told me..”

 

Lady continued stroking his head.

 

“Her name was Jenova.”

 

Lady stopped, her heart skipping a beat. _Jenova? Where did she hear that name before.._

 

“I don’t even know my father.”

 

Her eyes squinted, chanting the name in her head over and over- trying to remember. It felt like there was a needle ready to pierce her subconscious if she dived any deeper into it.

 

_Jenova, Jenova, Jenova. Who.. what is that?_

 

“Lady?” He called to her.

 

“Are you sure that’s your mother’s name?” She whispered.

 

“That’s what Hojo says.”

 

“But you wouldn’t trust that man to tell you the correct weather conditions.”

 

Sephiroth glanced down, his face was akin to that of disgust at the man he openly despised. Hojo’s entire existence was the only thing in the world that made Sephiroth’s skin crawl- in disgust or hate, he didn’t know yet but there was a good chance it was both. “No, not at all.”

 

“Then don’t trust what he says.”

 

“What if I want the truth?” He looked at her with intensity in his eyes. “What if he’s the only one who knows?”

 

“You and I can find that truth together without his help..” her hands now gripping both sides of his face. 

 

“What if the truth is something I can’t accept?” 

 

“Then you and I will have a long talk at night until you feel better.. besides, I promised you I wouldn’t leave you alone, right?”

 

“Yes,” he chuckled. “You did.”

 

“I-“ he cleared his throat. “Thank you. It seems I’m still lacking in the comforting aspect.”

 

Lady smiled at him, getting up to balance herself on her knees above his lap. Gathering his cheeks in her hands, she closed her eyes and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

 

“You’re doing great. We’ll work on that together and find the answers to your questions.”

 

She lowered her face to kiss the tip of his nose.

 

“And even if the answer you want isn’t want you seek, I’ll still love you all the same.”

 

Sephiroth’s hand grappled her wrists, his eyes flashing. “‘Love’”?

 

The apples of her cheek flushed with heat. “Love.. for like a friend, ya know? You, Gen, and Angeal.”

 

“Platonic love,” he hummed. “Is it normal for people with platonic feelings to leave marks on someone’s neck then?”

 

His finger traced the spot where Genesis left her a hickey and she cursed herself- she had almost forgotten it was there. And _why_ was it still there?!

 

“Um..”

 

“I know Genesis did it.”

 

“Seph,” she sighed. “You know how he is. Competitive and possessive over things he wants.”

 

“Are you saying he wants you?”

 

“Umm,” her face became more heated and she tried inching off his lap. “I actually don’t know. I’m assuming? Maybe I’m getting a little too in over my head.”

 

“I see the way he looks at you.” Sephiroth’s hand released her wrists and slid down to the curve of her waist.

 

“It’s about time Rhapsodos learns to share,” he said as his fingers clutched at her skin.

 

Lady couldn’t bring herself to look up at him, the redness of her cheeks a stark contrast to his pale skin.

 

“.. May I mark you as well?” He offered. “I want to see how you react. It was curious to me how that man, Saïx, reacted last night. I want to do that to you.”

 

“Seph, I-“

 

“Do you not want me?”

 

“I…” She gulped, looking as his eyes began to dilate. “do, but-“

 

He shushed her. “I haven’t done anything like this before,” he confessed, his mako eyes beginning to glow. “But I’m a quick study.”

 

Taking her hair and moving it behind her shoulder, he pushed her closer towards him. On the opposite side of where Genesis marked her, she felt his tongue taste her skin.

 

She gripped his shoulders, a whimper releasing from her mouth.

 

_I’m so pathetic. One swipe of his tongue can unravel me just like that?_

 

His tongue swirled in a spot just above and Lady let out a soft moan.

 

“So you’re more sensitive here than the other spot,” he chuckled against her neck. “Good to know.”

 

Sephiroth’s lips opened as he nipped at neck gently, the tip of his tongue swirling in a lazy circle as he brought his lips together to suck on her skin. Her hands gripped the back of his hair and pulled as he began to show her what he could do with his tongue.

 

“Sephiroth,” she sighed as his hand gripped her hips. She moved her hips involuntarily as he bit down on her again until he finally pulled away, his eyes fully dilated as he looked upon her expression. Her cheeks flushed and lips moist, her eyes looked up at him through her lashes with a swirl of want and lust. She gulped.

 

“That’s a nice expression,” he smirked. “I want to see more of that.”

 

Her eyes glanced down to his lips, wet with saliva and ready to taste.

 

“May I kiss you?” He questioned her, his thumb tracing the bottom line of her lips.

 

“Don’t ask,” she breathed. “Just do it.”

 

“You don’t know what you’re inviting,” his eyes became feline once more.

 

“And I keep telling you to stop underestimating me, whatever you got in you-“ her hand gripped his throat, snapping his eyes to hers. “-I _want all of it._ ”

 

Sephiroth gave a hum of approval, his eyes half-lidded as his hand took her chin, bringing it closer to his lips as she closed her eyes and anticipated the moment her lips met his-

 

“ _LAAAADDDY!”_ A voice yelled and the sound waves that bounced off the walls outside told her that it was coming towards her- and fast.

 

They stopped, their lips only barely brushing against each other as they opened their eyes and she shook her head.

 

“That would be Roxas,” she muttered, excusing herself and pushed off his lap as she got up to open the door to see the blond out of breath with a crinkled poster in his right hand.

 

“Lady, I-“ he stopped when Sephiroth appeared behind her shoulder, fixing her disheveled hair and fallen sleeve.

 

“It was about time I left too,” he said. “I’ll be back tonight.” He promised as he gave her a small smile before moving past her, his touch lingering on her shoulder before he exited and she watched as his figure disappeared down the marble stairs.

 

“What’s wrong, Roxas?” She looked down at him, urging him to continue.

 

“Look.” He unraveled the almost torn poster in front of her to reveal two blue batons crossed lock with orbs of different colors surrounding it. A huge trophy swirled from a block of wood and gold with four orbs encased in the blue centerpiece. In big bold letters at the top, it read: ‘Struggle!’

 

She took the poster and examined it, smoothing out the pieces where it was crumpled.

 

“Ah.. okay. What am I looking at?” She raised an eyebrow.

 

“It’s Struggle.”

 

“I can see that.”

 

“And the grand prize is a large amount of money!”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“Well,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s for the rent. If me and Xion enter, we can win for sure! We just need you to enter us because we need an adult.”

 

“You didn’t want Axel or Xigbar to do that?” She laughed.

 

Roxas made a face. “Axel’s my best friend and Xigbar is cool I guess, but I want you to do it.”

 

“Okay, sure. When is it?”

 

“It’s today actually.”

 

“What?!” Lady looked down at the date of the contest and groaned when it read today’s date. “We’re gonna be late if we don’t get a move on! Hurry up and get Xion and I’ll get changed!”

 

Lady rushed him as he ran to his room and she went to hers to change.

 

•••

 

“You guys don’t wanna come with us?” Lady looked at the Organization members.

 

“To watch a bunch of kids beat the shit out of each other? Hmm. Tempting,” Xigbar mused. ”But no.”

 

“We don’t need them, it could just be us three,” Roxas pulled on Lady’s skirt.

 

Xion stood beside Lady, looking up at her shyly. “Thank you for the clothes, I really like them.”

 

She looked down at the black button up blouse with ruffles at the short sleeves of her shirt. Her skirt was a deep blue that matched the color of her eyes and she swiveled her foot to test out the black boots she wore.

 

“You look really cute, Xion! You and I should go shopping together next time,” Lady smiled at her. “A little girl time would be nice, right?”

 

“Yeah, I’d like that!” The girl grinned up at her.

 

“We need to go,” Roxas urged them.

 

“You sure you guys don’t wanna come? They are winning _your_ rent.” Lady looked at them with stern eyes.

 

“My head hurts,” both Axel and Demyx moaned, holding ice packs to their foreheads.

 

“I’ll hold down the fort, princess, gotta watch over the rest of these troublemakers for ya,” Xigbar grinned. “Right, Saïx?”

 

“Don’t talk to me,” the blue haired man sighed. “If it’s all the same to you, Lady, I rather stay here than be in the midst of screaming kids.”

 

“I’ll come,” Zexon raised his hand, standing up to walk towards her.

 

“Awesome, at least I won’t be alone. It’ll be a fun little date, right?” Lady smiled at him. “Let’s go!”

 

•••

 

Lady and Zexion sat down in their appointed aisle and seats along everyone else who was getting situated. The auditorium was large, a dome hovering over the top with an oval in the middle to let in some sunlight to illuminate the stone ground below. Four large projection screens hung from all sides of the auditorium to ensure everyone could see what was going on  down below in the ring. Banners of the Struggle championship hung around the auditorium as well as posters of the sponsors contributing money to the grand prize. Her eyes scanned them one by one until she saw the familiar logo of one specific company that haunted her every step. 

 

“Sponsored by Shin-Ra.” She muttered under her breath.

 

_“Hojo was working on something called.. project SIREN.”_

 

Angeal’s words echoed in her head and she tried to wave it away. She would worry about that later, right now- she was here to support Roxas and Xion.

 

Further down the aisle, a whopping amount of women in business suits and others in more casual clothing as well as some wearing expensive looking dresses were all huddled together holding signs up giggling amongst themselves. _Mothers cheering on their kids? That’s so sweet!_

 

The women’s attention snapped up when the screens flashed and a man in a light blue suit walked to the center of the auditorium, directly below the overhead speakers that amplified his voice as he spoke.

 

“Today’s Struggle championship is sponsored by the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company, everyone give a big round of applause for Rufus Shinra and the security he was kind enough to provide!”

 

Applause erupted in the crowd and a group of female voices behind her screamed.

 

“Ruufffuusss~!”

 

_Oh gods._ Lady sighed.

 

The announcer continued. “We’re honored to host the prestigious SOLDIER 1st Class here as well, they’ll be here watching for anyone with potential to join Shin-Ra’s ranks. Now isn’t that exciting?!”

 

The crowd cheered once more and Lady could see some of the kids yelling in delight. In the row above them a young boy, around the age of six, beside her tugged at his mom’s sleeve, “I want to join SOLDIER and be a hero too when I grow up!”

 

Lady shook her head and Zexion looked over to her with worry. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” she told him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

 

The screen flashed to show Angeal, Genesis, Sephiroth, and Zack with Rufus standing in the middle of the four of them.  

 

The women from earlier now all stood up and let out a high pitch squeal.

 

“Angeaaaal!!”

 

“Genesis! We love you!”

 

“Sephiroth~!!!”

 

“Zackkk!!!”

 

They all took their turns screaming out the soldier’s names and Lady groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

_Never mind, they were just fangirls. Just my luck._

 

The announcer held the microphone close to his mouth. “Now.. let’s.. STRUGGLE!”

 

•••

 

“Up next is two up and coming champions from-“ the announcer paused to read his note card. “-Twilight Town, give it up for Roxas and Xion!”

 

“Roxas and Xion? Sounds familiar.” Zack whistled as he squinted to see the two kids walk up to the platform.

 

“They’re Lady’s kids.” Angeal hummed, looking over his shoulder.

 

“Lady‘s kids? Then that means-“

 

“She’s also here.” Genesis smiled, scanning the crowd for his lady.

 

Sephiroth spotted her along the right part of the stadium, standing up to cheer for Roxas and Xion as the two kids waved back at her. She sat down next to Zexion with an excited expression, a hand on his arm as she talked.

 

“Those two kids,” Rufus walked into the room to the large window overlooking the auditorium, watching as Roxas and Xion worked in tandem to fight off their opponents. “They have exceptional skills.”

 

Sitting down on the white couch, he leaned back with one leg crossed over his other. “Lady is here too, correct? It would’ve been interesting to see her perform too. Oh well.”

 

Sephiroth’s eyes squinted, his silence telling as he looked to observe the next round.

 

•••

 

Roxas blocked an attack and swung his plastic bat up at the boy in front of him- hitting him directly in an almost lethal uppercut as the boy flew backwards. Another swing at him from the side and Roxas parried, the handle of the other boy’s bat hitting Roxas’ knuckles and he stumbled backwards to shake the pain off his hand. The boy ran towards Roxas with his bat carelessly swinging with lacking precision.

 

As the boy swung his bat down over Roxas, Xion appeared and blocked the attack; Roxas took the opportunity to jump over Xion and slash away at their last opponent. The two watched as the kid dropped to his knees, groaning in defeat.

 

The announcer lifted Roxas’ and Xion’s hands up as the screen zoomed in on their overwhelmed faces.

 

“That’s another round of Roxas and Xion! They. Are. On. _Fire!_ ”

 

Lady whistled, cheering their names as Zexion clapped alongside her.

 

“We have one more round to go but we’re gonna let these two champions have a breather before we move to the final event, thank you to everyone watching!”

 

•••

 

Lady opened her arms as Roxas and Xion jumped into her embrace.

 

“You guys did so good! Honestly it’s kind of unfair for the other kids. You two are amazing.” She grinned.

 

“Roxas, Xion, your skills with the blade are exceptional as always,” Zexion nodded.

 

“Thanks, Zexion,” Xion smiled. “I only became this good because of Roxas.”

 

“You kiddin’? You totally kicked ass out there!” Roxas nudged her. “You saved me from the last guy!”

 

“Well you both the final round to go through, I’m sure it’ll be trivial for you two,” said Zexion.

 

“Let’s go have dinner afterwards too, my treat!” Lady ruffled Roxas’ head. “You two can choose because you worked so hard today.”

 

“Then we’ll go home after,” Roxas said and they all smiled.

 

“Excuse me, Roxas and Xion?” A security guard approached them.

 

“Who’s askin’?” Roxas turned to him.

 

“President Rufus Shinra wants to see you two.”

 

Lady frowned as she stood in front of them. “If he wants to see these two, then he can see all four of us.”

 

The security guard sighed. “He knew you were gonna say that,” he muttered as he motioned for them to follow him.

 

Zexion walked close to Lady as she let Roxas and Xion walk ahead of her. The security guard following them through a hallway leading up to the VIP section. As they progressed, more Shin-Ra troops appeared- lining up against the wall with their heavy assault rifles in hand.

 

“Stay close,” she muttered to all of them as they walked.

 

The security guard stopped at the double doors and opened it to let them in.

 

“Sir,” he greeted Rufus as the four were ushered into the room, the door slamming behind them.

 

“Hello, Roxas and Xion, right? I wanted to congratulate you for breezing through the preliminaries.” Rufus gave them a disarming smile, but his eyes showed no true joy.

 

Lady looked up to see Genesis stand against the wall with Sephiroth. Zack and Angeal stood on the other side, looking at them with concern.

 

“Thanks.” Roxas said, staring at Rufus with careful apprehension.

 

“Can I have all 1st Class SOLDIER’s leave the room for a minute?” The young-and undoubtedly handsome- CEO motioned for them to leave the area.

 

Zack opened his mouth to protest and he looked to Angeal who shook his head. Genesis tugged on Sephiroth’s arm, jerking his head towards the door while the silver haired man gave him a questioning look as to why they were really following the orders that they all collectively felt were wrong. Nonetheless, the four filed out of the room, each giving their look at Lady who only maintained her line of sight at Rufus. She felt a hand squeeze her forearm on the way out from Genesis as if to tell her ‘don’t do anything you might regret.’

 

Once they were out of sight, a line of 2nd Class SOLDIER’s filed in and surrounded the room- all facing towards Lady and her friends. Zexion and Roxas stood closer to each other- their civilian mode now flipped to their once deadly Organization XIII personas, their senses on high alert as they looked for any sign of an oncoming fight.

 

“After your- I’m assuming it’ll be easy for you two, quick victory. I wanted to extend an invitation for you to tour Shin-Ra’s facilities and see if joining SOLDIER is something you’d want in your future.”

 

“Like hell they do,” Lady hissed and started towards him. Their rifles aimed at her as she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

 

Rufus raised a hand and they put their rifles down slowly, watching her every movement down to the very breath she was taking.

 

“Is this all necessary, Rufus?” The back of her neck bristled at that familiar voice as a door opened and shut behind her. The voice that she couldn’t forget even if she was to burn it completely from her mind. That same nasally voice that was easily laughable yet managed to send chills down her spine at the same time. It could only belong to one man, if she could call him that.

 

She turned to see Hojo come into the room and walk past her towards the kids. He circled them, glancing at Zexion for a mere second, before approaching her kids; leering down at them and adjusted his glasses as he looked at Roxas before looking at Xion. Xion’s blue eyes narrowed, she looked to Lady on how to react but only saw the intense stare she had trained towards Hojo.

 

“Hmm,” he reached down and grabbed her face with his left hand, the skin of her cheeks indented under his thumb and forefinger;  the other behind his back as he jerked her head left and right to observe her face. “Interesting.”

 

Roxas moved towards Xion but Lady had already moved past him in front of her and slapped Hojo’s hand away, a quiet rage visible only in the depths of her eyes. The rifles raised again and pointed at her, one of them went up close on her right side- close enough to brush the barrel against her blouse.

 

“Don’t. Touch. Her.” Lady growled, the mako beginning to surge through her eyes as she put a protective hand over Xion and the girl clutched to Lady’s skirt.

 

“There it is, those eyes,” Hojo leaned in close to her to inspect the subtle glow, a soft purple emanating from deep within her irises. “It’d be fascinating to finally see my work come to fruition- I’ve waited for so long.”

 

“Fuck your work, old man.” Whatever filter she had placed on herself minutes ago had completely dissolved in the heat of her anger.

 

“If I remember correctly, these seem to be Organization XIII members?” Hojo ignored her and peered over her left shoulder to see Zexion and Roxas and down at Xion again. “It’s a marvel that you’re able to live without a heart, figuratively.”

 

“And you,” he looked at Zexion. “Weren’t you an apprentice at that run down laboratory in Hollow Bastion? For that unimaginative man- what was his name- Ansem the ‘Wise’?” Hojo’s back moved as he let out a hollow laugh. Zexion gritted his teeth, his fist balling up as Hojo continued his beratement of his previous life. Although short lived and tragic, his human life was _his_ and even if it didn’t last long- he was happy with his mentor and the salty ice creams they would get every afternoon they could sneak away from the lab.

 

“You know nothing!” Zexion cried. “Ansem was a great man, he was kind and his research-“

 

“His research involved experimentation on kids, no? Also on the manufacturing of monsters and false hearts. I’ll admit, in a moment of inspiration I once asked for his collaboration but I was denied,” Hojo tutted. “I always wondered if the body can work freely without the emotional interferences of the heart.”

 

As he spoke that last sentence, he looked to Lady- his eyes looking where her heart was, lingering on her chest before slowly panning up to her eyes.

 

“Lady,” Hojo licked his lips, leaning over to whisper solely to her. His awful words meant only for her. “I dare say you are becoming one of my best creations yet. If you allow me to work on-“ he cleared his throat. “-with you, you can even rival Sephiroth. No, you could even rise above him with just a few more adjustments.”

 

“You would throw away the poster child of Shin-Ra like that?” Lady laughed bitterly. “You treat your top employees like dirt, that’s sure to convince me to join back up again.”

 

“That boy is letting his emotions get the best of him at times, if he keeps it up then I won’t know what to do. He is, without his feelings, the perfect weapon. He only grows unstable at extreme emotional stigmas, frankly it’s annoying that his mental fortitude can be broken like so.”

 

“Maybe he would react normally if you told him who his parents were, that can cause anyone to grow up doubting themselves.” The name Jenova bounced around in her head along with the doubt she saw in Sephiroth’s eyes, begging to be explored more. “And tell me, is Jenova really his mother?”

 

The scientist’s usually unfeeling eyes cracked and showed a sign of recognition until the edges of his mouth curled up into that of a true mad scientist.

 

“How much do you know about that?”

 

“Answer my question, Hojo!”

 

In an unorthodox act of kindness, the scientist granted her an answer. “No. Not really.”

 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Then who was his mother? And who was his father?”

 

He was silent, only watching her becoming more and more unraveled.

 

“Is this type of emotional blackmail the only thing you have to keep the 1st Class in line? Because you know how easily they could overpower you?” The purple light threatened to take over her irises completely as Lady dissected his actions, eager to dig deep into what he thought. In one quick movement, she grabbed at his wrist and held it- her stare unbreaking as she dug her nails into his skin as a tendril of green light slithered from her wrist to his. Hojo couldn’t look away from her eyes, captivated completely as if he was a lost ship looking to a lighthouse for guidance.. or a sailor enraptured by a siren’s song that would lead to his untimely demise.

 

Lady felt her consciousness creep into his, seeping into his brain and violating his innermost memories and thoughts until she saw herself from his viewpoint. Hojo’s eyes narrowed as he-and Lady- heard a female voice in his head scream. An almost forgotten memory that he deemed unimportant as opposed to the years of research he stockpiled in his head. Lady watched as her own image distorted until it formed into a hazy picture that slowly cleared after a couple seconds of rememberance. The woman was beautiful with her slender face and sharp nose, her long brown hair was tied up into a high ponytail with a yellow ribbon- the only part of hair that was loose were her large arched bangs that framed her elegant face, and her kind brown eyes layered by large fluttery lashes that grew darker in color with the tears that spilled heavily from her tear ducts. The woman grabbed at Hojo’s lapel, shaking him vehemently and screaming. 

 

_“Give him back.. give him back!! Let me see him- let me see my baby just once! Let me see Sephiroth!”_

  _“You.. you’re a horrible father! I should’ve never allowed you to take him away from me!”_  

 

Lady let go of Hojo’s hand immediately, shaking her head as the scientist pinched the bridge of his nose to shake away the feeling of disorientation that clouded him. Lady looked up at him, her eyes widening. 

_That woman is Sephiroth’s mother and_ _Hojo.. he’s Sephiroth’s.._

 

She stopped the thought from continuing else she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from punching the man’s face until it molded to the shape of her fist. She looked around her at the soldiers following their orders obediently, almost absentmindedly. She stopped when she saw one with a helmet on, the shiny reflective visor showing a distorted view of herself and she breathed. _In, out, in, out._

 

“I’m going to take them away from you, I’ll save them all.. Zack, Genesis, Angeal, _and_ , Sephiroth. I’ll make it so Shin-Ra can never touch them ever again.”

 

Professor Hojo cocked his head, unsure himself of what just transpired and why that old memory came up so suddenly. “If you so choose to chase them down into the rabbit hole, ’save them all’- as you say- who’ll be the one to retrieve you when you’ve hit bottom?”

 

He leaned closer to her again. “Trust me, my dear girl. This is a secret you don’t truly want to find out. I can guarantee it’ll most certainly destroy you.” He backed away, a wicked grin on his face. “Unless you seek destruction, then be my guest.”

 

That was most definitely a taunt and she started to fall for it despite her better judgement. Through gritted teeth, she replied, “You.. disgusting, morally bankrupt, son of a _bitch_!”

 

Lady started towards him with the overwhelming urge to hang him off a window hanging by his own lab coat and the guard beside her stopped her with his gun; her attention turned away from the scientist and side eyed the guard instead.

 

“Are you going to shoot me?” She asked quietly, her eyes glaring at him. The guard gulped and held his gun intact. Lady turned her body towards him until the barrel of his gun was pressed directly against her chest where her heart was.

 

“Lady!” Roxas cried.

 

“What’s it going to be, soldier?” She whispered to him. “You’re sensing a threat to the company, right? Shoot.”

 

The guard looked at her and Hojo, his finger trembling as it brushed against the trigger.

 

“You don’t know what’s going to happen if you shoot, right? Let me explain, once you shoot me-“ she tapped the barrel that was still pressed against her chest. “-it’ll take about thirty seconds or a minute, if I’m lucky, to bleed out. My body would go into shock and I would collapse. But not before I suck the mako out of everyone in this room and promptly destroy everything including you.”

 

She walked into the gun further and the guard took a step back

 

“You were at the Shin-Ra building, correct? You saw the aftermath.”

 

She took a step forward, he took one back. The gun pressed further into her chest.

 

“You’re bluffing,” Rufus frowned. “You wouldn’t do that in a stadium filled with children.”

 

“That’s what the barrier would be for,” Lady answered him without looking away from the guard.

 

“And your friends-“

 

“They would leave before I even implode with their portal,” she glanced at the CEO from her peripheral vision. “You won’t be able to catch them, you can’t catch a shadow.”

 

Lady looked back to the guard. “Well? Are you going to shoot?”

 

The guard opened his mouth to answer but he just shook his head no.

 

“Then let me give you a lesson rookie, you’re 2nd Class aren’t you? Don’t point your gun at something unless you aim to shoot and _kill_ ,” she said sternly as she smacked the gun away with the back of her hand. Lady turned back to Rufus, “Are we done here? I’m sure everyone wants to see who the winner is.”

 

She didn’t wait for him to respond as she pushed Roxas, Xion, and Zexion towards the exit; practically ripping the door open at it’s hinges as the ones outside flinched at the loud noise it caused. The other 2nd Class looked at the open doors, confused as to what their course of action should be and one raised his gun slowly at her while others crowded to block her way as she walked out.

 

“Don’t point that thing at me, dumbass!” Lady glared at the 2nd Class, slapping his gun away as it fell from his hands and dangled around his neck thanks to the strap that held it in place.

 

“Move,” she said as she stared down the hall of soldiers. They didn’t budge.

 

“I said..” she closed her eyes, opening them up again and revealing an even more intense glow as she let out a feral snarl. _“Move!”_

 

And as the words left her mouth, they separated to accommodate the four person group as she walked through them with her shoulders squared and a sense of resolve that powered her steps. At the end of the hallway, she saw Zack, Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth waiting patiently. As she passed them, she stopped momentarily and inhaled. She wanted to say something, anything. But she shook her head and kept walking, her head rushing with her newfound discovery. 

 

The 1st Class could only look at each other and wonder about the events that transpired while they were absent in that room.

 

As they walked, the three looked at Lady with worry. Her eyes were about as blank as the corridor walls as they rounded the corner and back towards the auditorium. The crowd cheered in the distance, signaling the start of the final round. She stopped and squeezed Roxas’ and Xion’s shoulders, fighting the urge to marinate in her grudge.

 

“That’s your cue, you two give it your best okay?” Lady gave them a small smile. “Zexion and I will be back in our seats.”

 

“Shin-Ra, what a buncha creeps! Don’t let them get to you Lady,” Roxas looked up at her.

 

“Whatever is bothering you.. you can always talk to us about it,” Xion added.

 

Roxas and Xion both looked up at her and Lady gave them her best smile as she ruffled both of their heads. “Don’t worry about me, just worry about winning that rent money for me, cool?”

 

The two nodded, running off but looked behind them occasionally before leaving towards the center auditorium.

 

Zexion put a hand on Lady’s shoulder. “Are you.. okay?”

 

“I will be.. just need to calm down,” Lady sniffed, putting her hand over his as she steadied her voice. “Also can’t wait to go home.”

 

“Strange as it sounds coming out of my mouth,” said Zexion. “It’s good to say I have a home to go back to and these past few weeks spending time with you gives me joy I never thought I would feel again. You give me purpose.”

 

Lady looked at him and grinned, poking his cheek, “Aw, Zexion. You’re such a sweetheart, you’re making me tear up.”

 

He ducked his head, “I’m sorry! I thought it would be a good thing to tell you..”

 

“No, silly, they’re good tears. People can cry from being happy too.”

 

“Ah.. I see. I didn’t know that was possible.”

 

“Come on, let’s go back to our seats before those fangirls try and take them.”

 

•••

 

“Our next opponent is a strong contender from the heart of Niflheim against our two underdogs from Twilight Town!”

 

A boy that looked to be about seventeen years of age walked towards the middle to meet Roxas and Xion. Lady frowned when she thought she saw a wisp of black and red smoke escape from his ear and disappear back in. She frowned, the boy looked unnatural- she couldn’t even see his eyes as they were covered by dark grey shaggy hair. His movements almost seemed mechanical and unnatural, like there were invisible tethers that pulled him towards the stage.

 

“That boy,” Lady whispered to Zexion. “He seems.. unnatural.”

 

“I agree, I sense something dark within him,” he whispered back.

 

“Alright,” the announcer signaled the crowd. “Let’s get ready to.. STRUGGLE!”

 

The shaggy haired boy lifted his plastic bat and jumped towards Roxas at an incredibly fast speed, the blond barely parried it as Xion ducked under the boy’s swing and jabbed at his chest with her bat.

 

The boy staggered back and clutched where his heart was, he let out a growl and dove for Xion. Roxas grabbed her by her shirt and threw her out of the way, catching his opponents bat with his own and pushing him back.

 

“Now!” Roxas yelled as Xion twirled around and they both knocked back the boy from both sides. The boy staggered back as he held his chest, his back heaving like he was about to throw up.

 

“It’s over,” Roxas held up his bat to make the final swing before the boy looked up, his eyes finally visible and Lady stood up as she looked at his now visible face. 

 

His eyes were completely black with the whites no longer visible, his teeth were bared and a cloud of foam came from the sides of his mouth as he screamed in pain. A black mass burst forth from his back, oily tentacles jutted out that coiled around the host’s body as Lady looked at the boy’s arm which now grew- dragging his body down as it blackened and became ten times his size. His body soon transformed to match the size of his arm, turning him into a large mass of slick black with red lightning erratically zipping through its body. Soon unrecognizable from the boy that came out as it began to tower over Roxas and Xion, a mass of shadow puddled at its feet; at the center of his chest was a heart shaped indentation that was hollowed out so that Lady could see right through it.

 

The crowd began screaming as the announcer dropped his microphone, the static echoing across the stadium as people tried to rush out of there. The monster closed it’s fist, forming a ball of pure darkness that seemed to condensate from thin air before aiming it at the seats next to Lady.

 

“Watch out!” Zexion tackled her to the ground, his body shielding hers as the ball hit the people running in the stands above. Lady watched in horror as their bodies disintegrated into fragments of shadow. The boy from earlier was hit, his small frame being taken by darkness; he cried for his mom who was already fell to the dark attack along with countless other people.

 

_“I want to join SOLDIER and be a hero too when I grow up!”_

 

Lady recalled his words that he had said to his mom at the beginning of the match and the boy wailed as his body soon disappeared, only a glowing pink heart remained as it rose up to the sky. The heart floated upwards until dark tendrils summoned from the ground below it grabbed at it and covered it’s gentle light with pure shadow until it formed a dark creature with piercing yellow eyes and two antennas sprouting from it’s round head. It dropped to the ground and began attacking the humans around it as people screamed- doing their best to avoid the monsters. Zexion helped her up and she looked around at the ensuing chaos and astounded screams for help.

 

_What the fuck was all of this?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ima be real with y’all: I’m not feeling too hot and even after writing 8k words for this chapter, I’m so unsatisfied with it still that it’s making me frustrated. Idk if it’s bc I’m sick and this is just fever induced, but I high key think my writing is trash haha and I feel like I need a break but at the same time I don’t want to bc writing seriously takes me away from reality and makes me really happy and I write to provide other people with that escape bc let’s face it, life kinda sucks sometimes and we read to escape/cope. 
> 
> Tl;dr sad girl hoursss are reaaaallll. I’m sorry I ranted, I don’t rant to people much irl so I guess I gotta put it here. 
> 
> P.S I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter


	22. XXII

Lady and Zexion looked at the giant creature that emerged from the boy from Niflheim, replaced by something much more grotesque and monstrous as it let out a screech that sounded like hundreds of trapped souls scratching at its throat to get out.

 

“That’s a.. Darkside,” said Zexion. “But it’s different somehow, that one isn’t normal.”

 

She looked as it started to gather a mass of darkness at it’s chest, forming at the center of it’s hollowed out heart and slowly building up in size. In front of the thing, Roxas and Xion both assumed their positions- both of their stances identical as they hunched over slightly with their knees bent; a light flashing in their hands as Roxas and Xion both summoned their Keyblades. Xion’s was one made of silver steel with the bit being shaped like that of a crown, she gripped the thick golden handle and it flashed brilliantly under the light of her ice magic,at the end hung a chain of what looked like some sort of emblem; Roxas wielded his two Keyblades that she’s seen before. One white, composed of beautiful shading of blues, yellows, purples, and greens- the end of the blade looking like a shooting star while the other he wielded seemed to be made of pure darkness with its gothic styled grip emblazoned with a pure amethyst crystal, the bit that came to a pointed tip that almost looked like the roof architecture of the Alstroemeria.

 

“Zexion, help me raise a barrier around that thing! We can’t let it get anymore people!” Lady barked as Zexion and her both raised their hands up, concentrating on a massive reflect spell that covered the open middle area of the auditorium. As the barrier began to form it’s hexagonal shapes and come towards her, she jumped into the ring as it closed behind her.

 

Zexion’s eyes widened as he banged his fist at the barrier. “Lady, you can’t! That thing isn’t a normal Heartless!”

 

“Go back to the Alstroemeria and tell the others then! I can’t just have that thing rampage around here,” she looked at the Darkside who roared as it began to summon the shadow creatures formed from people’s hearts and it began to scuttle around its feet as Roxas and Xion made quick work of them.

 

“Go! I’ll be fine,” she gave him a thumbs up along with a reassuring smile and he faltered before conjuring up a portal behind him.

 

“I’ll be back as soon as I can!” He shouted before disappearing into a corridor of darkness. Lady waited till he disappeared completely before running to her kids, a minor flame spell gathering in her fists. She looked as one of the smaller Heartless sank into the ground and crawled its way towards her, popping up from the ground and attacking her with its claws.

 

Lady easily dodged it as if it was a child swinging blindly at her and she readied her flame spell, aiming directly for it until Xion yelled at her.

 

“Stop!” She cried, jumping at the Heartless and slaying it with her keyblade. Lady watched as a glowing pink heart emerged from the shattered shadow and floated upwards to the sky. “If you destroy the Heartless without a keyblade, they’ll just fall into darkness again and won’t be recompleted and there’s a chance you’ll destroy the heart inside!”

 

Lady flinched, remember the little boy not even ten years of age and how his body was so quick to disintegrate. Turning him into one of those shadow monsters alongside his mother.

 

“I _refuse_ to let you two fight alone! At least let me provide support,” Lady huffed, casting a reflect spell over Roxas and Xion.  

 

Xion hesitated but finally nodded, flashing her keyblade and standing defensively in front of Lady. “Just please don’t hurt yourself!”

 

•••

 

“President, professor, we secured a way out. Please follow us!” The 2nd Class SOLDIER saluted Rufus and Hojo as his attention was brought to another of their ranks approach them and he looked to him as the other walked in an almost stunted fashion. “..Barry? What’s the matter with you?”

 

The possessed soldier then lashed out, his eyes leaked an oily black substance as did his mouth- leaving a trace of sludge wherever he touched as he punched through 2nd Class’ chest, the pink crystalline heart thumped in his gripped fist as the black substance began to overtake it and crush it’s light- turning the once soldier into the same demented state as his attacker. Black foam came out of their mouths as they turned towards Rufus and Hojo, their shoulders jerking as they began to flounce towards them.

 

Angeal brandished his standard Shinra issued sword as he made quick work of them; cutting them down with practiced ease, his blue eyes widening in revulsion as the hearts escaped from them- but before they could float upwards, they began to crack and shattered into dust while releasing the sounds of what sounded like hollowed screaming.

 

“What are these things?” He muttered. Never in his life seeing anything as grotesque as what he just witnessed. Almost zombie-like in their behavior, they seem to seek the untainted hearts of others.

 

Sephiroth readied his Masamune as another barreled in and aimed to jump at Angeal, a quick swipe up and he also saw the pink heart that shattered in similar fashion to the previous ones. The silverette turned back to look at Hojo, “Is this your doing?”

 

“Preposterous, such shabby work of bumbling idiots isn’t mine to boast. What use would I have for the hearts of these fools anyways?” The scientist scoffed at the very idea.

 

“Those are _kids_ down there, man! How can you say that?!” Zack yelled, much to everyone’s surprise at his sudden outburst. Zack the Puppy. Always one to follow orders and never really question what his duty was- until now and it was about time.

 

From down below, they heard a female yelp as Zack looked to see Lady tossed against the barrier surrounding her. She cast an aero spell to catch herself before colliding with the ground and promptly jumped back up before dodging another punch from the large Heartless. “You guys can do whatever you want, I’m going to help her out!”

 

Zack tried running past Angeal who caught him. “What’s your problem? That’s Lady down there!”

 

“Lady can handle herself without your help, Zack. We need to help the president and professor to escape first.”

 

“Seriously? What’s that about honor and all that stuff you talk about, but you won’t help your friend?”

 

“She’ll be fine,” Genesis backed up Angeal’s original statement. “We need to focus on evacuating the remaining civilians who can’t defend themselves.”

 

“She has a barrier up that already contains the imminent threat, believe in her,” Sephiroth continued. “We do, so that’s why we aren’t rushing to save her.”

 

Zack looked down, sighing in defeat. “Ugh.. this is all so messed up! Fine, whatever. Let’s get them out.”

 

Just as Zack turned towards the door, another possessed soldier ran at him full speed- his mouth open as black shadows escaped and threatened to consume him with his claws ready to steal his heart. Angeal gripped his sword and readied himself to cut down the soldier when a spinning chakram of flame flew over his shoulder- barely singing the side of his hair, as it hit the soldier causing it to fly backwards on impact. They watched as its body disintegrated and the heart came out once more, but this time it floated up and simply disappeared into a mass of black.

 

Angeal and Zack looked back as two corridors opened up in the corner of the room as Axel and Xigbar stepped out.

 

“Yo, heard you guys might need some help,” the redhead grinned at the SOLDIER’s. “Hey, Zacky, mind throwing my chakram back?”

 

Zack dislodged the weapon from it’s resting place on the wall and promptly threw it back, it whizzed past until Axel caught it- spinning it with his finger before putting it back down at his side.

 

“You guys need to leave,” Xigbar balanced his arrow gun on his shoulder while the other hung lazily by his hip. “And before you start with the whole ‘we’re SOLDIER 1st Class!’, you guys weren’t exactly trained for Heartless.”

 

“You underestimate us,” Genesis scowled. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to fend them off.”

 

Just as he finished, a Heartless broke through the window and jumped towards them. Genesis raised his fist and released a ball of fire at the tiny creature, the heart inside released and then shattered.

 

“You’re breaking their hearts, man. You do realize that’s a human’s soul you guys are killing, right? We’ll take it over from here, creatures of darkness is our specialty after all,” Xigbar shook his head.

 

“Lady asked us to help evacuate so that means two, four.. six of you gotta bounce.” Axel counted. “But if you’re going to stay then at least help us out with evacuation.”

 

“We were going to do that without you tellin’ us anyways! Angeal come on!” Zack tugged on his mentor’s arm.

 

“Wait, if you see a Heartless. Just wait for one of us to take care of it, or if someone with an obnoxiously large key weapon comes by- let them do the work for you. Otherwise, paralyze them and don’t let them attack other people; that’s how they multiply,” Xigbar instructed them.

 

“Understood, Zack- follow me.” Angeal called behind him as the latter sprinted to catch up.

 

“Can’t we use one of your portals to transport us back to Shin-Ra’s main building? It’d be an annoyance to have to wait to leave behind a crowd of screaming fools,” Hojo sighed.

 

Axel and Xigbar looked at each other before turning to the scientist and president.

 

“You’re Rufus Shinra and.. professor Hojo. Lady’s description is spot on,” Xigbar smirked. “Especially you, ya old coot.”

 

Xigbar cleared his throat, speaking in a higher pitch as to imitate her. “‘If you see a guy with glasses and ponytail wearing a lab coat and he looks like he has the physical integrity of a rat that’s been starved- that’s Hojo.’”

 

Axel puffed his cheeks as he burst into laughter, clapping Xigbar on the back. “Dude, your impersonations of Lady are getting way better.”

 

“Aw, you think so?” Xigbar batted his eye.

 

Sephiroth turned his face but couldn’t hide the small smile on his lips from Genesis who openly snorted at his expense.

 

“Are you quite finished-“

 

A crash below the alcove of the VIP room brought their attention to the outside where they saw a massive black tentacle grab a struggling body wriggling in it’s grip. It lifted it up as a hand reached out and ripped the tentacle that covered their face to reveal Lady who gasped for air. The tentacle lifted her up close to them as she grabbed for anything to help her stop moving and her fingers wrapped around an exposed metal pole that stuck out from the wall.

 

“Hey gorgeous,” Xigbar called and she looked up in surprise.

 

“Need some help, babe?” Axel asked.

 

“Xigbar, Axel! Thank the astrals, can you guys hurry up and get them-“ she jerked her head towards Genesis and Sephiroth. “-outta here?”

 

“And these two?” Axel jutted his thumb at Rufus and Hojo.

 

“Rufus can go, wouldn’t want Reno to lose his job and..” she looked at Hojo. “Well, he can go too-“

 

She gasped as she hung tighter onto the pillar that held her still while the tentacle pulled at her harder, causing the metal pole to groan at the weight of the tension.

 

“Hojo can go, I’m not done with him. But if he gets killed or trips, then leave his ass.” She sneered, her grip slowly slipping from the pillar. Before the tentacle grabbed at her body harder, staining her blouse and skirt with its oily residue. Lady’s hand finally released but before she was taken away, she lifted the back of both of her fists for everyone in the room to see. Xigbar cackled as her middle fingers raised up and she glared at Hojo before being dragged back towards the center of the auditorium like the recoil of the whip.

 

“Alright, you heard the boss. Let’s get you outta here!”

 

•••

 

Lady rolled onto the ground as Roxas sliced down at the tentacle that confined her, the slick mass melting into the ground until it completely disappeared. She looked up at the blond kid, wiping the black stains from her thighs. “Rox, you have to have a better strategy for me than just being that thing’s ragdoll!”

 

“I’m sorry, I can’t think of anything else,” Roxas panted, multiple hearts floating up into the sky above them. “They just keep on coming.”

 

Lady looked over to Xion who nursed a cut along her calve muscle, flinching when she moved to parry an attack from the Darkside. Lifting a hand, a halo of green light appeared over Xion and the girl looked down as her cut closed. Xion looked up and nodded a ‘thank you’ at Lady before cutting away at the minor Heartless that crawled towards her.

 

“Go help Xion! I’ll be fine,” Lady pushed him towards her and the blond nodded, running towards his friend whilst swinging his Keyblades at his enemies.

 

She stumbled up, panting and the back of her head began to throb from the amount of times the Darkside tossed her around to divert its attention. But it didn’t overpower her own feelings of impotence as she watched Roxas and Xion fight to the best of their abilities. Light clashed with darkness as the two kids blocked, parried, and slashed away while all she could do was toss a couple of support spells their way.. But damn it if she wouldn’t try and be the best distraction ever.

 

Launching a small bolt of lightning at the Darkside, it reared its ugly head and reached for her as she got up to run the other way. Lady sprinted down the stone ground until a portal of darkness opened up on the floor in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. A wave of Heartless popping out and running immediately after her. Turning at her heels, a similar portal opened up with Heartless blocking the other way. Looking back and forth, she groaned as the small things were surrounding her.

 

The most frustrating thing was the fact that these little bastards were easy to kill, but the risk of the heart being destroyed outweighed her urge to wipe them all out with a single snap of her fingers.

 

Claws swiped at her ankles and she kicked her attacker back, sidestepping to get away from the horde. As she hopped over them and got away, the Darkside tossed a ball of red electricity at her and she slammed against the barrier once more. Lady cursed and tried pushing herself up, the disorientation getting stronger as the ground below her began to spin. She held her head as she allowed herself a minute to rest, but the Heartless took that time to attack her and she looked up to watch them all jump up just as a large blue and silver blade materialized in front of her and knocked them back in one overwhelming swing.

 

Lady looked up to her savior and she gave him a weak smile. “Saïx, you came.”

 

The bluenette looked back at her, helping her up with a hand and used his body to support her. “I’m not letting my landlady fall to mere Heartless.”

 

“How thoughtful,” she sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. “How does the situation look?”

 

“Hopeless,” he stated plainly. “The Heartless keep multiplying and unless we take them all out in one go, they’ll just keep replicating.”

 

“What else can we do, there’s only two Keyblade wielders here.”

 

“Our weapons from the Organization can destroy them, but the hearts will just return to the darkness and come back as Heartless,” Saïx stuck his glaive down, cracking the stone beneath it.

 

“There’s gotta be a way..” Lady tried to stand up by herself and she felt her legs wobble slightly. Saïx grabbed her by the waist and brought him close to her once more.

 

“You need to rest, I’ll get you out of here,” he spoke softly to her.

 

“I’m not leaving Roxas and Xion here!” She disagreed.

 

“Stubborn woman,” Saïx sighed and he lifted his hand from his glaive towards her forehead, a soft light emanating from his fingers. Lady sighed as the throbbing in her head ceased and the disorientation she felt soon stopped.

 

“Thanks, Saïx,” Her head still on his shoulder as she rolled it to look up at him. “Shall I reward you later with another bite?”

 

His dispassionate face flushed a baby pink as he looked away from her. “Don’t be absurd.”

 

“You liked it, admit it.”

 

“Only if you do the same and tell me you like it rough,” Saïx smirked.

 

“Looks like both of us won’t be getting a clear answer,” Lady placed a hand on his chest to push herself off. “Let’s do what we can to help those two.”

 

Lady ran towards the Darkside, raising her hand to freeze his lifted fist before it can swing down below at Xion and Roxas moved beside her to stab it- leaving a keyhole shaped wound where he punctured it.

 

Behind her, Saïx moved to block incoming attacks from the Heartless to prevent them from blindsiding Lady. She gave him her nonverbal thanks every time he swiped away a Heartless away from her and it almost looked humorous- like a man sweeping away trash with an oversized broom.

 

Roxas and Xion both looked as if they were struggling, their limited stamina getting to them. As they both hacked away at the Darkside, Roxas yelled in frustration as Xion jumped back to catch her breath.

 

“This one’s.. not like the others..” she panted.

 

“What is this thing?” Roxas wheezed, his chest rising and falling as he caught himself with one of his Keyblades- using it as a crutch.

 

The Darkside, on the other hand, didn’t look like it had taken much damage. It raised both its fists, gathering a large ball of void energy and Lady watched as it finished gathering- aiming it directly at her kids.

 

She couldn’t stand it anymore, even if it meant destroying that thing and possibly destroying the heart within- she didn’t care at that point. Because that thing was going to destroy Roxas and Xion.

 

She casted a reflect spell over them for good measure and felt heat gather up in her fist before throwing the fireball at the Darkside. It’s attention immediately snapped in her direction, it’s hollow yellow eyes looking towards her as it moved -albeit slow, towards her.

 

”That’s right. Come here, big guy,” she readied herself, shaking her fist to shake away the residual flame.

 

As she looked up, electricity whizzed through the air while she prepared her own ice shield. It came closer and she got a better look at it’s eyes; blinking, she saw the image of the shaggy haired boy before it exploded in dark smoke and turned back into the monster. Lady gulped, her spell faltering and that’s when she heard it.

 

_“Mo..the..r.”_

 

Lady looked at it, bewildered. Did she hear that right? Did it just _speak?_ She looked to Saïx to see if he heard that same voice but he was busy fending off attacks; she turned to Roxas and Xion who looked weary and oblivious to their surroundings. Was it her own fatigue that caused her to hear things?

 

_“Mo..ther.”_

 

There it came again. Lady was too stunned to do anything and didn’t notice until the last second when the Darkside grabbed her waist with its large hand. It brought her close to its shadowy face, the eerie yellow glow illuminating as it seemed to leer into her. She iced over her right fist as she pulled her arm back to punch it square in its face when she felt her heart seize up. Lady gripped her chest, wincing as her breath struggled to come out.

 

“What the hell..”

 

**“Come to me, my children.”**

 

**•••**

 

Genesis ducked back as Sephiroth swung his sword, releasing a wall of ice that encased the Heartless in place. Turning around, the auburn haired man summoned a sigil underneath a swarm of Heartless and watched with a smug grin as it knocked them back, incapacitating them.

 

“This is relentless, how long do we keep this up?” Genesis sighed. “There’s no one left to evacuate.”

 

“Just until they find out how to destroy the main threat in the auditorium,” Sephiroth answered, swatting away another Heartless- careful as to not let the sharp edge slice at them. “That’s the one responsible for producing all of the others.”

 

“Oh, delightful.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

Axel summoned a wall of fire that quickly closed around the Heartless and watched as the flames consumed them quickly, the hearts the only thing remaining as the rest of the host burned to ash.

 

“I hope they don’t make us use the prize money to pay for the damages,” Axel sighed, throwing his chakram at a swarm while Xigbar shot at the spinning projectile, changing it’s trajectory and pushed it in the direction of another swarm before shooting at it again to have it bounce back towards Axel.

 

“Not if they don’t know we were here, heh,” Xigbar grinned as he aimed his guns. “Everyone buckle up, here comes a bunch of them!”

 

The four readied their weapons as a huge amount of Heartless started scrabbling towards them at increasing speeds.

 

They held their weapons fast, ready to knock back the oncoming wave- bracing themselves; but much to their surprise, the Heartless only scurried past them and completely ignored them.

 

“What the hell.. they’re ignoring us!” Axel kicked one down and watched in disbelief as the Heartless jumped back up and continued running past him.

 

“They’re headed for the auditorium, we need to move,” Sephiroth snapped and they all rushed to follow the Heartless.

 

•••

 

Roxas and Xion watched as the Darkside held- almost cradling, Lady in its hands. Saïx called her name before trying to jump up and attack the creature, only for a group of shadows to grab him at the feet and anchor him to the ground.

 

Lady looked up, struggling in its grip as the Darkside brought her close to his chest as if.. as if to hug her.

 

_“Mother.”_

 

“I’m not your damn mother!” She screeched as she tried to punch at the fists holding her, ice chipping away at it’s shadowy skin. Her heart seized up again and she felt her head began to throb once more, stopping her actions. The doors in the auditorium ripped at the hinges as waves of shadows flooded the auditorium, spilling into the middle and rushing towards her. Roxas, Xion, and Saïx watched as they only ran past them and towards the Darkside- and Lady.

 

The Heartless piled up at its feet, melting into the ground to form a swirling large vortex to the void. The ground below them shook as the Darkside took a step back and Lady watched as it began to sink, taking whatever was around it with it. Loose rubble and fallen banners began to gravitate towards the vortex, unable to resist its pull.

 

“Roxas, Xion, run! It’s pulling everything in!” Lady howled as she aimed a bolt of lightning at the Heartless holding Saïx down, effectively freeing him. “Get out of here!”

 

“We’re not leaving you!” Roxas screamed.

 

“Roxas don’t you dare come close!”

 

_“Mother.. we can be together.”_

 

Lady held her head, the ringing getting worse as she struggled in vain. The Darkside’s head and chest was the only thing visible as it’s lower body had already disappeared into the vortex, it held her above its head; but it didn’t help their quick sinking as her dangling feet felt the cold grip of the black smoke rising from the vortex.

 

“Lady!!” Roxas and Xion called, Saïx holding both of them back from being sucked in as well.

 

“What are you doing? Let me go!” Roxas turned to the man with rage. “We have to help her!”

 

“You’ll just get sucked in and then you’ll be useless to her, be more practical,” Saïx ordered him as he watched Lady’s body become quickly devoured by darkness.

 

Roxas’ fist shook as he brought it down to his side, shaking his head as if to force his brain to come up with an idea. His hand slowly raised up, fingers flexed as his Oathkeeper materialized in his hands. There’s no way it would work, but maybe..?

 

“Lady-! Catch!” Roxas bellowed as he threw the Keyblade towards her, sending it spinning through the dark waves as Lady looked up to see it’s white light coming closer to her. As she reached out to it, the darkness attached to her arm like a tentacle suctioning and stuck to her. Her eyes now barely able to see and her arms barely sticking above the ground while the Keyblade drew near.

 

Roxas and Xion screamed, struggling against Saïx grip as Lady’s body disappeared into the vortex along with the Keyblade that followed her.

 

•••

 

Her eyes opened to see complete darkness. Of course. What did she expect to see in a literal vortex to hell. She didn’t see the Darkside, only pitch black; she would’ve assumed this was death, if she didn’t look down to see her hands that shown up normally as if she was in a sunlit area. A bright drop of water landed on her hand from above her, looking up she saw Roxas’ Keyblade float down to her. Its light beckoning her as she reached up, her fingers barely brushing against the star-shaped keychain that dangled off its hilt.

 

From behind the Keyblade, she saw another light- this one green.

 

**“Such power in this weapon.”**

 

The green light shot forth and enveloped the Keyblade, wrapping it up in phosphorescent liquid that shot out dark smoke that threatened to smother the weapon’s inherent radiance.

 

Lady panicked, stretching her body up as her fingers merely touched the handle.

 

_Reach damn it, reach!_

 

**“Don’t fight the inevitable.”**

 

The shadows started shaking the weapon and began pulling it away from Lady’s grip.

 

**“I need.. more power.”**

 

Shadowy hands grabbed at the hilt just as Lady struggled to wrap her hand around the handle, pulling it away from whatever fought her for control. The green orb glowed eerily, as opposed to the warm light that emanated from the Keyblade.

 

“What are you?!”

 

**“You know the answer to that question.”**

 

Lady’s head throbbed as she squinted, a purple eye taking form within the green light until it was framed by a feminine pale grey face and long flowing silver hair.

 

“You..!”

 

Her head was shot with bolts of pain that ricocheted inside her mind as she remembered, connecting the dots like the electricity in her brain that traveled via wires. The lab. Hojo. J-

 

“Jenova!” Lady gasped as she heard it laugh.

 

**“You remember now, you diminutive insect?”**

 

The shadowed hands now began shaking the Keyblade from her grip as Lady grabbed onto it with both hands, fighting for domination.

 

**“Give it up. This power. This world. It’ll be mine- as it was ordained two thousand years ago.”**

 

Lady felt the cold embrace of darkness take her body and the Keyblade’s light began to falter like a candle’s weak flame about to extinguish. She closed her eyes and a flash of the scenes from the Alstroemeria came to mind. Of her friends. Of home..

 

Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself up towards the Keyblade. Her eyes set on the prize.

 

“You’ll never win over me.”

 

The Keyblade’s light began to shine through.

 

“I have people who are counting on me..”

 

The light broke through, causing some of the shadow hands to disintegrate.

 

“And I would _never ever let them down!”_

 

The light broke through completely, almost blinding her in its radiance as she gripped the Keyblade; feeling the power surge through her as her body began to give off a dazzling glow that filled her with warmth. She swore she could feel Roxas’ embrace as the strength filled her. Pointing upwards, the Keyblade began to lift her towards a portal of light.

 

•••

 

Roxas dropped to his knees, screaming as the vortex began to close and he couldn’t even feel the presence of his other Keyblade- Oathkeeper.

 

“Why didn’t you let me go help her?” He turned to Saïx, tears of anger in his eyes.

 

Saïx hesitated, a rare occurrence in it of itself. “I.. can’t let another one of Axel’s friends disappear too.”

 

Just as Roxas was about to shout back, Axel and Xigbar ran towards them with Genesis and Sephiroth in tow.

 

“What happened? Where’s Lady?” Axel stopped next to Saïx, looking down at Roxas and Xion.

 

“She..” Xion couldn’t continue her sentence and just pointed at the empty floor.

 

“The Darkside took her down with it..” Saïx said without looking at the man beside him.

 

“So you let it take her without helping?!” Axel grabbed Saïx by his shirt, forcing him to face him as he shook him.

 

The ground began to rumble and a gigantic arm popped up, slamming in the ground to push the rest of the body up as the Darkside returned to the surface- now much bigger and the yellow in its eyes turned red. The smaller Heartless absorbed into his body, giving the thing their strength. Instead of its usually sluggish movements, it now moved quicker as it arose and strode towards them.

 

“Enough,” Genesis walked in front of them, holding his Rapier in a riposte stance. “I don’t care if that thing holds a heart anymore. It’s caused enough trouble.”

 

“I agree,” Sephiroth stepped beside him, his Masamune held strongly in his left arm and pointed upwards at the Darkside. “This monster has had its fun.”

 

Just as the Darkside ran towards them, the stone trembling beneath its feet just at its weight- Sephiroth and Genesis readied themselves. As it neared them, ready to strike- a bright light shot up from the ground in front of them and blinded those around it. The Darkside let out a pained roar as it was knocked back, a cut on its chest that festered with light against its darkness.

 

The light died down and Lady appeared, wielding the Keyblade as she looked over her shoulder at them.

 

“I’ll take it from here, boys,” she addressed them before looking at Roxas and Xion. “You two, you’re with me okay?”

 

“Lady!” Roxas ran up to her, looking down at Oathkeeper who rested comfortably in her hand. “It got to you in time?”

 

“Yeah,” Lady ruffled his hair. “Thanks for the assist, I needed it.”

 

Xion stepped beside her and together, the three of them brandished their Keyblades at the Darkside who struggled to stand up.

 

Without looking back she spoke to the ones behind her, “All of you wait for me back home okay? We’ll finish this quickly.”

 

“You sure about that? You almost got swallowed up in the darkness!” Axel yelled and Xigbar placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him sternly and shook his head.

 

“Have some faith in our landlady, dude.”

 

“Yeah, have some faith in your landlady.” She turned to Axel, bringing a finger to tap against the side of her forehead. “Got it memorized?”

 

Axel’s shoulder relaxed as he laughed. “Fine, you got it Lady.”

 

“Roxas, Xion!” Lady turned back around and called their names as the Darkside ran towards them. “With me!”

 

She raised Oathkeeper up and Roxas and Xion followed suit; their Keyblades gathered together and formed a large sphere of light that shot out a wave of energy that pummeled the monster directly in the face and sending it flying back once more.

 

“We’ll see you back at the Alstroemeria,” Xigbar told her and he summoned a corridor. “Let’s go, bros.”

 

Saïx and Axel sighed but followed him without a word as Sephiroth and Genesis looked at Lady.

 

“Come on, I’ll see you at home too okay?” She turned to smile at them.

 

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Genesis grinned, reaching to drum his fingers along her waist as he entered the corridor.

 

“I’ll see you tonight,” Sephiroth came up behind her and murmured near her ear before slipping away into the corridor.

 

“Right, well you two, it’s just us three now.”

 

“That’s all we need,” Roxas grinned. “We’re the dream team after all.”

 

“Yeah, we can take this thing down together!” Xion readied her Keyblade.

 

The Darkside ran towards them once more and the three of them sprinted towards it. Roxas took the right flank while Xion took the left- leaving Lady the middle as she jumped up and sliced at its torso. Xion dodging its fist as she dug her weapon it’s hand and stabbing its wrist, causing it to howl. Roxas juked around its fingers as he jabbed his Keyblade into its ankle and sliced around the leg until a line of light appeared where he cut. It staggered, falling on its now injured leg.

 

“Now!”

 

Xion and Roxas switched places, jumping up and digging their Keyblades into the Darkside’s palms- pinning it down as Lady jumped up and swung Oathkeeper down with all of her might. Jumping back at its feet they all nodded at each other and held their Keyblades up once more, summoning a massive sphere of light that gathered in the middle. The sphere grew in size and a pillar of light protruded outwards, enveloping the Darkside with dazzling light as it’s body began to fade away like a shadow being chased away by the coming sun.

 

The three of them watched as an enormous pink heart emerged, twinkling as it rose upwards to the sky and through the opening of the auditorium before disappearing in a shower of light.

 

Lady looked down to smile at Roxas and Xion. “Good job, you two.”

 

They ran towards her as Lady tossed the Keyblade and it appeared back in Roxas’ hand.

 

“Now, let’s go home. It’s been quite a day.” She patted their heads.

 

“Wait.. what about our rent money?” Xion raised an eyebrow.

 

“Wow, I almost forgot that’s why we came here,” Lady pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing nasally.

 

•••

 

The three walked home, each of them taking turns holding the bag of money that the announcer had given them. The announcer was shaking quite terribly as he gave them their money, causing the coinage to jingle as he did so.

 

After giving them a shaky thanks, he went back to hiding under his table and Lady has almost felt bad.

 

“Did you see the look on that guy’s face?” He snorted.

 

“Roxas, that’s mean. He’s probably never seen a Heartless before,” Xion scolded him but couldn’t stop the smile forming on her face.

 

“Thanks for the rent you two, this will cover for a whiiiile. Everyone else should get on their knees and praise you!” Lady grinned.

 

“Yeah, they should!” Roxas swiped his thumb against his nose with a triumphant smile.

 

“I was kidding, Rox.”

 

“Oh,” his smile faltered. “I wasn’t.”

 

“You two hungry? I’ll order anything you want! Or I can cook, your choice.”

 

“I’ll eat whatever you have available,” said Xion. “You don’t have to order anything.”

 

“Wha-? But I wanted pizza..” He pouted.

 

“Hm, how about it Xion? Ever had pizza?”

 

The girl shook her head. “No, never had pi-zza.”

 

“Okay, I’ll order some for you guys when we’re home. The other guys would probably want some too,” Lady sighed.

 

They walked until they saw the gates of the Alstroemeria, nearing it and the three of them feeling the weight lift off their shoulders at the sight of home. Lady put her hand on the gate to open when she heard shouting voices within. Freezing, she focused on the sound of conflict coming from the main courtyard and she could barely see the Organization members gathered in front of something.

 

“You two come here,” she whispered and motioned them to come through the tiny crack in the gate she opened for them. “Stay over there and be quiet for a while.”

 

“But-!”

 

“No buts Roxas!”

 

Lady turned towards the main courtyard, stepping lightly as to not make noise on the cobblestoned floor. But it would be hard to make noise louder than the voices shouting currently.

 

“Is this the new Organization hideout?!”

 

“What? What are you talking about?”

 

“Don’t play dumb! What does Xemnas have planned? Answer me!”

 

“Hoo boy, you’re annoying as usual.”

 

“Don’t call me annoying! Come on, let’s finish this here and now.”

 

“Nah.”

 

“And why not? Coward. Scared I’ll give you another scar?”

 

In full and clear view now, she saw Xigbar, Saïx, Demyx, Zexion, and Axel stand in front of three other people she’s never seen before. The one in the middle was about Roxas’ height, brown spiky hair protruding from all sides and his outfit was black with trimmings of red. The pants were baggy and there was.. an extraordinary amount of pockets on it. Standing to his left was another with short silver hair wearing a similar outfit, except his was dark grey and the jacket was longer- barely hanging over his dark blue pants. On the right was a brown haired man that seemed older than the last two and he was taller, his clothes more different with traditional looking pants that flared out at the end. The top he wore was taut against his broad chest that had two intersecting straps across it and on his shoulder was an armor piece that covered his left arm.

 

“Admit it, we saw you guys at the auditorium so you had something to do with it!”

 

“No, we really didn’t.” Demyx groaned as he shook his head.

 

“Allow us to explain.. I’m sure we’re all confused right now,” Zexion piped in.

 

“Why should we believe you? You guys are always doing something shady.”

 

“Why so many rooms? Is this where you keep your kidnapped prisoners?” The silver boy snapped. 

 

“Ah my gods- can you just shut up already and let us explain?” said Axel.

 

“Like they would listen to reason,” Saïx sneered.

 

“Like we should trust anything you say!” The one in the middle brandished his weapon, a Keyblade that looked exactly like Xion’s.

 

“Trust me, you reeeaally don’t want to fight here,” Xigbar chuckled.

 

“Why? Afraid you’ll lose your other eye to me?” The tall brown haired one growled, stepping towards him.

 

Xigbar spotted Lady behind a pillar and he shrugged. “Your funeral, my friend.”

 

Lady had enough, coming out of her hiding spot- she sneaked up on the three attackers and cleared her throat rather loudly. “What are you doing?”

 

“Waaaah!!” The one in the middle wailed as he turned around, his Keyblade swinging towards her face and Lady watched the boy’s bright blue eyes widen as she caught the weapon by the blade. She held it in place as the boy tried to push and pull it away.

 

“Wha-? How?!” He looked at her in awe and at the hand that held his Keyblade in place.

 

The one on his now left brandished his weapon, another Keyblade. This one stockier but the width was thicker as it had multiple teeth and the color scheme reminded her of the greys and browns of a rock face on a mountainside- of the earth.

 

Lady jumped back, snatching the Keyblade from the first boy’s hands and using it to block the other’s attack.

 

“My Keyblade!” The boy cried as Lady clashed blades with the other one. His blue eyes narrowed and his teeth gritted as she was face to face with him, their weapons pushing against each other in a struggle for dominance with both of their noses almost touching at the tip at the intensity of their match.

 

Pushing her back, he brought his blade down again and she caught it with hers just as it was about to slice through her shoulder. Lady clicked her tongue, bringing her knee up and hitting him in his stomach; sending him stumbling back as he moved to swing his Keyblade again. Stopping only when he saw the edge of the stolen Keyblade directly in front of his face.

 

“I’m gonna ask again and this time I’ll give you a time limit to answer me, what. Are. You. Doing?”

 

The man frowned, but chose to cooperate. “There were reports of Heartless coming from an auditorium in this town, we responded.”

 

“You were late, we already took care of it,” she said.

 

“Ah I knew it! The Organization is collecting hearts again!” The boy cried.

 

“I- excuse me?”

 

“You’re part of the Organization too aren’t you?!”

 

Xigbar clapped his hand over his eyes. “This kid’s a dumbass, I swear.”

 

“I’m not-“ Lady started.

 

“That’s why they’re all here! This is their new hideout.“

 

“And you’re their new ringleader,” the man in front of her scowled.

 

“And you guys are probably up to no-“

 

“Alright, _ENOUGH_ ,” Lady yelled at the top of her lungs, stopping the boy. “I’m not their ringleader.”

 

She took the Keyblade away from the man’s face, giving him a warning glare as to not try anything.

 

“There’s no shady organizations going on here.”

 

She threw the Keyblade back, watching as it materialized in the boy’s hands.

 

“I am! Just! Their! Landlady!! So can you quit?! You’re disturbing my tenants!!” She seethed.

 

“Landlady..?”

 

“Lady!!” Roxas and Xion ran into the courtyard and the blond stopped when he saw the brunette.

 

“You!”

 

“Roxas!” The boy gasped.

 

The man walked back towards his friend’s side and they all looked at each other before looking up at Lady.

 

“Can you explain to us what’s going on?” The man said.

 

“I want names first so I can address you properly,” Lady crossed her arms.

 

“Fair enough, my name’s Sora!” The brown spiky-haired boy pointed his thumb at his chest.

 

“This one’s Riku,” he pointed at the silver haired boy to his right.

 

“And this one’s Terra!” He pointed to the one on his left.

 

She sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose. _Hoo, boy. The headaches don’t seem to stop today._

 

“Nice to meet you, call me Lady.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left me comments of concern over my health. It means a lot to me and from the bottom of my heart, thank you! I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your sweet comments so please forgive me.
> 
> I know, I’m absolutely Terra-ble.


	23. XXIII

“So you’re telling me that a Nobody and Heartless is formed when they’re overtaken by darkness? Like that creature in the stadium?” Lady asked. “Hmph. Okay, I believe you.”

 

“Or if a Heartless steals them. But only hearts with darkness can turn into a Heartless and in turn the empty vessel is turned into a Nobody.” Riku answered and pointed to the old Organization members. “Like these guys.”

 

“Hey! We do too have hearts!” Demyx protested.

 

“Get real, you’re about as empty as a jar filled with air.” Terra scoffed, squinting his eyes as he crossed his arms.

 

“I don’t think so,” Lady said, her eyes trained on Terra. “I think.. you can still have a heart without the physical manifestation of one.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I mean.. I’ve been with these guys for a while and I think they’re about as real as any other-“ she put air quotes in the air. “-‘real’ person. They laugh, get mad, and get sad. Why should the lack of something dictate if they’re a person or not?”

 

“And even if they’re beings of literal darkness?” Terra retorted, feeling his principles slip away under Lady’s resolve. “Besides, they only act like that because they’re acting out emotions they remember from when they were still human.”

 

“And what about it? They don’t deserve a chance just because of their circumstances? You would condemn just for trying? If anything, the person saying that is the one without a heart.”

 

Terra and Riku flinched under her words as she looked at them, her arms crossed as she rotated her gaze between the three Keyblade wielders before she focused on Terra. His downward gaze slowly turning up to face her, the brown tips of his hair framed his face messily as his eyes- a lovely shade of blue, focused on her.

 

“I’m sorry, have we.. met before?” Lady asked him exclusively.

 

“I don’t think so, I would’ve remembered your face,” said Terra.

 

In the back, she barely missed Xigbar squinting at Terra and looking away hastily.

 

“I’m really sorry about attacking you guys,” Sora rubbed the back of his hair with a sheepish smile. “I guess we don’t have to worry about them acting up with you in charge here, Lady!”

 

“They’re grown men, they don’t need me taking care of them,” she chortled. “But the least I can do is keep them out of trouble.”

 

“Besides, if we get outta line she’ll just smack us back into formation,” said Axel, his fiery red spikes popping up behind Terra.

 

“Don’t worry about us Sora. Tell Naminé and Kairi we said hi okay?” Xion smiled at the spiky brunette.

 

“We sure will! We’ll see each other again soon, don’t worry.” Sora assured her as he grabbed onto Riku’s arm. “Let’s go already, I’m tired from running around all day.”

 

“Don’t be such a dingus, a minute ago you were so serious- now look at you.” Riku shook his head, smiling at his friend. He looked back at Lady, “We’ll leave things to you then.”

 

The two friends turned to leave and Terra followed behind shortly, looking back at Lady as she and him exchanged glances. His shoulders were squared back and the tips of his bangs blew in the wind. Lady blinked and when she opened it she saw the brown of his hair turn silver and the blues of his eyes slowly turning into rich amber. Blinking again she only saw Terra giving her an apologetic smile and turning back around to exit.

 

Lady sighed. It had been an eventful day, her body felt slightly fatigued but it was her mind that was the most worn out. Many revelations needing to be deconstructed and thought about.. but not right now. It would just be too overwhelming.

 

“Lady.”

 

She turned at the call of her name to look at Zexion.

 

“When you said that you thought we were real people, did you mean it?”

 

She looked at all of them one by one before giving her usual genuine smile that was what started her friendship with all of them.

 

“Of course, why would I say things I don’t mean?”

 

“But what about what they say? It didn’t change your mind?”

 

“It wouldn’t matter what they say, just because it is doesn’t mean it should be. I believe in what I know, and I know you guys are good people,” she continued. “So don’t ever forget that, ‘kay?”

 

Zexion gave a relieved sigh, almost as if he was holding in his breath the entire time she was talking.

 

“You’re just somethin’ else,” Xigbar muttered under his breath, smiling slightly.

 

“Hey! You guys need to thank Roxas and Xion for winning the rent for at least a year!”

 

“Thanks, squirts. You guys killed it out there,” Axel grinned, patting both of their heads.

 

“I’m kinda hungry,” Demyx whined as he sat down on a cushioned patio chair. “Saving people from Heartless wears me out.”

 

“I concur,” Zexion sighed.

 

“Let’s get some ice crea-“

 

“ _No._ ” Both Saïx and Lady said firmly as Axel’s face fell into a dissatisfied pout. Lady gave the bluenette a grateful look and she barely caught the sly smile formed on his lips as he turned from her. “Roxas and Xion wanted pizza.. what do you guys want?”

 

“Your love.. and affection. I’m hungry for it,” Xigbar placed the back of his hand on his forehead as he rolled his head back dramatically.

 

“Yeah well that’s not on the menu, so you guys are gonna have to pick something else.”

 

“It’s not? Shame.” Axel gave her a quick wink. “We can’t eat anything else besides that.”

 

“Then starve,” Lady deadpanned, struggling to maintain a straightlaced as both of their faces almost fell in disbelief at her snide comment. “I’m joking! Don’t look so glum, I’ll try to find a place to order from.”

 

Just as she pulled out her phone to search up good pizza take-out when she spotted the tall and elegant tactician of the Insomnians making his way down to the courtyard from his apartment.

 

“Ignis!”

 

“Lady, good afternoon.” He greeted her with his voice, smooth like the Ebony coffee he would drink almost every morning. “You guys hungry? I’m about to order some pizza.”

 

“Ah it’s quite alright, I’ve already whipped something up for us.”

 

“I guess I’d rather eat your cooking than take-out any day too, to be honest!” She leaned forward slightly, putting a hand beside her mouth as she whispered. “Hey so, you ever gonna teach me how to cook in true avant garde fashion?”

 

“Depends,” he pushed up his glasses and placed a hand on his hip. “Do you make a good student?”

 

“Oh, the best,” she winked. “Will you let me know when you’re free babysitting Noctis?”

 

“I suppose, whenever the opportunity arises you’ll be the first to know.” He gave her his usually gentle smile. It was always subtle, never truly giving anything away- unlike the rest of the gang he traveled with. He was quiet and reserved, usually saving his emotions for the people that truly mattered. In rare occasions, Lady would always see his genuine smile and it would always be in the company of Noctis, Prompto, and Gladiolus.

 

“Iggy!!”

 

_Speak of the devil.. or devils._

 

The three ran up behind him, clapping Ignis on the back as they wheezed.

 

“Why’d you just leave us behind like that?” Prompto gasped for air, his shirt still disheveled and a stray hair was sticking up from the side of his head.

 

“Because I grow tired of waiting for you to make sure each individual strand of your hair is perfectly positioned when the wind will merely blow away all of your tremendous effort,” Ignis sighed.  

 

“Not cool, specs. I wanna make sure I look decent,” Noctis frowned.

 

“Why? Trying to pick up a girl?” Gladio grinned. “Looking for your future queen?”

 

“The mere prospect of your royal inheritance should be enough to attract any girl,” Ignis added.

 

“Speaking of girls,” Gladio’s warm amber eyes looked to Lady. “Hello there.”

 

“Hey guys, going somewhere?” Lady smiled at him.

 

“Well we’re going out to the city and exploring! You should come with us,” Prompto asked her, hope shining in his ever adorable cornflower irises.

 

“Maybe another day, I have to order food for these guys,” she pointed her thumb behind her at the group of hooligans who were laughing loudly at Demyx’s expense who looked like he was getting bullied relentlessly.

 

“Awww, but you never get to hang out with us,” Prompto sighed. “You always got something to do.”

 

“For good reason Prompto, she keeps this place up and running for us,” Noctis pinched his friend’s cheek. “Don’t be such a crybaby.”

 

“Yeah, but it’d be nice..”

 

“Let the lady decide if she wants to hang around us.

 

Lady tapped her foot against the ground gently as she spoke. “Tell ya what, I’ll hang out with you guys next time you all go out again.”

 

“You mean it?” Prompto’s eyes lit up.

 

“Yes.“

 

Prompto then proceeded to push the other three away from her. “Let’s go before she changes her mind!”

 

Gladio turned to wave at her as the blond struggled to push his massive figure. “Seeya later, Lady.”

 

Lady watched as the four of them walked together towards the exit and she momentarily saw herself, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth walking together when they were all still in 1st Class; finishing a mission hastily so they could sneak into the training rooms in the Shinra building in Midgar to knock Banora apples off each other’s heads with their swords. It was simple back then. Peaceful almost in a sense. And before she could relish the illusion a bit more, quick bats of her eyes dissolved the image.

 

“Oi, big guy! You and me are gonna need a rematch for that arm wrestling competition!” She heard Gladio call out to Angeal who entered the gates.

 

“Sure, if you want to lose,” Angeal smirked, bumping fists with Gladio as they both passed each other.

 

“We’ll see about that, soldier!” He said before leaving through the gates.

 

Lady’s eyes lit up at the sight of Angeal and he couldn’t help the smile on his lips when he saw her. Running to him she jumped into his arms and he caught her with ease, swinging her around before setting her down.

 

“So I’m guessing you guys made it out okay, I’m relieved.”

 

“You underestimate us,” Angeal chuckled. “I just came to check up on you and make sure you’re alright.”

 

“I’m fine,” Lady smiled at him, finding the strength to not pull him away and spill everything that happened today. She hugged him tighter and Angeal returned the gesture.

 

“You sure you’re okay?” He whispered against her hair and she nodded. He sighed and patted her back. “Just talk to me when you’re ready.”

 

Lady stepped back with an amused smile, “Ahh, there’s the famous 1st Class mentor. Angeal Hewley, the great teacher and mother to us all.”

 

“Shut up,” he shook his head, rolling his eyes.

 

“Is Seph and Gen okay? Zack too, right?”

 

“Yeah, they’re back at base discussing the attack at the stadium. It certainly puts a bad name for us at Shinra because we were the ones providing security for that event.”

 

“Is it something you guys should be worried about?”

 

Angeal sighed. “The.. things that managed to get in. They weren’t average enemies. The fact that they got to sneak in so easily is something that blows away people’s confidence in Shinra _and_ SOLDIER.”

 

“Well that’s good, you guys can leave with more ease right?”

 

His weight shifted to his other foot as he talked. “I know but.. I feel like there’s something bigger happening and I can’t run away just yet. Not when more danger might be coming.”

 

Lady shut her eyes, blowing out air through her nostrils. The attack didn’t sit well with her either and she could feel the familiar winds of conflict ready to meet shore. She was ready for whatever came- but the last thing she wanted was others fighting too. Because she knew all too well that with battle comes losses and casualties. She turned to the Organization behind her as they all talked amongst themselves and laughed.

 

“Hey I still have a picture of you with a dick on your face!” Axel sniggered as he flashed a picture on his phone.

 

“What the HELL. Delete that!!” Demyx screeched as he tried to grab at his phone.

 

“Too late, already sent it in the group chat.” Xigbar smiled.

 

“I have that picture saved too.” Zexion held up his phone. “The group messenger is truly a marvelous feat. I made it of course.”

 

“The group chat? What group chat?! Why am I not in it!”

 

“‘Cause you suck at texting.”

 

“Not cool, Xiggy.”

 

“I’ll add you later, stop crying.”

 

“Don’t forget to add the rest of us!” Roxas frowned. “Saïx and Xion too!”

 

“Yeah yeah, I’ll add everyone right now so you can all shut up already.”

 

Lady smiled at the scene in front of her. They seemed like a family, although the most unorthodox type of family. Slowly but surely, they all warmed up to each other; always gathering under the large central gazebo to talk about the latest idiotic plan they’ve concocted ranging from random ideas of ways they can use corridors of darkness to pickpocket each other or how much money they could make if they made Demyx play for live concerts.

 

She looked back to Angeal, “I hope that whatever’s coming won’t take this away.” She leaned forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder. “I don’t want to lose anyone.”

 

He squeezed her arm. “I’m not going anywhere, silly.. You seem down, wanna go somewhere?”

 

“Right now?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Hmm. A date with the famous hero Angeal Hewley.. it’s an offer I can’t miss! Let me change, my clothes are stained. Also I still need to order their pizza.”

 

“Go ahead, I’ll wait down here.” He assured her and watched as she ran up the stairs to her apartment, slipping behind her door and out of his sight.

 

Angeal stood standing, his eyes looking over the carefully cultivated garden of flower beds that dotted the central courtyard in the midst of lush green grass with stepping stones leading to the cobblestones pathways connecting the apartments together. Wooden trellises with silver and gold inlays were wrapped with emerald green vines and different colored blooms that hung off of them. Wherever he turned his head to look, he could smell a new wave of flowers he has seen before in his constant travels during missions. Roses, lilacs, daisies, tulips, etcetera.. and in some parts of the flowerbeds he would spot rare blooms that he would only see in books in the Shinra library. Well.. most flowers were rare seeing as how Midgar was a city of metal. To see even a single blade of green grass was already a miracle within itself and he was thankful for the missions that sent him far from Midgar and it’s industrial confines, sending him towards the wilderness where foliage grew unapologetically. He smiled. The Alstroemeria was almost a reflection of Lady. A place where people could find a home in.. a place where things bloomed without fear.

 

That’s what she was to him, ever since the day she and him were training and he sent her flying back towards the wall. He remembered stopping and she yelled at him to keep going as she used her sword to help herself up.

 

_“I can do this all day! So don’t hold back!”_

 

He smiled at the memory. And even more so at the fact that even after she lost to him, she still had the nerve to give him her usual cheeky smile while asking for a rematch. That’s what he always was to her. His flower growing in the midst of a metal city already devoid of life.

 

“Hey, let’s go before it gets too dark out!” Lady called, running down the stairs towards him. Her dark blue short-sleeved summer dress with a ribbon sash floating around her as she bounded. She put a fresh coat of gloss on her lips that accentuated her smile, and her face looked refreshed and newly powdered.

 

“Another dress? And makeup?”

 

“Look I want to wear all of my short dresses before summer ends and it’s already getting chilly recently,” she clicked her tongue. “Besides, I want to look good for you.”

 

Angeal was at a loss for words, his saving grace was that she ran towards the group in the gazebo with money in her left hand.

 

“Hey so I ordered the pizza and they’ll deliver it here shortly, just hand the money here to the delivery person. Not you, Xiggy-“ she snatched the money away from the Freeshooter’s hand and placed it in Zexion’s palm. “-here.”

 

“Why him?” Xigbar frowned.

 

“Because he’s the most responsible out of all of you! Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, and stop bullying Demyx!”

 

“Hey Lady, wanna be apart of our group chat?” Roxas looked up from his phone. “I want to add you in.”

 

“Sure, sounds fun!” She waved back at them. “I’ll be back.”

 

Turning towards Angeal, she wrapped her hand around his bicep and pulled him along with her towards the gates. “You gonna tell me where we’re going?”

 

“It’s a surprise,” he grinned. “It’s one of my new favorite places to go in this town.”

 

•••

 

“This is your favorite place?” She looked around her at the market stalls of fresh fruit that looked immaculate and almost fake because of their pure sheen; choice cuts of varying meats that hung from large metal hooks with fish displayed on large beds of ice looked as if they were still alive.

 

“Farmer’s market. You don’t see this in Midgar- or even in Banora. It’s refreshing to see food this high quality so I sometimes come here after work,” he talked to her as they walked side by side. Angela’s broad shoulders were bared thanks to the sleeveless turtleneck that was the 1st Class standard uniform. _Well_ , she thought, _at least he took off the shoulder pauldrons and straps so his outfit relatively normal and like a civilian_.

 

They rounded a corner into a circle of stalls serving food that would probably be delicious thanks to the fresh stock of ingredients they had right next door.

 

“You know, Zack took me to a food market that kinda looked like this.” She looked at the smoke rising from the grills and back at Angeal who had a sour look on his face. “My my, are you jealous?”

 

“Of course not, but he should know better than to try and court another 1st Class,” he grumbled.

 

“I’m not 1st Class officially anymore, remember?” she pursed her lips in annoyance. “And what’s wrong with a little date here and there. It’s what we’re doing right now, no?” She bumped his arm with her shoulder and winked at him.

 

Angeal inhaled and sighed. “Zack has taken a liking to you.”

 

“Did he now?”

 

“It’s hard not to take a liking to you.” He muttered, turning away.

 

“What was that?”

 

“I said I think I need a drink.”

 

Lady grinned and wrapped her arm around his, following him as he approached a stall to buy a bottle of water. Uncapping it and gulping it down in one go, crushing the bottle in his hand before tossing it into the recycling bin.

 

“Look at those fruits Angeal!” She tugged on his arm as she let go to run towards the stalls. The fruit stands were covered with tarps to form a line of tented stalls to keep the fruit out of direct sunlight, preserving their freshness.

 

Angeal ran after her, jogging and stopping as she looked at bunches of grapes. “Don’t run off like that,” he huffed.

 

“You still act like you’re my mentor,” Lady laughed. “Relax!”

 

“With your troublesome nature? I could never.”

 

Lady looked at the strawberries that were stacked alongside cherries that had a deep crimson color, begging to be eaten.

 

“Would you like to try some, ma’am?” A girl asked, handing a sample bowl of cherries towards her.

 

“Ooh can I?” She took one with a long stem. “Thank you!”

 

Popping it in her mouth after plucking it from the stem, she took a napkin to spit out the seed as she felt the sweet liquid run over her tongue. Tapping Angeal on his arm to get his attention, she placed the stem on her tongue and he watched as she took the stem out; except it was now tied in a perfect knot and she held it up triumphantly next to her lips that were stained red by the fruit.

 

“I can tie the stems, it took me a while to learn,” she grinned.

 

“I can see that,” he cleared his throat, ripping his eyes from her lips as he looked around for something to distract him. “Let’s go see what other stuff they have.”

 

Gently pushing her in front of him, his hand was on the small of her back as they weaved through the crowd. His hands never touching anything below that, he made sure. Soon the crowd of people dispersed near buildings with narrow alleyways, the sidewalk leading to a park where people sat down and rested. They both found an open bench and sat down, enjoying the cool breeze that would soon usher in fall.

 

“Hey, how’s your mom? I forgot to ask.” She turned her head to face him.

 

“She’s doing fine. She asked about you actually and how you were doing.” He crossed his arms, looking at the setting sun.

 

“Really? What did you say?”

 

“I told her you were fine and she wants you to visit her when you have the time.”

 

“..did you also tell her we’re going to visit her together to get her blessings to get married?.. I’m kidding!” She laughed when Angeal looked at her incredulously. “I do want to see her though. One day.”

 

He shook his head, “You’re having too much fun.”

 

“Can’t help it, I like hanging out with you! I think you’re more fun to tease than Zack. I told him the same thing and you should’ve seen the look on his face.”

 

“Don’t tease Zack, his puppy heart won’t be able to handle it.”

 

“And what about you?”

 

As he opened his mouth to respond, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he reached in- answering immediately.

 

“Hello?... oh. Okay hold on-“ he put a hand to cover the speaker and showed her the name of the caller which read ‘Genesis.’

 

“Heyyyy Gen!” She called and Angeal put the phone back to his ear.

 

“Hey- no.. yes that was Lady… no I’m not gonna put her on the phone. What do you want?” Once again he covered the speaker and looked at her. “Sorry let me take this call.” Before getting up and walking towards a more secluded spot to continue his conversation.

 

Lady twiddled her thumbs, smoothing out her dress and looking up at the last of the sun’s red rays. _It’s getting dark._ The people in the park started packing up their stalls and the visitors were carrying their bags of food out. As they shuffled out, she was soon one of the handfuls of people that were still in the park. She checked her phone as the clock read ‘8:36’ and she looked at her message notifications to see a text from Zexion.

 

Zexion: Lady, just wanted to let you know that I made a messenger app specifically for all of us to connect with each other! The firewall for the app should keep people from interference and other malicious intents. Also it could support many people versus the traditional text message group chats. Since Roxas already added you in, you should be able to access the app with no problem. I’ll send you the download link.

 

Zexion: -file attached- also, you can add anyone else you feel should be included. I made this for you so you can keep in touch with all of us even when we’re not all together.

 

He sent a heart emoji and Lady chuckled, downloading the app and watching it load up onto her screen. The icon was pure black with what looked like the multi-colored lineart of a flower; specifically in the shape of the namesake of her apartments- the alstroemeria flower.

 

The little detail had her break into a grin as she clicked on the app. It opened up, the flower icon appearing before it went to a screen that looked like your typical text messaging screen. But it was sleek with its minimalistic design and at the side bar was a pull-out tab that showed who was in the messenger as well as the option to make separate chat rooms if so desired. _Impressive._

 

Lady clicked on her contacts, her thumb scrolling as she clicked on people to add into the messenger. Her thumb clicked on the contacts, listening them off one by one in her head. _Angeal, Zack, Genesis, Sephiroth, Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio._ Her thumb stopped at one name, sighing she clicked on it even if her gut feeling told her it would be a bad idea but she ended up tapping on it anyways. _Reno._

 

She sent the messages out, telling them about the exclusive download link and put her phone down- hoping they would accept. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the autumnal breeze that blew her way, feeling it ruffle the hem of her dress.

 

“Hey beautiful,” a voice caused her to open her eyes and she looked up to see three men standing in front of her; all of them looking to be in their mid-twenties. The one in the middle had his hands in his pockets as he leaned over slightly to greet her. “You all alone?”

 

Lady frowned, slightly amused at the way they looked down at her from their noses which she assumed was their petty way of asserting their dominance.

 

“Hello? You mute?” He continued, tilting his head and letting his messy brown hair fall over his left eye.

 

“No, just not interested,” she looked at them with a stone-cold glare. She smelled the faint whiff of cheap beer from his breath and her nose wrinkled.

 

“This one’s got a mouth,” the one to his left sneered. “Gotta stuff somethin’ in it to shut ‘er up.”

 

“I like the sound of that,” the one on the right laughed. “How ‘bout it, darlin’? Wanna have some fun?”

 

Lady snorted. “I’d rather jump into a mako reactor face first than be within five feet of you three.”

 

“Who the fuck do you think you are, prissy bitch-?!” The one in the middle raised his voice as his two friends look like she had just killed their dog. “You’ll regret that!”

 

Lady stood up to meet their gaze, irritation crossing over on her face. “Oh, I hope I do,” she hissed. The three of them surrounded her in a crooked triangular formation, their breath hot with the alcohol they no doubt ingested past the point of sobriety.

 

“I’ll wipe that proud look off your face,” one of them growled.

 

Her eyes slowly looked up at the one in front of her, her smile curling up in amusement which in turn pissed him off even more. As the two on her sides grabbed onto her arms, he raised the back of his hand to slap her. Just as she tightened her fists, feeling a surge of magic wriggle in her fingers- the one in front of her got knocked onto the ground as if he was a rag doll, his arms flailing to try and catch himself but ultimately failing as he collided onto the floor.

 

Lady looked up to see Angeal, his breath uneven as he looked up to look at the other two with rage in his eyes, glowing with mako energy.  “Let her go. And I’ll let you walk away without any broken limbs,” he said in a low voice.

 

“Shit.. I think this guy is SOLDIER..” she heard the one on her right whispered, transfixed by the militant group’s signature trademark.

 

“That’s right,” she assured him and turned to look up at him, her eyes also beginning to glow. “And so am I.”

 

“Fuck!” They let her go as they ran towards the one on the ground. The three of them looking up at Lady who now stood besides Angeal, both of their eyes glowing in the dim light of the rising moon. “Th-those are ma-mako eyes!”

 

“We gotta go, man! They’ll kill us!” One yelped as he ran ahead, leaving his other two friends behind.

 

“Wait for me!” The other one ran and left the one on the ground alone, whimpering as he backed away on his hands. Struggling to get up as he ran away after the other two idiots.

 

When they were out of sight, Angeal immediately turned to her and checked her for injuries. “You okay?” He asked her with intense worry in his eyes.

 

“Like those three could ever put a scratch on me,” she scoffed.

 

His eyes hardened, “Overconfidence is often the thing that kills soldiers in battle.”

 

“I’m fine, Angeal. What did Genesis call for?”

 

He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “Remember that attack on the Shinra building when we first came to this town? The one where you fought off the ones attacking Rufus?”

 

“Mhm, those weird robots from Niflheim?”

 

“That attack was deliberate, they want to attack Rufus- or Shinra as a whole.”

 

“Who doesn’t?”

 

“Lady,” Angeal frowned. “They were after information and before you ask, we don’t know yet. That’s all they would tell Genesis. But Nibelheim isn’t working alone, the monsters in the auditorium were definitely not something they could’ve made.”

 

“An accomplice?” Lady thought of the boy who turned into the giant Heartless. “That doesn’t sound good. You think they’ll attack us again?”

 

“They attacked an arena full of people, they’re getting bolder and won’t hesitate to do so again.”

 

“We might need help if we’ll be fighting Heartless. Normal weapons won’t be any use.”

 

“I know,” he said, the dilemma poking at his mind. “I’ll have to look into it more. Let’s just get home, it’s getting darker.”

 

Lady nodded as Angeal turned, looking back at her with surprise when she held her hand in his.

“Hey Angeal, how much does Sephiroth hate Hojo?”

 

“More than the amount of stars in the sky,” he gave an amused snort. “Why?”

 

_Hoo boy. How am I gonna tell him?_

 

“Nothing, just curious.”

 

He raised his left eyebrow in confusion and began walking; he didn’t bother taking his hand away from hers as they both went home.

 

•••

 

Angeal sat on the couch of her apartment, scrolling through the downloaded documents on his phone as he read through today’s reports of all the 2nd Classes he was currently training. From behind him he heard footsteps on the hardwood floor.

 

“Hey, did you download that app yet? The one I sent you?”

 

“Sorry no, I was busy reading through-“ he turned around and stopped mid-sentence when he saw Lady bending down to get a drink out of the fridge. She wore only a towel that wrapped tightly around her body as she drank, putting the bottle back in the fridge and walked back to her room. She left the door ajar as he saw her unwrap the towel, barely seeing the nude curves of her body drenched in the moonlight peering through her window. She walked back out just as she adjusted the silken white nightgown over her stomach, letting it fall back down over her panties which he barely saw the color of before it disappeared under the silky material.

 

He felt himself swallow hard as she walked back into the kitchen behind him, taking a bowl of cherries out of the fridge.

 

“Did you download it now?” She called from the kitchen.

 

“Uh,” he cleared his throat, turning back around. “Where’s the download link?”

 

He heard footsteps approach closer to him as she came from behind him, wrapping an arm around the back of his neck and reaching for his phone. Her other arm reached around, pushing her chest against his back as she placed the bowl of cherries on the wooden table in front of him. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck as she held his phone with both hands, scrolling through his messages until she got to her name and clicking on it. Angeal inhaled, the smell of her freshly washed body along with the strawberry and mint shampoo filling his nostrils. Tapping on the latest message, she put it back in Angeal’s hand and her arms slid back across his bare shoulders.

 

Walking around until she sat on the couch in front of him, she slid the cherries over to her side. She leaned on the arm of the couch, her legs curled up and the silk material barely covering the skin of her upper thigh. She looked up at him, dangling a cherry from her fingers. “Want some?”

 

Angeal swallowed again, his hand tightly gripping the leather couch beneath him until he felt his knuckles go white.

 

“I’m fine, thanks.”

 

She shrugged and turned on her back, putting a pillow beneath her head as she scrolled through her phone. Her right leg stretched out as the left one arched, making the nightgown reveal more of her thigh.

 

Angeal closed his eyes, he’s seen her nude before- being the one patching her up after hard battles and recently when she fought Organization XIII. So why now is he getting so worked up just at the sight of her exposed skin like some pre-pubescent boy?

 

“Angeal?”

 

He opened her eyes as she sat up, leaning forward.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

His eyes looked down to her cleavage that was framed by the lace trim. He gripped the couch harder. He couldn’t. He couldn’t. His honor wouldn’t allow it.

 

“Angeal, your hand..” she walked over, sitting on the couch beside him. “You’re gripping it too hard.”

 

Her hands touched his gently as she tried to pry his fingers free. “Talk to me, what’s bothering you?” She whispered, her touch warm against the cold air of her apartment.

 

Angeal willed himself to look her in the eyes and when he did, he regretted it immediately. How they were always filled with worry. _For him._ How her hands always felt so gentle against his skin.

 

Lady leaned forward, inspecting his face as she reached to feel his forehead with the back of her fingers. “Are you sick? Why are you shaking so much? Angeal.”

 

Her voice sounded like soothing waves crashing along the beach.

 

“Hellooo? Is Mr. 1st Class mentor going to tell me what’s up? Angeeeaaal.”

 

He looked down at her lips that formed his name and his eyes flashed. He pursed his lips in irritation. Lady looked up at him confused as to what was running through his mind, was it her that he was mad at or something else entirely?

 

“Why would you wear something like that in front of me?” He said in a low voice.

 

“I- because it’s comfortable! You’ve seen me nude before so it’s not like it’s anything new,” she frowned, unsure if he was pissed at her for something so trivial or if she really just got on his nerves today with her constant teasing. “Where’s that famous self-control of yours?”

 

He took her wrist and dragged her to the center of the couch with ease, getting up and kneeling on the floor in front to be eye level with her as she balanced herself on her elbows to look up at him. Her legs were stretched out to either side of his thighs, opening herself right up to him.

 

“Is this how a mentor should act?” She cocked her head.

 

“I may have been your mentor,” he lowered his face to hers; looking down at her collarbone, up her neck, past her chin, and focused on her partly open lips. His eyes flashed. “But I’m still a man.”

 

With that he pushed his head down to meet her lips against his and she accepted it with a soft moan, her hands reaching up to run her fingers through his hair as she tried to wrap her legs around his waist to bring him much closer. She felt him resist until he let out a groan, pushing her body into the couch with his as his hands slipped under her nightgown to grip her waist. His hands were calloused from years of hand-to-hand combat and she shivered every time she felt him slide them up and down on her skin, the rough skin contrasting against hers.

 

Lady clawed at the sleeveless turtleneck he wore, trying to take it off of him when Angeal broke the kiss- kneeling upright while maintaining eye contact. His eyes illuminating in the dark as he pulled the shirt over his head and threw it unceremoniously to the side. His body was now exposed to her and she sat up, eager to feel her hands run against his chest and hardened abdomen. Eager for more skin contact.

 

As her hands felt around his chest, leaving lingering touches and chaste kisses; Angeal’s eyes were closed, relishing her touch as he tried to hold on to what little control he had over his desire. His eyes opened and she was looking up at him while fidgeting with the hem of her nightgown.

 

“Lift it up for me,” he ordered sternly and as she slowly lifted the fabric over her panties, her stomach, until it showed her exposed breasts. Angeal knew she wasn’t wearing a bra just by the way her chest felt when she pressed it up against his back earlier, but to see it exposed to him almost sent him- but he retained his control. “Keep it there,” he told her as she left the nightgown up just as the hem dangled on the tips of her areolas.

 

His hands rested on her knees and traveled upwards up her body till it arrived at her breasts, squeezing them softly and he stopped when she whimpered. Her eyes glistened as she looked at him, “Keep going. Please.”

 

Angeal didn’t need anymore permission after that as he dived down and let his tongue run over her nipples, holding her body still as she shivered and trembled against him. Swirling over her areola, he gave it a quick nip and smiled when Lady let out a high pitched whine. The saliva leaving a slick trail between her soft mounds as he savored the taste of each one, switching back and forth to make sure each one received equal amounts of attention from his mouth.

 

She wrapped his hands around his neck, pushing him down as he licked and sucked at her chest- leaving no spot unloved. She felt heat began to gather between her thighs and the undoubtedly feeling of wet liquids beginning to run down between her thighs. She called out his name, wanting more of him on her as she wrapped her legs around his waist again to try and alleviate the tension knotted up inside her; enjoying the girth she felt as she grinded up against him until she felt his hands hold her hips down against the leather couch. He resisted and she groaned in annoyance as she clearly felt him hardening up at her contact- yet he still had the audacity to deny himself the pleasure.

 

“Do you want it?”

 

She nodded, biting her lip as she looked up at him. Craning her head to give him a kiss on the side of his mouth.

 

“Speak with your words, soldier.”

 

Lady’s face flushed red as he stood upright, his thumb swiping against her slit as he gathered the panty strings and twisted them upwards causing them to grind against her and she let out a choked moan. His eyebrows raised in amusement as he dragged two more fingers across her opening, barely entering into her folds as they trailed upwards and circled lazily around her clit.

 

“Please stop teasing me.”

 

She couldn’t handle anymore foreplay, honestly. Marluxia, Genesis, they all left her unraveled and worn out- but not satisfied. He gave a hum of approval, unbuckling and unzipping his pants to unleash what she hoped would be the thing that sates her. Her eyes traveled down and she bit her bottom lip hard.

 

_Oh fuck._

 

Oh fuck indeed, he was _thick._ The width of his cock stretched larger than her labia and when his hips moved slightly, the tip went past her clit and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of it’s full length.

 

“You sure?” He chuckled, guiding the tip to tap against her clit and she nodded- too dumbfounded to say anything. She brought her hips up to try and push him in, but once again he resisted her.

 

“Tell me what you want.” He commanded. “I won’t do it unless you say it.”

 

“I want you,” She panted, eager to feel his head push against her clit. “Angeal, please.”

 

“What part of me do you want?” He thumbed her clit and she clawed at the couch, frustrated tears forming in her eyes.  

 

“I want your di-“

 

“What was that? You’re mumbling.”

 

“ _I want your dick inside me!_ ”

 

His eyes were half-lidded, feeling for entry as he guided himself to her entrance. Lady bit her lip as she felt herself being stretched so painfully good at his expense- and it was only his tip. Even at this point he was still trying to imbibe whatever he had left of his discipline.

 

“Angeal..” he heard her growl. “Hurry up and _fuck me, dammit!”_

 

At her command he felt the little control he had completely break like a strong torrent of water crashing through an already faulty dam, his hands reached down to grip her waist hard as he plunged himself into her with one thrust. Lady’s eyes widened and she threw her head back onto the couch, a strangled moan coming from her throat as her body struggled to quickly accommodate to the man’s girth. She looked up and saw his mako eyes beginning to glow, a stern look on his face as he looked down at her; his hands gripping her body tighter as he didn’t give her time to rest, thrusting into her roughly. Gone was the gentle yet tough teacher that put everyone’s safety and comfort above his, it was now replaced with something more sanguine and greedy for lust- overshadowing the man he was just minutes ago.

 

Lady’s mouth was filled with cries of his name and gentle mewls that served to send him further over the edge than he already was. She gripped his forearms, enjoying the flexed muscle as he pounded into her. Taking her by the ankles, he flipped her over so she was propped up on her knees in front of him and she was pushed against the couch as he entered her once more; the re-entry made easier with the slickness of her pussy. Grabbing the crease where her ass and thigh met, he pushed himself in as one of his hands reached to grab her shoulder to align her body with his. Her back arched in, giving herself more to him as he accepted the gift that was her body. He took her from behind, feeling the tip of his cock hit against the entrance to her cervix as he let out a low grunt with each successful hit. It was addictive and he forgot the last time he allowed himself such debauchery, all of his time going towards other people in his line of work.

 

Losing himself in the feel of her moist grip around his length, his thrusts became more urgent- wanting to feel the spot where it would send her own self-control spiraling out of control. The strength of his thrusts sending the couch back an inch every time on the slick wooden floor and he growled in annoyance; twisting her back around and picking her up whilst still deep inside her and pushed her against the wall. Her legs were balanced over the crook of his elbow as his palms were pressed against the wall, holding her up to behold his lack of mercy as he continued his savage rhythm.

 

There were no snide remarks, no smart comebacks this time. He didn’t give her a chance to say any of those as he fucked her against her living room wall.  The moonlight illuminating the beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead as he bent his head down to kiss her, wrapping her arms around his neck- she let her tongue run over his lips before biting down on his lower lip. He broke the kiss and moved further down to bite down on her neck.

 

“How the fuck. Do you. _Feel so good_?” He growled against her skin, thrusting at every sentence break and she bit down on his shoulder to keep her from screaming his name for everyone in the apartments to hear. The rooms were soundproofed, a courtesy she provided after a previous tenant had the same problem. But soundproofed to what extent, she didn’t want to find out.

 

“Angeal.. Angeal-!” she whined, pulling at his slick black hair as she spoke into his ear, the pressure building up inside her uterus almost ready to burst. “I’m getting close.”

 

He grunted in response, the picture frames on the wall threatening to fall off the wall as he pounded into her harder; her slick juices falling down onto him and running down his thigh. His thrusts were erratic and wild, his own non-verbal way of saying he was at his limit too.

 

He let out a howl, groaning her name. Her real name. She panted as she felt hot semen shoot out from him and inside her, Angeal muttered something under his breath as he pulled out- the remainder of his cum shooting up and spilling upright on her stomach. They both held each other, chests rising and falling as the euphoria of their orgasm rode into a high. Angeal looked at her, the tips of his bangs stuck to his forehead in sweat. They slid down the wall, balancing her on his knees as he took awhile to collect his breath. Both of them panting heavily as they let their lust marinate in the quiet air of the night.

 

He cupped her face with both of his hands, bringing her forehead to his as he caressed her cheeks; their heated exchange causing his heart to beat harder than any training exercise he’s been through. She smiled, reaching up to give him a kiss and he closed his eyes, losing himself in her soft lips. He kissed her back, enjoying the gentle skin flutter of lips that moved to kiss every part of his face. His faced moved back as he smiled down at her, her hair out of place and messy and her lips were moist with saliva. Moving his arms so he carried her comfortably, he got up and walked towards her room to set her down on the soft sheets, pulling up a blanket over her body as he got in- lying beside her as she looked up at him.

 

“Angeal-“

 

“I love you,” he muttered, eyes gazing down at her. Lady blinked. “I loved you for a long time. And I realized I loved you when you disappeared and for years that haunted me and I blamed myself for not doing enough.”

 

She brought her face to his and kissed his forehead, his nose, and finally his lips. “It wasn’t your fault. Stop blaming yourself.”

 

His hands wrapped around her waist and brought her closer to him in a tight embrace; afraid that if he were to let go, she would disappear again. Their bodies providing each other with warmth in the cool night air as the sweat disappeared from her skin, replaced with stray kisses that he left all over her body almost as if it was an apology for his rough behavior earlier.

 

“Angeal,” she sighed against the bare skin of his chest. “I love you too.”

 

He shut his eyes, putting a hand on the back of her head and smoothed out her hair. Feeling the steady pace of her breath as she snuggled closer and they both drifted off to sleep to the sound of each other’s heartbeats thumping in their chests. For once, Angeal felt selfish and that was a trait he usually didn’t have.. but just for tonight. Just for tonight he wanted to be absorbed in his own wants as he kissed her cheek, feeling her eyelashes flutter against his face. Yeah. Just for tonight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made the leap of faith and pre-ordered the deluxe version of FF7:R, here’s to hoping Nomura doesn’t kill me again :)


	24. XXIV

Lady clicked her tongue in irritation as the oil sizzled in the frying pan and popped onto her hand. She let go of the handle immediately and brought her hand up to her mouth to lick her wound. In her other hand was her phone, the messenger app open as she looked at the multiple people typing in the chat box.

 

Saïx: I can hear you idiots from your apartments, can you keep it down?

 

Xigbar: Shut it, x face. Go back 2 sleep if ur annoyed.

 

-Saïx has left the chat-

 

Axel: who the fuck took my charger??

 

-Prompto has entered the chat-

 

-Noctis has entered the chat-

 

Noctis: You guys wanna play Final Kingdom?

 

Lady almost choked on her coffee, setting it down and used both of her hands to text excitedly.

 

Lady: omg you play Final Kingdom?!

 

Prompto: Yah! We both play.

 

Noctis: You a fan?

 

Lady: HUGE. You don’t even knowwww man. I have all of the games and all of my characters are maxed to lvl 99 plus I got their best weapons.

 

Noctis: That’s it?

 

Noctis: Only a true fan knows that the real level cap is 130 after two finished playthroughs and only on critical mode. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that?

 

Prompto: wtf r u doing?! Don’t antagonize her!

 

Axel: yikes

 

Lady: You’re on anytime you want to get your ass handed to you, your highness.

 

Xigbar: niiiicceee lol.

 

Noctis: Come and get it, nerd.

 

-Lady has left the chat-

 

She set her phone down, blowing air out through puffed cheeks as she thought of a perfect plan to wipe the cocky smile off the crown prince’s face when she feeds him his own words served on the finest silver platter she can find. The smell of burnt butter snapped her attention to reality as she panicked and hastily flipped the pancake over to the other side. Sighing when the fluffy cake was black in some areas, looking like a cracked continent of burned batter on a light yellow sea.

 

From the corner of her eye, she saw Angeal exit her bedroom. His usually neat hair was messy and some strands strayed out of place; he only wore his pants, his torso left bare as he wiped at his eyes and yawned. He wrapped an arm around her stomach, bringing her close to him as he kissed the back of her neck.

 

“Mornin’,” he mumbled, his voice heavy with sleep as he turned around to pour himself a cup of coffee. “It’s rare seeing you up earlier than me.”

 

“Hm, yeah. Did you do something last night that wore you out?” She snickered.

 

“It was only the best work out in my life,” he inhaled the dark roast of his coffee as he leaned on the counter, crossing his legs at the ankle. “I could get used to watching you cook in that little nightgown.”

 

“Have you always been such a flirt?”

 

“Only for you,” he winked.

 

She shook her head, smiling. Flipping the pancakes and turning the stove off, she plucked a piece of it with a fork and twirled around.

 

“Come here and taste this, tell me if it’s good.” Lady readied her hand to put the fork into his mouth. Angeal set his coffee mug down and walked towards her, taking the hand that held the fork, pushing it aside and moved in to kiss her instead; his hand holding her waist as his tongue licked her bottom lip and she tasted the robust flavor of coffee on her taste buds that teetered into a sweet aftertaste.

 

“Mm yeah, it tastes reeaaal good.” He smiled as he left kisses that tickled her face as she ran her hands over his chest with a huge grin on her face.

 

“You’re terrible,” she laughed, pushing him on the shoulder. Angeal took the fork from her, putting the pancake piece into his mouth and swallowed. “Not bad, little burnt though.”

 

Lady groaned. “Yeah, I wasn’t paying attention because the group chat was blowing up which reminds me, I have to break out Final Kingdom to train myself on the controls again.”

 

“Final Kingdom? Isn’t that a kid’s game?”

 

“It’s for teen and up, thank you very much.”

 

Angeal laughed, putting the fork down onto the plate behind her and pushed her against the counter. His face diving down to leave a trail of kisses down her neck and she moved to wrap an arm around his neck, tugging on his hair. “You smell so good,” he whispered against her jaw.

 

Lady smiled, her hand sliding down to massage the back of his neck when she heard his phone begin to ring. Not moving from his position, he reached into his pocket and answered.

 

“Hello?... I understand. I’ll be there.” He hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket. Sighing, he put his forehead on her shoulder and hugged her tight. Giving her shoulder a quick smooch, he looked up at her with apologetic eyes. “Daddy’s gotta go to work now.”

 

She burst out in laughter, blushing at his comment as she leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose. “Don’t work yourself too hard.”

 

“I’ll make sure to get you contraceptives when I get off,” he reached behind her to take a pancake, eating it like toast.

 

“Don’t worry, already took them,” she winked. “Daddy doesn’t have to worry about that just yet.”

 

Angeal backed away with a smug grin and towards her room to get dressed. She leaned back on the counter, taking her own phone out to send a text to someone as she tapped quickly at the keyboard.

 

“I’m off,” she heard Angeal call as he adjusted the straps of his uniform. She smiled as she waved at him, blowing him a kiss as he chuckled; opening the door and exiting.

 

Lady’s smile faded slowly from her face as she looked down at her phone, sending the last text and not even minutes later she heard a knock on the door. Running towards it, she opened and sighed.

 

“Xigbar.” She greeted him as she ushered him inside. He wore a deep maroon pinstripe button down dress shirt that was unbuttoned to expose his collarbones and dark washed jeans, he looked at her when he stepped inside- noting the serious tone of her expression as he adjusted his collar.

 

“Hey.. something the matter?”

 

She shook her head, “Your corridors of darkness, they can take you anywhere right?”

 

“With limits, sure. Why?”

 

“Can you take me somewhere? But you have to promise you won’t tell anybody.”

 

“Alright, sure,” he hummed. “Where to?”

 

•••

 

Genesis watched as the soldier swung his sword over his head at his sparring partner; his form open to the attack that hit him on his side, effectively knocking him back. Even with blunted weapons, it could easily leave a bruise that would last for days if the ones sparring weren’t careful. Crossing his arms, he watched as Angeal observed the two soldiers closely as they continued their match. His ever perceptive eyes watching every misstep, every failed block as the two soldiers clashed with their blades. One took a step towards the other, swinging his sword as the other parried and used his shoulder to knock the other one down.

 

The one on ground used his sword to support him as he got back up, panting. Nevertheless, the soldier raised his sword to attack once more when Angeal raised his hand. “That’s enough. You’ll just injure yourself even more.”

 

“Y-yes, sir.” The soldier saluted Angeal and stiffened when he walked towards him. Putting a hand on his shoulder, Angeal smiled, “You did good, don’t worry. Now you should rest up.”

 

The two soldiers nodded and left the training room with just Genesis and Angeal.

 

“You went easy on them today,” Genesis raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like you to be so aloof with new recruits.”

 

Angeal shook his head, the smile still on his face as he walked towards his childhood friend. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just doing my job.”

 

As he approached, the auburn haired soldier took a whiff and caught him by his arm. Leaning in close, Genesis’ eyes narrowed as he looked at Angeal.

 

“You smell.. like her.” He muttered.

 

“Again,” Angeal shrugged off his grip. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Now now, my dear friend. Lying isn’t part of your honor, is it? It was already strange to see you so lax this morning,” he continued, walking a slow circle around him. “And now I can smell her perfume on you. Tell me, did something happen last night?”

 

“It’s none of your concern.”

 

“It _is_ in fact my concern. You finally made your move on her, eh?”

 

“Genesis..”

 

“Have you considered anyone else’s feelings towards her? Like..” he leaned in close again. “Mine?”

 

“She’s not a doll to be tossed between the two of us. I assume she will make her own choice in time.”

 

“For you are beloved by the goddess / Hero of the dawn, healer of worlds..” Genesis quoted, stopping in front of Angeal as their gazes matched each other. “The gift of the goddess will only go to the chosen hero.”

 

“You’re acting like a child who lost his prized toy. How do you think she’ll feel?”

 

“As you said, she will make her own choice in time and we shall see who prevails.”

 

“Tch,” Angeal clicked his tongue, annoyed. “You’re being petty.”

 

“Out of respect for you, friend, answer me this. How would you feel if she chose someone other than you?”

 

“I..” the black haired man looked away, closing his eyes and trying not to think about how soft her hair felt in between his fingers last night. And how his name never sounded so good as when she was moaning it while he pinned her against the wall. “I would let her go if she did. I won’t force her to stay with me.”

 

“Hmph. How expected.”

 

“And you? Will you throw a fit if she decides to choose another?”

 

A flash of irritation crossed Genesis’ face as he flicked a piece of hair away from his face. “I would hope not, but until that moment I’ll do my best.. and I’m assuming, so will you.”

 

Genesis smirked, looking away as he let out a small laugh. “Look at us both, fighting over a girl like we’re children in school.” He turned back to Angeal, a hand on his hip as he smiled. “I only hope there won’t be anyone else campaigning for her affection.”

 

Just as he finished his sentence, the training room doors slid open and Sephiroth walked in. His Masamune in his left hand and a Banora white apple in his other.

 

“Sephiroth, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Genesis mocked a curtsy towards the silverette.

 

“Up for a little game?” He tossed the apple towards the two and Angeal caught it in his right hand. “What were you two talking about?”

 

“Nothing too interesting,” Genesis answered just as Angeal opened his mouth to say something. “Shall I go first then?”

 

“Did you two join that group chat of Lady’s?” Angeal stepped back against the wall as he placed the apple on his head, his fingers balancing it as he stood still.

 

“I only downloaded it because she said to,” Genesis sighed, readying his Rapier. “I saw that she invited Reno too. That might be something she’ll regret.”

 

“Zack already had it downloaded on my phone without my knowledge, he said it was a fun pastime,” Sephiroth added.

 

Genesis held his Rapier as if it was a lance and launched it at the apple, a smug smile on his face when it knocked the apple off of Angeal’s head- as well as splitting some of his hair.

 

“Way to go- if you wanted to give me a haircut,” Angeal snorted.

 

“I’d like you to do better with that oversized battering knife of yours,” Genesis rolled his eyes and motioned for Sephiroth to take his turn. Angeal bent down to put the cut apple on his head, squaring his shoulders as he stood still once more.

 

Sephiroth held his Masamune over his shoulder, his right hand stretched to calculate the trajectory of his hit as he breathed out; releasing the Masamune, watching as it hit the apple precisely at its center and dangled off of his sword as it stuck to the wall. Angeal ducked and moved to the side, admiring the precision of the throw.

 

“Perfect as always,” Genesis clapped his hands and Sephiroth gave a small bow, smirking.

 

“I’ve got juice in my hair,” Angeal ran his fingers through his hair, looking at the sticky fructose liquid with disgust. “Terrific.”

 

“It’s a good look on you,” said Sephiroth. “You should add that to your morning routine.”

 

The black haired man shook his head, dislodging the Masamune from the wall, holding the blade by it’s dull side, and handing it back to Sephiroth. “You should’ve brought more apples.”

 

“My apologies.”

 

“Why don’t you go take some more?” Genesis looked at Angeal. “Like when we were kids and you used to show me how many you could take in one go.”

 

“Ugh, when are you going to let that go? That was out of necessity,” Angeal sighed. “I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”

 

“Ladies and gentlemen-“ Genesis flourished his hand toward him dramatically. “-Banora’s very own phantom apple thief!”

 

Angeal chuckled. “Shut up, Loveless.”

 

The two laughed and Sephiroth looked at their happy faces while he averted his eyes and looked at the floor, his thoughts racing and before he could stop himself- he blurted out the words engaged in his mind, “I wonder what it would be like to have a hometown.”

 

At his words, Genesis and Angeal stopped laughing; their attention turned to Sephiroth who had a solemn look on his face and they glanced at each other before looking back at him. They forgot that even Sephiroth- a man who paved the way for SOLDIER, the hero everyone admired and looked up to, the man who had unmatched skill in battle to the point where it seemed almost inhuman.. only grew up within the cold metal confines of Shinra. Whispers from scientists fed bits of information to his origins, how he basically grew up under the uncompassionate care of the scientists.. especially Hojo who always kept a close eye on him but was never there when Sephiroth felt like he wanted companionship or just someone to talk to for a decent conversation. Someone. Anyone. The feeling that had left him hollow and cold and only years later he identified it as ‘loneliness’.

 

Although most of his past remained obscure to Angeal and Genesis and even Sephiroth himself, the two did their best to distract the silver soldier from his own dark thoughts.

 

Genesis put a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder, shaking him slightly so the silverette’s attention was on him. “Don’t worry about the past and only focus on the future, isn’t that something you normally tell us?”

 

“And even if you didn’t have a home to grow up before, I believe we have a home now,” Angeal added. “With Lady.”

 

Sephiroth thought about her warm smile and the way she caressed him through the night. Whispering comforting words to him when she thought he was asleep. A welcome respite after the constant stares of trepidation that everyone often gave him. He looked up at both of them then turned his face away to try and hide the smile creeping on his face.

 

“Hey, I had an epiphany,” Genesis walked over to pick up the abused apple from the ground. “If we leave to go with Lady, maybe the four of us can be apple farmers in Banora.”

 

“Yeah right,” Angeal snorted. “You hate dirt and bugs.”

 

“I would find a way to tolerate it for you,” Genesis sneered.

 

“Now that’s an interesting image,” Sephiroth chuckled, imagining the four of them. Former SOLDIER, in the middle of an apple orchard in the countryside under the sun with dirt and grass stains on their clothes while they plucked fresh apples from trees. _But not an entirely bad one_ , he thought.

 

•••

 

Terra shut his eyes, breathing in and out before walking down the road towards the Alstroemeria. Memorizing the way when he, Sora, and Riku followed the Organization members after the attack at the stadium. The gates were open and there wasn’t any type of barrier to protect them so they charged in without any regard to what situation they might’ve been tossed into. To their surprise, the Organization members were gathered around in a relaxed setting when they confronted them. Then Lady arrived shortly after and crossed blades with him. But still, he felt bad for his brashness.

 

“I’m just gonna apologize and go. Nothing hard about that,” he said to himself as he walked. The ocean air ruffling his brown hair as he slowly approached the beachfront apartments. “What do I even say..‘hey sorry for attacking your tenants’?”

 

He mentally slapped himself on the forehead. _No. That just makes me sound like a bigger idiot that I already am._

 

He thought of his words carefully, remembering when he clashed Keyblades with her and how the tips of their noses barely brushed. If it wasn’t for the surprise factor that was Lady snatching Sora’s Keyblade, he was sure he would have fared better. That’s what he told himself anyways. _Is she a Keyblade wielder? Why does she have the old Organization members with her? And why do they all seem so.. human now._

 

He stopped when he heard his notifications going off on his phone, looking to see what it was and sighing when he saw the sender.

 

Riku: Can’t believe you left me alone with Sora.

 

Terra: Sorry, gotta do this real quick and I’ll be back.

 

Just as he resumed walking, he stopped again when he heard the large iron gate of the Alstroemeria open. Terra squinted when he saw Lady and Xigbar walk out after exiting the gates. He dove behind a tree as he watched them stop momentarily and Lady turned to the man with despair written all over her face. Xigbar shook his head and pushed her down the pathway leading away from the apartments. Terra frowned, he couldn’t hear what they were talking about but his gut instinct couldn’t just leave this alone. He tailed them quietly as they stopped at a secluded corner and Xigbar raised his hand to conjure up a corridor of darkness. Looking down at Lady, he held her by the waist and they both entered- the corridor closing behind them as their backs disappeared into the shadows.

 

Terra clenched his fists, he knew it would be a bad idea leaving that woman by herself with all those people. He turned back and ran towards the Alstroemeria, ready to confront Xigbar once he returned.

 

•••

 

Lady stepped through the corridor, the feeling of sheeted ice melting away from her skin as the sun shone on her again. She held her breath as she looked at the small country village, the buildings were minimal and most of them only reached two stories high above the old cobblestone and dirt ground. In the middle of the circle of buildings stood an old windmill attached to a giant metallic container filled with water. It was resting atop a wooden platform with stilts and ladders placed on it for climbing. The people shuffled around and almost seemed to ignore Lady, much to her relief. Looking around, she breathed in the fresh country air and exhaled.

 

“This is Nibelheim. I used to live here for a bit,” she turned to Xigbar and pulling him along as she talked. “Real quiet town and nothing remarkable about it, except for maybe that.” She pointed to a large two story mansion, definitively the biggest building in the village as it loomed over like a shadowy omen over the residents. “That’s the Shinra mansion. This is where they sent me on that last mission.. before everything went to hell.”

 

Approaching the old mansion, Lady made sure no one was behind them as she rattled the chains binding the gates together with an annoyed huff of her breath. She motioned for Xigbar to follow as she used the chain to bolster herself up and over the gate, landing softly on her feet as he followed suit.  

 

“Guessing those chains mean we really shouldn’t be here, why not just let me transport us here in the first place?” He stopped to question her.

 

“I just wanted to see the whole place before heading here.. besides I was trying to see if my old friends were here.”

 

“Were they?”

 

“..no.”

 

She motioned him to follow once more as she opened the ancient wooden door, cringing as it creaked loudly under what she assumed was years of unuse. Ushering him in, she quickly shut the door and immediately regretted not letting the place air out more as a cloud of dust attacked her face and she wheezed. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the mansion and she squinted while looking around, the sound of her footsteps against the tile floor of the foyer echoing rather loudly in the empty house.

 

“Spooky,” Xigbar muttered, waving away dust particles from his nose as he walked behind her. Lady put one foot on the stairs and sighed with relief when it seemed like it could support her weight although creaking loudly with each step she took up. Once at the top, she made her way to the right wing of the second floor until she stopped at a room. Her hand starting to tremble as her fingertips touched the tip of the brass knob.

 

“You okay, princess?” He whispered to her and she nodded, opening the door to a small room leading to a bedroom on the left. The room was neatly organized save for the fine layer of dust that caked everything in it. Xigbar looked around, confused. “Is this.. what we came for? A room?”

 

“No, the room I need to get to is hidden.. it's here,” she put a hand on a large cylindrical brick wall. Turning around to face him, she pointed at the desk beside the bed. “Underneath that desk is a lever, pull it.”

 

He did so and watched as the brick wall opened to reveal another set of ancient wooden stairs attached to a cracked stone wall that did little to instill confidence in its safety. Walking over, he peeked over her shoulder to see the long way down that wouldn’t even reveal the bottom as the shadows swallowed it up. “You, uh, sure that’s safe?”

 

“It should be fine..” she said as she tested out the stairs with a foot. Stamping on it a bit for good measure until she was satisfied at its integrity. “Let’s go.”

 

“So what is it that you’ll hope to find here?” He asked.

 

“Answers.. anything, really. I’m not sure myself. But this place was used by Shinra as an old laboratory. The messed up part was that they would sometimes secretly kidnap sick people from the village to test on in here,” she spoke as they descended slowly. “Not like the villagers would do anything about it even if they did know. What could they do against a literal arm-“

 

Lady stopped mid-sentence as the wooden stair snapped beneath her weight and plummeted down below. She grabbed at the other wooden step in front of her as she struggled to keep her weight balanced as to not break anything else.

 

“Lady!” Xigbar reached for her hand and he cursed as the stairs under his feet began to splinter. Muttering to himself, he motioned for her to take his hand. “You’re gonna have to trust me.”

 

She nodded and took his hand as he jumped down towards the middle with her wrapped in his arms. The air around them shifting as he willed their bodies to transport to the bottom, disappearing into the air and she felt the world stretch before it stunk back into place, their beings phasing back into existence as their feet landed softly on the floor. Lady gasped for air, holding onto her throat as Xigbar patted her back, “Sorry babe, forgot to tell you to hold your breath.”

 

“It’s fine, at least we’re safe,” she breathed, looking up the stairwell and squinting when she couldn’t even see the part where the stairs broke beneath them. “You were right, we should’ve just opened up the corridor here instead of going through all that trouble.”

 

“S’okay, nothing wrong with a bit of adventure,” he grinned. “Especially with a beautiful young lady in the middle of a possibly haunted mansion in the middle of the countryside, what could be more romantic?”

 

She couldn’t help the small laugh that came from her as she nudged him playfully, “You’re just the life of the party, aren’t ya?”

 

“Always.”

 

Ahead of them was a large tunnel carved from stone, its walls were dimly lit and the hanging lights were already flickering from years of providing electricity for an abandoned building. Lady knelt down by the wires connecting the lights and her hand hovered over the ground. As if the unseen energy guided her, her hand hovered over the area which contained the most mako and she extracted it from the earth; whispering a quick apology to the planet before directing the mako into the generator attached to the lights. The newly given energy making the lanterns glow brighter and fully illuminated the hallway for them to see.

 

“What was that?” He asked.

 

“The buildings here work on mako energy and can die when not supplied enough, so theoretically if you ‘feed’ it back into whatever machine needs it, then they should work properly again.”

 

“You can absorb mako like these machines running this place?”

 

Lady flinched at his choice of words. _Machines._ Like she wasn’t even an actual human but a thing created to absorb and deal out mako like a mindless robot. Mako absorption was a thing most SOLDIER’s had a tolerance to and even thrived in it; using the planet’s energy to harness their own superhuman strength and speed.. but ever since the incident.. Ever since project SIREN and ever since she woke up alone in the wilderness. She found herself being able to absorb mako and use it as a newfound source of power, unlike anything she’s seen from SOLDIER. Something she came to loathe when she realized she was taking a little bit of the planet every time she utilized her powers; but the more mako she gave back, the weaker her body felt as if it needed it to thrive too.

 

Lady almost laughed at how similar she was to a mako reactor. Pumping energy from the earth, exploiting it, and using it for their own purposes. It disgusted her.

 

“Yeah.. I’m exactly like a mako reactor,” she repeated, grumbling to herself and mindlessly walking down the corridor until Xigbar pulled her back. She looked at him and he pointed at the pile of bricks she almost tripped on.

 

“Watch your step, princess.”

 

“Whoops,” she nodded her thanks at him and looked at the bricks leading to a wall of a room on the left side of the hallway that looked like it was burst open by force. Walking in, she noted the smell of formaldehyde and just things that smelled.. dead. Turning away and blowing the air out of her nostrils, she turned to look at the room; scrunching her face as she saw the amount of coffins lining the room. As she stepped through the room that was only lit by the lights out in the hallway that didn’t illuminate the room very well. She stepped through and winced when her foot stepped on something crunchy. Looking down, she lifted her foot and swallowed when she was staring down at half of a skull- the other half crushed to dust under the weight of her foot.

 

“Uh, shit.” She hopped over the skull, uttering a quick prayer for the poor soul’s skeleton that she just crushed. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“A crypt? Gross.” Xigbar groaned as he looked at the amount of skulls littering the place. “Get a fog machine and this mansion can be a real money making attraction.”

 

“I didn’t know this room was here,” Lady frowned. “Is this new? No, that’s impossible.. How long has this been here?”

 

Her eyes were drawn to the coffins filling in the room, some were propped against the wall and some were laid out on the ground. The rest were just filled with dust and bones; she stepped to the one in the middle, notably the only empty one, and traced a finger against the interior, looking at how little dust this one had compared to others- almost as if.. it had been used.

 

Lady got up, wiping the dust on her shirt and looked around the room once more before turning back around to leave. “There’s nothing here, let’s go.”

 

Xigbar followed her out as they approached the end of the hallway towards the stone rotunda with the open door leading into the room that served as a large library with multiple volumes spanning over various subjects. Next to the stacks of books were scientific equipment and tall empty tanks that she knew were once filled with liquid to hold human test subjects. Empty glass dishes and graduated cylinders still holding remnants of something red and congealed littered the desk that was already filled with piles of books, some open to pages and bookmarked sloppily. She looked at the tanks and sighed, closing her eyes, and remembering the hazy memory of being trapped within glass confines- weak and helpless.

 

Lady traced the books with her right hand as she walked down to the left, looking all around her as she continued down the long stretch of hallway leading to a desk with a large book propped up on a stand. A small lamp hung over the book and she pulled on the string to turn it on, the bulb flickering and emanated weak light. Looking up at Xigbar, she spoke, “I need to read through everything here. You can wait for me back home.”

 

“You sure that’s a good idea? Leaving you alone here?” He stepped towards her. “What if you don’t find what you’re looking for?”

 

“I don’t have a choice, I need to know- even if it’s just a little bit. This is the last place I remember before I was taken away, there’s gotta be something,” she sighed. “I won’t make you suffer in here with me, it’s fine.”

 

“I’m not going to just leave you, something ‘bout this just doesn’t sit right with me.”

 

“Xigbar, I honestly don’t know how long this will take me. Look at all of these books-“ she motioned to the library around them. “-this will take me _hours_ just to go through all of this.”

 

She put her hands down on the desk, staring at him head on. “Hojo experimented a lot here-in Nibelheim, from what I can remember. That old rat most definitely left something here to find. And I’ll be damned if one tiny bit of information slips by me.”

 

“Fine,” he sighed, closing his eye and looking at her. “But I’m going to check on you periodically. This place gives me the creeps.”

 

“Don’t do that, it’s too troublesome. I’ll just give you a call when I’m done.”

 

Xigbar opened up a corridor and looked at Lady once more. “Are you sure?”

 

“Positive,” she nodded, a wry smile on her face. “They’re just books, they can’t do anything to me.”

 

“You call me when you’re done or I’m rushing back and taking you outta here,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked into his portal. Looking over his shoulder at her once more, she looked at him from the desk in the room filled with books and secrets- eyes filled with worry as the portal closed and she disappeared from his sight.

 

Somehow, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread filling the pit of his stomach.

 

•••

 

Xigbar stepped through the corridor, approaching the Alstroemeria’s gates and he stopped as his ear perked; his arrow gun materializing in his hands, aiming it behind him just as Terra summoned his Keyblade and held it towards him.

 

“Are you always ’attack first, ask questions’ later? Because you really need to get that under control,” the Freeshooter tutted.

 

Terra frowned, “Where did you take Lady off to? Is she hurt? Why did she look sad? Are you guys using her?”

 

“Can you, like, relax and shut up for a second? She asked me to take me somewhere this morning, now if you’re gonna sit out here and throw a fit then at least keep it down. She’s fine.”

 

“Why should I believe you?”

 

Xigbar sighed, his weapon dematerializing as he rubbed the back of his head. “Do you wanna come in and see then?”

 

“See what?”

 

“Us. You should see how the others changed,” he opened the gates, looking over his shoulder at the Keyblade holder. “She’s got a way of, how do I say this, making you feel at home. Come see for yourself.”

 

Terra looked apprehensive, frowning as he looked at the luxurious apartments behind the enclosure.

 

“If not for me, then do it for her. You don’t wanna piss her off again, right?”

 

“No,” Terra sighed in defeat, his Keyblade fading from his hand. “I don’t.”

 

“Then stop standing there looking sorry for yourself, let me show you around.” He opened the gates wider for Terra and the brunette followed, stepping inside.

 

•••

 

Lady shuffled through the pages, her eyes scanning the sentences hastily as she mumbled the words she read- reading aloud as if she couldn’t believe the words if left only in her mind.

 

“Excavated by Shinra EPC from the Northern Crater (dated about two thousand years old, possibly longer), Jenova, believed to be a remainder of the race known as Cetra.. the Cetra were also known as the Ancients, an old race that commanded the planet’s energy to cultivate nature and thrive- a benevolent group of people searching for the Promised Land..”

 

She shut the book and closed her eyes, remembering the way she saw darkness creep up on Roxas’ Keyblade in the arena.

 

_Yeah right. That thing speaking to me is definitely not benevolent._

 

Reading through the rest of the book, she continued. Scowling when the rest of it just reiterated what she already read. Setting the book down in her ‘already read through’ pile, she searched for the next book to pull out from the shelf she was working on. As she pulled the book out, it took another with it and she clicked her tongue when it clattered onto the floor. Squatting down, she picked up the book that fell under the shelf- noticing another book that was hiding under the shelf beneath a nest of cobwebs. Flicking her finger, she burned away at the cobwebs with a mini flame and reached to grab the hidden book. Getting up and dusting off the book, she started coughing when she felt the dust invade her lungs.

 

The stowed away novel was a red leather bound book with a strap holding it together tightly. Carefully unwrapping it as she opened the cover, she stepped back when a yellowed note fell from the first page. Kneeling down, she picked it up gingerly between her fingers and read it. The faded writing barely legible on the creases that covered the note, almost as if it was crumpled up in someone’s fist.

 

“‘Hojo.. please reconsider your beliefs on Jeno.. Here I have.. in.. regarding.. theory.’”

 

Below the initial note was another one written in different handwriting. This one in smaller script and written in cursive.

 

“‘Please read this.. V-‘“

 

_V?_

 

Opening up the book, Lady flipped through the pages until she got to the first entry. Slightly surprised that the writing was not printed, but handwritten as if it was a journal that somebody wrote their thoughts in.

 

“Jenova is not part of the Cetra.. _it_ is an alien lifeform from the dark corners of space, the Calamity from the Skies.. an aberration.. _it_ once sought to bring an end to the planet two millennia ago..”

 

Her words echoed as she paced back and forth whilst reading, the anxiety biting at her heels as she continued reading excerpts.

 

“That thing is neither male or female.. it has the ability to take and copy it’s traits to others.. mimicry and telepathy being one of its powers.. to destroy the Cetra, it mimicked their loved ones and invaded their memories to get close and kill them.. instilling a disease, it’s cells, within the Cetra- seeking their extinction and taking the planet for itself..”

 

Lady stopped, remembering when she took Hojo’s hand. Almost like she couldn’t stop herself, she _felt_ herself _become_ him as she remembered his memories and the woman who shook his coat while screaming.

 

_“Give him back.. give my baby back! Let me see him.. let me see Sephiroth!!”_

 

Her breath was shaky as she released page between her fingers, closing the book to set it down wide open on the desk and walking back towards where the tanks stood. She tapped against its glass surface, her nails scratching against the dried blood splattered against the surface. Suddenly she heard a loud gunshot and she jumped, swishing back around her as her head began to throb.

 

In front of her laid a man, holding his chest as blood bloomed in across his white undershirt- staining his dark blue zip-up suit that looked like Reno’s uniform, the uniform of a Turk. His eyes were a deep crimson red framed by deep black locks of chin-length hair that fell across his handsome face.

 

The man looked up at Hojo as he talked through blood gurgling in his mouth.

 

“You.. you injected your own child with that _thing’s_ cells! You fucking..” the man coughed, the blood spilling from the sides of his lips as he yelled. “ _Monster!!”_

 

She heard a woman scream, the same woman from Hojo’s memory, as she knelt down by the man’s body.

 

“Oh no.. no no no no,” the woman turned back to Hojo. “What did you do to Vincent?!”

 

Instead of his usual snarky response, Hojo’s shoulders began to rise and fall as he let out a giggle that soon transformed into full form laughter that echoed in the dark hallway as he took the gun in his hand and Lady watched in shocked terror as he unloaded the rest of the cartridge into Vincent’s body. Laughing maniacally as the blood splattered towards Lady, staining and dotting her shirt with blood as she watched the life in his crimson eyes soon fade- the blood running along the stone floor beneath him. It left them with only his laughter echoing in the room and sounds of a woman’s wails of despair. A symphony of twisted pain that accompanied by Hojo’s laugh was the sound of what could’ve been hell itself. The woman screamed, tears running down her face as she tried covering her mouth to hold back the choked sobs escaping her.

 

Hojo knelt down, his hand gripping Vincent’s face as he turned it left and right. Scowling, Hojo tutted as the blood stained his hand. Standing up, he walked towards the crying woman and grabbed her cheeks. The blood on his hand staining her face as he forced her to look up at him. “Why are you crying, Lucrecia? He was useless.”

 

“You monster!” She screamed and Lady’s mind began to ring painfully, holding it between her hands she ducked her head. Shutting her eyes and opening to see the bloodstains on her shirt fade and she looked up to find herself alone in the room.

 

Lady leaned against the glass tank, catching her breath as her heart beat harder. Collecting herself, she tried to hang onto what she saw in that twisted vision.

 

_Lucrecia is the name of Sephiroth’s mother.. and Hojo.. and who was that other man, Vincent?_

 

She stepped over the spot near the wooden table where she saw him die, kneeling down and touching the spot where his blood once ran.

 

_What happened here?_

 

Looking up at the wooden table, she saw a discarded piece of fabric with yellow-green stains dotting it. Picking it up at the edge with her forefinger and thumb, she inspected it. Blinking when she heard a baby’s cries echo in the distance. Looking up, she saw a silver haired baby boy in a rather shabby looking cradle that looked nothing more than a glorified basket. The boy cried, tears spilling onto his chubby cheeks as his wails filled the room.

 

“Can someone shut that thing up?!”

 

Lady looked up as Hojo paced, holding a notebook in his hand as he scribbled notes. Completely disregarding the crying child as he worked. One of his-what she assumed was one of his assistants, ran to try and rock the cradle to silence the baby.

 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay Sephiroth!” The assistant cooed. “Don’t cry!”

 

_Sephiroth?!_

 

Lady looked over the assistant’s shoulder as the silver haired baby looked up at him with wide green-blue irises that glistened with the tears still flooding his eyes.

 

“Move! I need to give him this dosage.” Hojo pulled the assistant out of the way and he walked through Lady’s body, as if she was nothing but colored fog. Stepping aside to watch as the scientist pulled out a syringe with glowing green liquid floating inside.

 

_Mako._

 

Without warning, Hojo took Sephiroth’s arm and injected it into the baby. The boy’s eyes widening in pain as it let out a howl that pierced her ears. He tried to struggle against Hojo’s grip but the efforts made by the baby boy was fruitless against a grown man, nevertheless he struggled and the assistant stepped forward.

 

“Sir, you’ll dislocate his arm if you grip it that hard-“

 

“Silence! The mako will help regenerate any broken limbs if it takes to him successfully,” he turned to the assistant with a glower. “If this child doesn’t take the mako, then he’s useless to me. He’ll be a failed experiment of project S. They’ll soon see, how superior my project is compared to their failed experiments. Project G- what a joke! Mine will be the one to pave success for Shinra.”

 

Sephiroth sniffled and gurgled as the syringe left his arm, breaking out into another fit of cries as he began to choke- light green fluids mixing with the saliva that left his mouth. Hojo looked down at the boy with disgust and turned away, leaving the assistant to pull out a cloth and wipe away at the baby’s mouth; shushing the boy as he cleaned up the bits of vomit he threw up from the pain. His wails stunted by his own choked sobs as his small hands held the arm where the mako was injected.

 

“Stop treating that thing like it’s a human!” Hojo screamed and it only caused Sephiroth to cry louder, reaching for something to grasp in the air. Lady balled up her fists, rushing to pick the baby up in her arms; wanting to comfort him and wipe away the tears that stained his cheeks. As her hands reached in the cradle to carry him up, she soon found herself grasping nothing but air as the vision vanished; the last thing she saw was those baby’s wide innocent eyes searching for his mother that wasn’t there. Breathing, she looked around herself and found herself to be alone in the room once more.

 

Lady caught her breath, banging her fist on the table where she once saw the cradle.

 

_“Stop treating that thing like it’s a human!”_

 

“How cruel,” she said aloud to no one in particular. “Who gives you the right to play god?”

 

She pulled up a chair to the table, moving the books away to clear a space for her to put her head down on her arms. The revelation she had hoped for.. it was much more than she anticipated. She prayed for the strength to try and continue her search for the truth as she closed her eyes. The information she gathered into her thoughts running faster than her consciousness could keep up with, and she felt herself running towards a shadow; her hand outstretched to grasp at smoke as it led her closer to a pit of darkness. Hojo’s previous words began to echo in her mind violently as it ricocheted around, too fast for her to catch it and throw it out of her head.

 

_“If you so choose to chase them down into the rabbit hole, ’save them all’- as you say- who’ll be the one to retrieve you when you’ve hit bottom?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did I come up with the name for Final Kingdom you may ask?
> 
> Final Fantasy (-Fantasy) + Kingdom Hearts (-Hearts)  
> = Final Kingdom
> 
> Genius, I know.


	25. XXV

The lights in the basement of the Shinra mansion didn’t go out.

 

Lady spent her every waking hour reading document after document, like a woman possessed.

 

Time was at a standstill, its passing was of no consequence to her as she paced around the library with a fountain of knowledge that spilled from every page she read. The true challenge was differentiating from shameless Shinra propaganda from factual truth.

 

A plethora of information processing at a hundred miles per hour while the gears in her head never ceasing to turn as she flipped through the pages, reading aloud sometimes to better process the information. As she turned to the last page, she set the book down in a pile; sighing as her eyes fell on a stack of files labeled ‘Project G’ and ‘Project S’ that had purposely saved for last.  Alas, she didn’t find anything pertaining to Project SIREN. Because of course not. That’d be too easy, wouldn’t it?

 

Her fingers traced the outline of the aged files as she opened the one with ‘Project S’ on it. A picture of Sephiroth's mother, doctor Lucrecia Crescent, was paper clipped to a list of charts that detailed her pregnancy.. and the moment where she chose to inject herself- or rather, her fetus, with Jenova’s cells. The following pictures were of Sephiroth as he aged, from a young boy to his adolescence and that’s when the pictures stopped. Lady noted that each picture looked progressively more somber and lifeless as the boy in the picture stopped any attempts to smile. “Project S, conducted by professor Hojo.”

 

She turned the page and in Hojo’s scrawled handwriting was a note. “Perfect specimen to emulate the powers of the Cetra using Jenova’s cells.” The word ’perfect’ was underlined boldly as if to enunciate his point.

 

_Project S. Project Sephiroth? Sephiroth was a product to try and recreate an Ancient.. but he wasn’t the only one._

 

Lady set the file down and looked at the other one with ‘Project G’ on it. Opening it, her eyes widened in surprise as she was met with a picture of Angeal’s mother- Gillian Hewley. An aged woman who shared Angeal’s kind eyes and calm demeanor. “Project G, conducted by professor Hollander.”

 

_So Project G stands for Gillian?_

 

Below the picture of her was a picture of what she assumed was a younger version of Angeal but the picture was taken from afar, as if the photographer was concealing themselves from the boy. Had the current circumstances weren't so foreboding, Lady would’ve laughed at how scruffy he looked with his shirt stained with foreign substances, his black hair in a tangled mess as he ran towards something she couldn’t see in the picture; the difference was night and day compared to the clean-shaven and disciplined man he was now. Under Angeal’s name was a bold statement that was underlined multiple times. “Trial specimen,” she read it aloud. “Gillian Hewley volunteered to inject herself with Jenova’s cells to nourish and raise what we hope to be is a perfect replica of an Ancient.. almost perfect.. what?”

 

In the next page was a picture of a young Genesis, his hair at a longer length than he had now. He stood in front of his adoptive parents, a wealthy couple who owned a vast amount of land in Banora if she remembered correctly. The young boy was dressed in rich fabrics, yet the despondent look in his eyes were clear even in the blurry picture- a true testament to the theory that material items couldn’t bring you happiness. Throughout the file was a series of picture of a younger Genesis, a smile on his face whenever he was standing next to another boy with black hair, Angeal. Eerily enough, the pictures always looked like they were taken from afar and she wondered who the hidden photographer was and what was the reason for this type of documentation with these two. Looking at the small notes under Genesis’ name, she read it aloud, “Imperfect specimen, injected with Gillian’s cells..awaiting for lab reports of acclimation but most likely will regress instead.. cells showing signs of improper fusion to Jenova.. discard immediately when the degradation begins..”

 

_What the hell?_

 

“Degradation..” she said aloud, tasting the word and scowling when it left a sour and bitter feel in her mouth. The way that these three have been described in these reports have been deplorable, only using words like ‘specimen’ and ‘imperfect’; completely ignoring the fact that these three little ones were human. An image flashed in her head of a baby Sephiroth crying alone in his cradle and the file in her hand crumpled in her fist. _They were just boys.. how could anyone treat them so inhumanely- all for the sake of fucking science?!_

 

Lady inhaled deeply, exhaling from her mouth as she felt the stale air exit her diaphragm. _Calm yourself, let’s think._ She paced as she connected what she knew, completely enraptured in her thoughts as she recalled every bit of information, every offhand comment and note that she read.

 

Hollander and Hojo both engaged in Project G and Project S respectively. Project G used Gillian as a glorified incubator to raise Angeal, then they used her cells to inject them into Genesis, but his body wouldn’t accept them.. Lucrecia did the same thing with Sephiroth and out of the three of them- he was the most immaculate host. _But why?_

 

She looked at the file again. _When will Genesis degrade? Why is Angeal ‘almost perfect’? How is Sephiroth deemed exemplary out of the three of them?_

 

Turning the page, there was a telegram signed by professor Gast Faremis. _The head of the science department at Shinra._ It was paperclipped onto a ripped up envelope and she flipped through the scattered pictures tucked inside, her breath hitched as she looked through them; all of them showing a monstrous creature, each one more grotesque than the last. The last picture showed a room with lines of metal tanks on each side of a set of stairs leading up to a door with ‘Jenova’ engraved overhead. On the picture was a note in the corner, “Is this what we’re doing now? Creating monsters using an exorbitant amount of mako mixed with that abberation’s cells? You know well by now that recreating an Ancient is futile, stop this at once.”

 

Lady tossed the file and the pictures onto the table, massaging her temples as she looked at the pictures of the grey skinned monsters with multiple angled horns protruding through their heads. _Using Jenova cells to recreate the Ancients but instead they made monsters._

 

She paced around the room. _But Angeal, Gen and Seph.. they’re not monsters.. right?_ Her hand reached up to slap her forehead as she shook her head. _No, they’re not! Stupid, don’t think that. They’re human. The experiments would explain their augmented strength, that’s all._

 

Her eyes looking over to the empty tanks, a poor reflection of herself shimmered on its grimy surface. _But then.. what am I?_

 

Walking over to the tank, her fingers reached up to touch her cheek as if what she saw wasn’t something she could believe unless she touched the tangible. _Can the others hear Jenova’s voice like I do?_

 

**“No.”**

 

Lady watched as her reflection in the glass changed, her eyes becoming a brilliant glowing purple.

 

**“You aren’t like the other three. Weaker, perhaps, but you are special in your own right.”**

 

The reflection in the mirror spoke and she watched as her- _it’s_ mouth moved and sounded like _her_ voice.

 

“What is Project SIREN? Tell me!”

 

Her reflection laughed, joyless and cold as it smiled at her.

 

**“Are you sure..”** The purple eyes began to fade. **“That you really want to know?”**

 

Lady scowled, banging her fist on the tank as the purple eyes completely disappeared. “Jenova..!”

 

Words only echoed in her head. _Weak, weak, weak._ The coldness of the empty mansion got to her and she wrapped her arms around herself and thought about home. This discovery would’ve been horrible enough for anyone.. had they been alone with no one to go to afterwards. She counted her lucky stars and thanked the astrals that she had a home and a ragtag bunch that awaited her return. Pulling out her phone, she noted the amount of missed calls and text messages from everyone, smiling as she went through them one by one.

 

Genesis: Hey, there’s a Loveless play in town. Want to go see it? I already bought two tickets because I assumed you’ll say yes.

 

Angeal: -attachment sent- This reminded me of you. Pretty, right? Maybe we can plant some around your apartments.

 

It was a picture of a fresh flower near a river bank. It’s velveteen petals were pink and faded to a lovely shade of purple.

 

Sephiroth: Are you busy? I wanted to see you.

 

Noctis: You ready to get owned, noob?

 

Ignis: I’m free anytime this weekend if you want to start your culinary lessons.

 

She held her phone to her chest, smiling as she felt a sob creeping up her throat. A stray tear falling onto her hand as she used her other hand to wipe at her eyes. Her blurred vision looking towards her reflection once more. “I’ll find a way.. they won’t know pain as long as I’m with them.” She said aloud, her determined face marred amongst the grime covering the tank.

 

Looking down at her phone, she dialed a number and watched as not even two rings later, the person on the other end picked up.

 

“You ready to come home, princess?”

 

“Yes. I’m ready.”

 

•••

 

Xigbar stood on the beach, his hands in his pockets as he looked at Lady who sat on the dock. Her arms wrapped around her legs as she stared into the ocean, her back facing the Alstroemeria and ignoring the people behind her while she silently contemplated. The sea breeze moving her hair and gently combing through it as it fluttered behind her shoulders.

 

“Is she okay?” Terra walked besides Xigbar and began to make his way towards the dock when he held the brunette back.

 

“She said she wanted to be alone for a while and I’ll respect her wishes,” the Freeshooter replied, never moving his gaze from her as he talked.

 

Terra sighed, “But.. she might need someone to talk to.”

 

He put a hand on Terra’s shoulder, “If you want to, then be my guest. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya though.”

 

The young man nodded his head and walked towards the dock, the wooden ramp echoing under his weight as he approached her lone figure. Sitting down beside her, he watched as her face didn’t move to greet him.

 

“Hey.” She said simply, her eyes only watching the cerulean waters move in tandem with the wind.

 

“Hi, um. I just wanted to see if you were okay,” he cleared his throat. “I wanted to apologize for barging in here the other day.”

 

“It’s fine, you’re forgiven.”

 

They sat in silence, the only sound being the occasional waves crashing against the shores or a bird squawking overhead. Terra shifted, not knowing what else to say as he stole glances at her side profile- opening his mouth to speak but quickly closing right after.

 

_Say something, idiot!_ He mentally slapped himself.

 

“Is there something on my face?” She asked him.

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

“You keep looking at me. I can see you turning your head in my peripheral.”

 

“Oh..”

 

_Oh? That’s all you can say??_ Terra wanted to get up and leave. His heroic act of wanting to comfort her was quickly going down in flames.

 

“Terra..” she said his name and his attention snapped to her immediately. “What do you do when you’re upset?”

 

“Me?” _Of course, she just said that._ “I train.”

 

“Is there anything else more..” she looked at him, her eyes meeting his for the first time since he sat down. “ _Immediate?_ ”

 

Her stare was intense and Terra saw a flash of pain that danced behind her eyes before it dulled own to pure sadness. “I yell sometimes, it helps,” he told her.

 

“Yelling, huh? Hmph, never really tried.”

 

“You should. Sometimes when my emotions get too much for me, I just let it out.”

 

“What if you’re too scared to show it?”

 

“Don’t ever be afraid of your own emotions. They’re valid.. and part of what makes you human,” he smiled at her. “Isn’t that what you said about your friends here?”

 

Her left eyebrow raised and she closed her eyes, a silent laugh escaping her mouth. “You’re right.”

 

Getting up, she held her hand towards Terra and helped him up. “You gonna go back now?” He asked.

 

“No, I think I want to scream. You might want to step back.”

 

•••

 

Reno looked out the window of Shinra’s offices towards the ocean, he turned to his friend. A fellow Turk, he was bald except for his dark goatee. His gloved hand reached up to adjust the sunglasses he wore.. despite being indoors.

 

“Rude. I’m so boRED, I can’t stand it.” Reno whined to his comrade, putting his hands behind his head as the redhead paced the room. “Hey, wanna visit the apartments I told you about? They’re pretty fun over there, you should come next time.”

 

“Reno, you still have paperwork to do. And I am _not_ doing it for you again this time.”

 

“Forget about that, I just want something exciting to happen!” He looked out the window again at the dark clouds gathering in the distance, rushing towards the beach. “Weird, didn’t know it was gonna rain today.”

 

Rude got up, squinting at the group of cumulonimbus forming in the distance. “Why’s it only gathering at that one part of the beach?”

 

Reno pressed his face against the glass until his nose flattened against it, cupping around his eyes as he followed the path of the storm. “Hey.. isn’t that..”

 

His eyes widened as he grabbed Rude by his neck. “Those are the apartments!” Their eyes widened as they began to see purple lines of lightning streak against the ominous black clouds as opposed to the calm blue sky that covered the rest of the city. “Shit, man, it’s under attack we gotta tell somebody!”

 

The redheaded Turk ran out of the room, almost slamming the door shut on Rude’s face before zipping down the hall with the other Turk close at his heels. Sliding around the corner, he spotted a familiar set of black spikes wearing 1st Class armor. “HeEEYYY!”

 

Zack turned around with a raised eyebrow. “Huh?”

 

“The Alstroemeria’s under attack!”

 

The soldier’s blue eyes widened as he soon broke out into a sprint that matched Reno and Rude’s as they both ran towards the elevator at the end of the hallway. Zack picked up the pace when he saw the elevator begin to close and he jabbed his hands in the closing crevice, forcing it open once more with a grunt and he panted when he looked up at the confused faces of Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth.

 

“You couldn’t wait for another elevator?” Angeal sighed.

 

Before Zack could open his mouth to explain the situation, Reno and Rude collided with his back and sent all three of them into the glass lift.

 

“It’s too crowded in here,” Genesis muttered and Sephiroth nodded in agreement.

 

“Zack,” Angeal crossed his arms. “Care to explain?”

 

As Zack looked up at him to talk, he was once more interrupted by Reno as he pointed out of the clear glass elevator that showed them a decent view of the coastal city and towards the storm that exclusively made its way towards the Alstroemeria.

 

“Th-that!” All of their gazes followed his finger as they observed the black clouds in the distance. A flash of lightning rumbling through its depths as it threatened to consume the apartment complex.

 

“That might just be Lady,” Genesis mused.

 

“Her electricity has a purple tinge to it sometimes,” Sephiroth explained, looking at Zack. “Especially when she’s upset… ah.” The realization made him turn towards the clouds.

 

“So she conjures up literal storms when she’s upset?!” Reno pressed his face against the descending elevator.

 

“That’s wild,” Rude pushed his glasses down, wanting an unobstructed view of the spectacle.

 

Genesis moved his head to the side. “Must be pretty bad if we can see the storm from here.. wonder what happened.”

 

“We should go see,” Angeal leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “She was cheerful when I left this mor-“ he stopped and abruptly cleared his throat, bringing a fist up to his mouth and coughed slightly.

 

Genesis’ eyes narrowed at his friend, an eyebrow raised in curiosity as Angeal averted his gaze. Sephiroth looked between the both of them before his eyes trained on Angeal with an unreadable expression masking his face.

 

Reno nudged Rude and leaned in to whisper, “Oi, oi. What do you make of that?”

 

•••

 

Lady’s breath came out in white puffs as the atmospheric temperature lowered around her and purple lightning zipped between the tips of her fingers as the rage built up inside her like a raging flame. Her discoveries from today only adding frustration to her anger like a heavy splash of oil on an already building fire. Up above, the clouds swirled like a black cauldron- causing the ocean below to swell violently against its magical pull.

 

Her breaths came out in faltering squeaks, building up the courage to release her rage. Shoulders rising and falling as she wrapped her arms around herself, even more flustered when she couldn’t help the tears of frustration that poured out of her eyes. It wouldn’t stop when she kept remembering Sephiroth as a baby, neglected and used, his own mother not being there to watch him grow under Hojo’s detestable upbringing . Angeal and Genesis, the two boys who grew up running down the paths of Banora- only caring about the going ons of their town and enjoying their childhood before- before..

 

She let out a scream, the tears spilling onto the wooden pier below her and staining it darker. Her scream raised in pitch as a clap of thunder rolled overhead and unleashed a bolt of lightning into the water.

 

_It’s not fair! They didn’t deserve that! They didn’t deserve to be experimented on!!!_

 

Letting out another wail that rumbled along with the thunder. A symphony of pained screams, flashing lightning, and roaring thunder echoed around her; but at that moment she couldn’t care who saw. She was in fucking pain. Each new cry she released towards the heavens ushered in another strike of lightning that hit the torrential water below. Looking down at the water, her distorted reflection looked back at her.

 

_And neither.._ she dropped to her knees. _Neither did I.._

 

The storm dissipating like dark violet cotton candy dissolving into water; the sun’s rays broke through and shone on the ocean, turning it a lighter color. Her breathing was heavy and she used the tips of her fingers to wipe away the tears falling from her face. She felt a hand hovering over her shoulder, as if it hesitated, before setting down. Looking up at Terra’s concerned face, she laughed bitterly, “I’m sorry.. this was supposed to make me feel better, but I just can’t seem to stop crying.”

 

She smiled up at him, the tears rolling off the apples of her cheeks as Terra knelt down and slowly wrapped an arm around her. “You can cry on my shoulder,” he whispered and she leaned into him while he patted her back.  

 

“Did it at least help a little?” He asked.

 

Lady laughed, her face buried into his shoulder as she looked up at him. Their faces were close as Terra blinked, now having a better view of what her tear-stained face looked like. He bit the inside of his cheek.

 

“I think it did. That counts for something, right?”

 

He only nodded.

 

“Although, my throat hurts now.”

 

“Need help getting up?”

 

“If the almighty Keyblade wielder doesn’t mind helping out,” she gave him a wry smile.

 

“No, he doesn’t mind.” He wrapped his hand around her biceps and helped her up while he stood. “Come on.”

 

They walked towards the Alstroemeria and Lady looked up to see Ignis and Gladio wait under the gazebo with Xigbar. As soon as she was within their sight, Gladio got up and pulled a chair out for her- motioning for her to take a seat. Sighing, she let go of Terra and graciously took the seat; only noticing her exhaustion and how heavy her legs felt when her bottom touched the cushion.

 

Terra took a seat and pulled it up next to her as Ignis set a mug of tea in front of her and poured steaming water into the ceramic, watching the condensation rise up from the cup.

 

“This isn’t necessary,” she said.

 

“It is, in fact,” Ignis said firmly, as he pushed the mug towards her.

 

“Are you.. okay?” Gladio asked her as she took the warm mug in her hands, enjoying the warmth it gave her.

 

“No, but I’ll be fine,” she inhaled the scent, smelling notes of peppermint and rose, mixed with the distinct sweetness of rock sugar. “Just a lot on my mind.”

 

“I’ll say, I only ever seen Noct lose his patience but not quite to your extent,” Ignis crossed his legs, intertwining his fingers together.

 

“That’s funny, I thought Noct would be the type to lose his cool often,” Lady sipped her tea. “Can I ask you all something?”

 

“Of course, princess.” Xigbar gave her a reassuring smile. ”And I think I speak for all of us.”

 

“If.. if you were part of something horrible as a child- something that could alter you as a person into something.. not human, would you want to know?” She looked up at them one by one as they all contemplated their answer.

 

“I dunno,” Xigbar shrugged. “In all honesty? If someone told me that, it would probably ruin my life and how I see myself.”

 

“Oh.” Her shoulders fell.

 

“But I’d want to know,” Terra spoke. “Even if the truth hurts.. I would want to know now so the truth can’t hurt me later. Especially if you have friends that you can count on, they’ll help guide you during your lowest point.”

 

“I concur, if it was something truly debilitating.. I could only hope I would have the support of the people I cherish,” Ignis added.

 

“I’ve seen people lose themselves to their demons,” Gladio looked down at his hands. “None of them reached out to people, and I think that’s what really set them off. The isolation.”

 

Lady gripped her mug, looking down at the brew sloshing around in it. _I need to tell them.. but.. how will they react?_

 

“If you need to tell someone something,” Gladio’s voice made her look up at the man. “Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll find a way to make them feel better afterwards. That’s just something you do naturally.”

 

“You’ve been nothing but kind to everyone here,” Ignis leaned forward slightly. “Believe in yourself and your capabilities.”

 

“Yeah babe, you got a light that can pull anyone out of the darkness,” Xigbar grinned. “Part of the reason why you got half of old Organization under your thumb now, right?”

 

Her mouth cracked to a tiny smile. “Thank you.” She tightened her grip on her mug as she exhaled. “That was.. embarrassing. Sorry you guys had to see that.”

 

“Consider it forgotten.”

 

“Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

 

“I feel bad for all the sea-life you probably struck with your lightning, but don’t sweat it princess.”

 

Terra looked to her, “I wish I could do more.”

 

“You’re doing enough just being here,” she smiled at him. “So thank you.”

 

Lady took another sip of her tea, closing her eyes and burying her nose below the rim as she took a deep inhale. Gladio’s eyes moved up and he put his hand up to motion someone over. “Hey there, soldier.”

 

“Everything okay here?” She heard Angeal’s voice and her heart skipped a beat.

 

“Hm, the lightning’s gone.”

 

“How perceptive of you.”

 

As she heard Genesis and Sephiroth alongside him, her heart began to beat more rapidly. Gulping the drink, she swallowed first before she opened her eyes slowly; turning to the left to greet her three soldier boys. As they came to her vision one by one, her head throbbed and she began to feel the blistering heat of a roaring flame lick against her cheeks. Her eyes widened in terror as a large black wing emerged out of Genesis’ left shoulder, enveloping his body. A white wing burst forth from Angeal’s right shoulder with a smaller wing fluttering beneath the larger one. And finally, Sephiroth, who stood in the middle of the both of them, was soon surrounded by more flames as a large black wing unfurled from his right, similar to Genesis’. Black and white feathers swirling around the three as it combusted once it touched the inferno rampaging around them.

 

Lady could only watch as the flames quickly consumed the three of them, the violent red and orange fire flickering in her eyes as it died down to reveal them again. Except now Genesis’ vivid auburn hair was now a dull gray and she watched as his skin began cracking in multiple parts of his face in web-like formations, almost as if he was degrading on the spot. Angeal soon lost the color on his skin and hair like Genesis, his body turning into the same dilapidated state as the wings on his back faded into dust. Sephiroth stood unphased as his physique remained the same, the black wing reaching towards the sky as if it was poised to take off to unknown destinations.

 

She only stared as they approached her and the flames grew hotter and hotter, Sephiroth’s hair flowing amongst the fire like silver ribbons dancing on a tight line over hellfire. Gripping the mug in her hand tighter and tighter, she swallowed hard as she felt sweat drop on the sides of her face. The mug in her hand fracturing until it finally burst into pieces under her tight hold. The hot tea spilling onto her lap and her head snapped towards the feeling of scalding liquid that seared her skin slightly as she flinched. The flames disappeared and she felt another welt of warmth rise up in her palms.

 

Lifting her trembling hands, she saw blood form along the cuts caused by splintered pieces of the mug embedded into her skin; spilling and mixing into the puddle of tea in her lap. Her eyes followed the swirl of blood, too afraid to look up from the crimson nectar.

 

“Look what you did,” She heard Angeal mutter as she felt his hand take hers. “At least the cuts aren’t too deep.”

 

Lady just kept staring at her lap, fearful of looking up and seeing his face in the same state of the animated corpse persona she saw earlier. Biting the inside of her cheek, she willed herself to glance up. Her breath came out in shaky exhales as her eyes went from his hands, to his chest, and then to his face. Relief flooded her when she only saw his concerned face, with no cracks or graying in sight. Her hand tightened around Angeal’s and he raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

 

“Yeah,” she said, her voice raspy. “I’m glad to see you three.”

 

Her eyes glanced up to Ignis behind Angeal’s shoulder and the man nodded, turning his head towards Gladio. “I think it’s time for us to take our leave.”

 

Gladio flashed Lady a small smile before getting up and following Ignis back to their room. Xigbar whistled and stood up, pulling Terra up as he walked past him. “Come on big boy, wanna see how far Roxas can throw his Keyblades?”

 

“Wha-“ Terra didn’t have a chance to protest as he was promptly dragged off, his blue eyes looking back at Lady with worry. As the four left, the three took their seats. Scooting in close around the center table as Angeal took the seat to her right, tending to her hands while Genesis took a seat to her left- leaving the seat across from her to Sephiroth.

 

“Angeal, it’s fine. Here,” she murmured as she held her hands together, a soft green light emerging from the cracks between her fingers as she opened it up and revealing the healed cuts.

 

“Who am I if I don’t know a simple cure spell, right?” She gave him a droll smile.

 

“What happened earlier?” Genesis asked.

 

_Well, I found out that the three of you have been subject to experiments ever since you were children to try and make powerful beings for Shinra’s agenda._

 

Lady closed her eyes and exhaled through her nostrils, she gathered the tea in her lap with a twist of her forefinger as it formed a sphere of water- a trick she learned at the courtesy of Demyx. The sphere hovered over her hand and she flicked it towards a nearby flowerbed and watched as it burst into a tiny ball of rain. Scooping up the remains of the poor mug, she set it on the table in front of her as she sat back and finally looked up at the three of them.

 

“I..” She gulped. _How do I start this?_ She looked at Sephiroth’s green-blue eyes, remembering the way they looked as a child and filled with tears in his eyes as his arm was abused by shots of mako. _Maybe we can do this one by one._ “Can I speak with you, Sephiroth?”

 

“Of course,” he replied.

 

“Alone.”

 

Sephiroth looked to Angeal and Genesis and they both seemed surprised.

 

“I’m sorry you two. I’ll talk with you two individually.. so please just wait for me, okay?”

 

“As long as we get to see that play before you do,” Genesis put his elbow on the table, balancing his chin on his palm.

 

Lady looked at him with a half-smile, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Even if I have to sit through Loveless for the thousandth time.”

 

She turned to Angeal. “I really liked that flower you showed me, let’s plant it around here. I think I know where I want it.”

 

He took her hand and held it, squeezing tightly before he stood up and jerked his head at Genesis for him to follow. Leaving her and Sephiroth, she stood up and held her hand out towards him. Taking it, he stood up with her as she wrapped her arm around his- leading him towards the beach as their feet descended the stone stairs leading to the sand covered terrain until they reached the dock. She waited till they reached the farthest end, looking down at their reflection in the water before turning to face him while both of her hands took his dominant hand, his left.

 

“Remember when you said.. you wanted the truth?” She whispered, barely audible over the waves.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Remember when I said we would find the truth together?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She dropped his hand and moved to hold the sides of his face as she looked up at him, her face serious and her eyes burning with determination.

 

“And do you- no, _will_ you remember that I would _never_ leave you alone?”

 

His left hand reached up to rest against her hand. “Yes.”

 

“I went somewhere to see what I could find about Shinra, about Project SIREN and I found something else.. about you three. You, Angeal, and Genesis.” She cringed as she remembered the things she saw in the basement of the Nibelheim mansion and she shook him gently. “You trust me right? You know I would never lie to you right?”

 

“Yes, of course.”

 

“If you don’t believe me, then I’ll show you proof. But please remember that right now I'm especially serious about everything I say.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“Sephiroth.. your parents..”

 

At the mention of his heritage, his eyes widened slightly and she felt him grip her hand tighter as he waited with bated breath. “What do you know?”

 

“Your mother was beautiful,” she gave him a sad smile. “I can see her in you and your father.. well.”

 

“Tell me.” He looked at her with more intensity eager to know, dying to know.

 

“Sephiroth.. Hojo is your father.”

 

His eyes narrowed and the hand holding hers tightened until she flinched at his tremendous strength. His fingers gripping at her hands until she began to see the blood pushed out from the pressure he applied to her hand.

 

“Seph.. that hurts..” she tried pulling away and he wouldn’t relinquish his grip, the iron hold he had on her began to shake as his eyes widened slowly.

 

“How can that be..? How did you..”

 

“There were files detailing your birthright.”

 

“And my mother?”

 

Lady leaned closer to him, her thumb grazing over his cheekbones. “Do you want to see her?” He nodded silently and she sighed. “Close your eyes.”

 

His eyes closed and she did the same, a pearlescent white and green tendril swirling from her wrist and towards the sides of his head. Sephiroth felt his body become light as he felt like he was drifting off to sleep but his eyes opened as Lady’s image faded in front of him and was replaced by another young woman with long brown hair held up by a large yellow ribbon wrapping around the ponytail. Her bangs arched up in a similar fashion to his, framing her slim face as her brown eyes looked up at Sephiroth with sorrow. She wore a white lab coat unbuttoned to reveal the lavender blouse along with the string of pearls hanging from her neck and a blue skirt with periwinkle ruffles. Her hands still caressing his face as his eyes widened, mouth open and his bottom lip trembled.

 

“Mother?”

 

She looked at him with melancholy, nodding.

 

“Is Hojo.. really my father?”

 

The woman averted her eyes, also nodding and turned towards the open ocean where Sephiroth followed her gaze. In front of them, another image played as his mother materialized over the water’s surface along with another man that made his blood begin to boil.

 

His mother grasped onto Hojo’s lapel as she shook him, screaming.

 

_“Give him back.. give him back!! Let me see him- let me see my baby just once! Let me see Sephiroth!”_

 

She pushed Hojo away from her, holding her face as she cried.

 

_“You.. you’re a horrible father! I should’ve never allowed you to take him away from me!”_

 

His mother ran away from Hojo and Sephiroth’s hand reached out towards her retreating figure as he felt every inch of his body want to chase after her, “Mother, don’t go-!”

 

The vision of his parents faded and Sephiroth’s hand faltered, the remnants of his mother's image disappearing from the visible spaces between his fingers. He looked back at the woman in front of him and exhaled when it reverted back to Lady, her eyes looking up at him with worry with her hands still caressing his face.

 

“Her name was Lucrecia Crescent and I think, no I _know_ she loved you. She loved you with all her heart.”

 

“What happened to her? Where is she?” He held her shoulders, his eyes boring into her like a beams that could blow a hole through her.

 

“I.. I don’t know. This was everything I could find out about her, I’m sorry,” Lady glanced down, ashamed she could not give him more. She felt his hunger and desire to know more and it felt like she deprived the man of his right. “Sephiroth, I-“

 

She was cut off as her body was brought into a tight embrace, his arms holding her body closely as he buried his face into her hair. Her arms reached to wrap around his neck and pulled herself up against his tall figure, standing on her tiptoes and returning the gesture with just as much intensity.

 

“Do you need some time to think?” She whispered and he didn’t respond. Assuming he didn’t hear her, she tried to step away from him but he held her steadfast.

 

“Don’t go.” He said simply, his voice almost wavering. “Stay with me.”

 

“Always and forever,” she promised him, moving her face to kiss the side of his head.

 

“Promise me. Don’t leave.”

 

He let her go to look down at her, intense sorrow in his eyes as the rest of his face remained unmoving- waiting for her answer. Lady took his hand, uncurling the pinkie and wrapping her tiny finger around his. “I promised you I would never leave you, right?” She brought their entwined pinkies up to her lips to place a quick kiss on them. “I love you too much for that to happen.”

 

His eyes looked at the physical manifestation of their promise and he released the breath he was holding. The wave of relief replacing the anger he felt at seeing Hojo as he tightened his pinkie around hers and saw as she smiled at him. The violent torrent of emotions clashing within him, the seething anger, the intense hatred for that walking mass of complexes, the feeling of drowning in his own sorrow- it all was soothed at the touch of her lips against his skin, her eyes and smile guiding him from the storm inside his mind. It was rare to feel the amount of emotions he did at the intensity that they were.. it was rare that he felt so.. human.

 

An image of his birth mother flashed in his mind and he memorized it, tucking it away in his mind and heart along with the image of the woman currently in front of him. She never stopped trying to guide him from his loneliness even when they first met and he gave her a cold reception. She would still come back and greet him with a warm smile and her kind words and that smile, no, _she_ gradually became his light that chased away the darkness that surrounded him for so long. It was.. liberating.

 

“Can I stay with you tonight?” He brought her hand to his lips, looking down at her over her fingers.

 

“You don't even have to ask,” she smiled. “You’re welcome anytime.”

 

•••

 

Lady gathered clothes from her drawer that she thought would fit his massive frame, sighing when all she could scrounge up was a large black shirt that was baggy on her, but something told her it would fit him well. Folding it up and placing it over the sweats that she swindled from Gladio- after asking nicely of course.

 

She knocked on the bathroom door before entering, setting the clothes down on the counter. She did her best to avert her gaze as much as possible from the steam filled shower that covered most of Sephiroth’s lower body.

 

“Hey, I’m leaving the clothes here okay?” She turned on her heels and stopped when she heard him speak.

 

“What about a towel?”

 

She mentally slapped herself on the forehead. She forgot to hand him a fresh towel while she was too busy being flustered. Reaching in a cabinet near the door, she folded the towel up and walked over to the shower; still averting her gaze as she looked instead at where her feet stepped while placing the towel on a rack where he could reach. Turning on her heels once more to walk out, she heard the glass shower door slide open and a hand caught her wrist.

 

Looking at the hand that grabbed her, her eyes traveled up to the muscular arm that held it in place. She looked up at Sephiroth who looked at her, his silver bangs sticking to the sides of his face as water droplets traveled down his bangs and onto his collarbones.

 

“Do you need anything else?” She said, swallowing.

 

“Yes.”

 

Her body was pulled towards him and into the shower, the glass door sliding close as he pushed her into the corner of the shower. The water beginning to soak through the shirt she wore and weighed down her hair as she backed up against the tile. Placing an arm above her head, another wrapped around her waist and pushed it towards him. She looked at his eyes, always teeming with some form of intensity and the way his hair looked so good especially when droplets of water traveled down its strands and onto his body that seemed like it was sculpted from marble. He was so beautiful, like an angel.

 

Lady breathed as his face came closer to her, stopping when their noses touched and he spoke. “May I.. no, you said I can just do what I want, right?” She could see his pupils dilate. “I’ll stop asking then.”

 

With that his lips came down upon hers and she couldn’t stop the surprised moan that emerged from her throat. Her hands traveled up his chest, feeling the hardened muscles of his chest as her hands wrapped around his neck to push his face closer to hers- deepening their kiss. She could feel him test out what made her squeal; a wayward hand there, his tongue swiping at her upper lip here, and his hands came down to outline the curves of her waist before resting just on the top of her ass. His eyes watching and his hands feeling her tremble, he raised a hand and slapped her ass lightly. She jumped forward at the sudden contact and she looked up at him with surprise. A devilish smirk played on his lips at her newfound reaction as he pushed her against the wall once more, this time his attack more precise and well-informed as he began to touch her in all of the places that made her tremble exquisitely in his arms.

 

Lady panted as he unraveled her slowly, then bringing her up to a crescendo that died down just for it to build up again.

 

_‘I’ve never done this before’?_ She remembered his words when he held her on the couch, just before the Struggle tournament. _That’s hard to believe, he’s too good at this._

 

His hands explored as he began to lift the soaked shirt that stuck to her skin, bringing it up over her head as he untied the knot holding her jeans tight around her waist. Using both of his hands he pulled it down slowly, waiting for her to work with him as she stepped out of the jenas one leg at a time. He tossed the clothes aside and his eyes looked over her now naked body, his pupils dilating once more as something shifted in his usually stoic demeanor as he stared at her standing in the nude; eyes flashing with hunger.

 

The shower water hit both of their nude bodies as he traced a circle around her belly button with his forefinger and middle finger, the warm water being the thing that kept her from shivering against his touch. He traced his finger down, lifting it off of her skin before descending down beneath her slit and running his middle finger down her folds before flicking her clit causing her knees to shake as she held his forearm to steady herself. Looking up at him, she saw his eyes watching her every move and she remembered the other thing he said that day.

 

_“I’m a quick study.”_

 

_He’s learning what makes me tick._ She braced herself for what was to come. _And I just gave him permission to do whatever the hell he wants-!_

 

His right arm hooked under her knee and pulled it up, exposing herself to him as his other hand traced at her labia- swiping his fingers through her holds and stopping to bring his hand up while the other felt at the vein in her wrist. Inspecting the clear viscous fluids that dripped down his phalanges, he hummed in approval, “What’s this?” 

 

Lady watched her as he brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked off the fluid. “Proof of your arousal?” 

 

Her face blushed red as he looked at his fingers then towards her and a satisfied smile tugged on his lips. “Flushed face, dilated pupils, increased heart rate.. I’m assuming you like what I’m doing.”

 

Lady gritted her teeth, mustering up her courage as she swung her leg over his arm. Both of her feet planted firmly on the ground and she grabbed him by his shoulders; twisting him around till his back was pushed against the wall, eager to learn what made the man lose control. Her hand rested on his lower abdomen as she reached to leave kisses on his collarbone and Sephiroth closed his eyes, enjoying her touch against him. Her hand slid down slowly, reaching his pelvis as she felt him exhale; making her way towards the base of his dick, she began to palm him. This whole time she didn’t dare look down at his lower body, almost afraid to see what she would be working with. Trying to hide her astonishment as her hand couldn’t even wrap around his girth while the water helped to lubricate her strokes around his cock.

 

Her touch mixed with the feel of her mouth gently sucking on his neck earned a small groan from him and this only served to embolden her as she felt what he felt, the excitement of eliciting a reaction from someone so usually reserved. She grasped at his hair and pulled it back to expose the skin of his neck, licking her lips before biting down and sucking the skin all the while she used both hands to stroke him. She felt the rise and fall of his chest as she worked to undo him slowly, quickening her pace as she moved her mouth to kiss the side of his lips. His eyes were closed as if concentrating on something while his breath hastened as she felt his cock twitch in her hands. Before she could try and finish him off, his hand grabbed her wrists to stop her; looking at her with an increased hunger as he pried her hands off and pushed her against the wall.

 

“Bend over,” he commanded.

 

His hands trapping hers as she pushed her ass out to meet his pelvis, feeling his dick rest between her ass cheeks as he stroked it along her body. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear as he positioned himself at her opening. “Now, let me hear all the noises you can make.”

 

She barely had time to process what he said before he sheathed himself inside her all the way down to his base. A strangled moan came from her lips as she clawed at the shower tile, the feeling of his thick and long length pulsating inside her as the first stroke enough to send her over. 

 

“Your body reacts well to me,” she heard him speak as he exited her only to swiftly thrust in again, the entry made easy for him from the product of their foreplay.

 

It didn’t help that she moved her hips down with his, eager to feel him fill her up again. Taking his cock out of her once more, his hand raised up and as it it swung down to slap her ass- he slammed himself once more inside her. Lady let out a pleasured scream as he soon began a steady rhythm of thrusts, sending her against the wall with each push. The water running over their bodies serving as a conduit for their combined lust as it splashed around them. 

 

“Sephiroth-! Fu-ck,” she moaned out as his hands moved to trap hers onto the wall, arching her back as he fucked her mercilessly. Only streamlined pleasure clouded her mind like the steam gathering on the mirrors and she could only think of Sephiroth and nothing but. 

 

“My name sounds so sweet coming from your mouth,” he muttered, intertwining his fingers with her as he pinned her. It was soon becoming apparent that her body was going to be overloaded with shocks of euphoria that could very well have her limping after this. His body moved with hers, his thrusts precise and always hitting the spot that sent her into overdrive, not unlike the way his Masamune strikes his targets. Like he was during a good spar, he learned his opponent, and moved to complement their attack. In this case, he learned everything that made chills run down her spine and what would be the thing that sent her rolling into a coming orgasm. Well, almost everything, but the man didn’t lie when he said he was a quick study.

 

Sephiroth moved inside her and she felt herself empty but filled up immediately after the void was created. Pushing her up so her breasts pushed against the wall, he leaned down to bite her neck- his hands entwined in her hair and he used it to help move her body the way he needed it to be positioned.

 

“Seph.. Seph-!” She panted, almost annoyed at how quick the man could undo her into a puddle if he wanted to. “I’m going to cum-!”

 

“Cum around me while my cock is still inside you.” He ordered her. “Cum. For. Me.” The tip of his member hitting her cervix with each word, enunciating his sentences. 

 

Biting her lips, she cursed the fact that his deep voice whispering commands to her while he thrusted relentlessly brought her to her grand finale. His pace didn’t slow even when she felt the building tension inside of her diffuse and spread out like a butterfly's kisses. Her legs wobbled and if it weren’t for him holding her up, she would’ve fell to the ground below. She felt him slip out of her and hold her up by her waist, she turned around to face him- her breasts rising and falling as she caught her breath. Looking up at him, she wanted to disappear when she saw that he looked unphased, as if this was just another menial training exercise for him. This whole time she didn’t get a chance to look at him with her back turned and pressed up against the wall, but she expected some type of reaction- she almost felt embarrassed at being undone while he remained, well, _done_.

 

“Did it at least.. feel good for you?” She asked him before shaking her head. “Never mind.”

 

Without another word, she walked to the silver faucet mounted on the wall and turned it off. She had felt the warm water turn cold a while ago, hoping that none of the other tenants were currently taking a shower and complain about the lack of hot water. She walked past him and slid open the glass door, stepping onto the tile and wrapping a towel around her body tightly before exiting the bathroom. Falling onto her back on the bed, her arm covered her eyes as the other rested on her stomach.

 

She heard the bathroom door open and close and the bed dipped under a heavy weight. Her arm moved and she saw Sephiroth on top of her, trapping her in between his arms as water dropped from his hair onto her cheek. His eyes looking into her very soul and that’s when she saw what she missed earlier when she was too shaken by her orgasm and too caught up in her haze of lust. That voracious hunger that danced behind his irises and threatened to break through and choke her in its quest for dominance; she had almost forgotten, _the man spoke with his eyes_. Now that she thought about it, he didn’t even cum yet.

 

His hand reached down to unravel the towel that concealed her body as his hands explored her once more, tracing along her waist before slipping down to her hips. “I wasn’t finished with you yet.”

 

Squeezing her thighs, he gently spread her legs open. “I’m going to have you tonight, again and again until I‘m satisfied.”

 

She swallowed, remembering that his stamina was something of legend even amongst their ranks. Praying to the astrals above, she whimpered in anticipation as he positioned his still erect cock at her entrance. 

 

_It would be a long night ahead of her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m working on a gif set of all the times Genesis bullies Zack if anyone’s interested. 
> 
> Also let’s talk upload schedule: I might do it every three days because my summer semester starts and right after it’ll be my fall semester so I apologize ahead of time!!


	26. XXVI

Lady woke up entwined in Sephiroth’s arms. His hands holding her body close to his as the bedsheets lay in a haphazardly thrown pile around them. She sat up slowly, holding his hand to maintain their contact while she observed the state of her room. Pillows were tossed onto the floor, a blanket was hanging off the side of her mirror where he flung it off last night in the heat of the moment. Her hand reached down, the tips of her fingers touching something soft and she looked at what it was. Picking up the small feather between her thumb and forefinger, looking at it with confusion. Then she saw it, the stray feathers strewn around the room and a ripped pillow laying in the middle of an especially large pile of fluff.

 

She released an exasperated sigh and looked back at the silver haired man sleeping in her bed. Remembering the way his eyes glinted with excitement as he had her below him, above him, and finally beside him as he finally gave in to his exhaustion after what felt like an eternity. They both were naked, he insisted she wouldn’t need clothes and every little piece of cloth she would try to conceal her body with would just be snatched away to have her remain in her initial state of nudity. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she touched the floor and stood up, immediately her legs began to wobble and throb with pain as she caught herself with her hands on the floor with a dull thud.

 

Sheets rustled and she looked up to see Sephiroth peer down at her from the bed, his head balancing on his fist as he looked at her with a smug expression. “Having some trouble there?”

 

“Oh, just a little,” she grunted as she willed her legs to stand and using the nightstand to help herself up, only to collapse back onto the bed and into his receiving arms. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk today.”

 

“I can make it so you won’t be able to walk for a week,” he promised her, his finger tracing down her thigh.

 

“As tempting as that sounds,” she moved a strand of hair behind his ear. “Let’s not, I can’t be bedridden for that long. How will my tenants survive without me?”

 

“I’m sure they’ll find a way,” Sephiroth caressed her face, bringing it close to him for a kiss. He looked at her for a minute, eyes searching her face before speaking again. “How do you feel about becoming an apple farmer?”

 

Lady couldn’t help the surprised laugh that came from her, “Excuse me?”

 

“Genesis has this idea of us leaving Shinra and going to Banora to be apple farmers.”

 

“But Gen hates dirt and bugs,” she scoffed, her lips scrunched up as she thought about the idea more before leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. “It’s not a completely horrible idea. Will we lay about in leisure under the sun?”

 

“We can also lay in bed all day if we wanted to,” his hand rested on her waist. “We can wake up like this every morning.”

 

She smiled at him, patting his cheek before reaching down to the left towards her nightstand. Opening the drawer to retrieve a wide-tooth comb and a handful of feathers from the ground. Lifting her hand to her lips, she blew the feathers towards Sephiroth- whispering a spell of wind as the other tuffs scattered across the room followed suit and propelled into the air. They looked up at the feathers that fell around them, lightly touching their bodies and snowing around them in a flurry of pure white down.

 

Sephiroth looked as the feathers landing on strands of her hair and danced across her bare skin. He took her hand and held it to his lips, his eyes looking up at her. “You make this world more beautiful.”

 

She smiled, pulling him up towards her so that he sat up. “The great Sephiroth getting _romantic?_ Is the world ending?”

 

“Even if it were to go down in flames, I would be with you till the end.”

 

“Oh? That’s a dangerous thing to promise,” she smiled as she scooted to sit beside him, holding the comb in her hand. Taking a handful of his hair, she began to brush through it starting from his scalp all the way down it’s extensive length.

 

“So only you can make promises?” He said, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of her hands combing through his hair.

 

Her lips curled into a smile as she chuckled in response. “How ‘bout promising to clean up the mess you made last night?”

 

“A futile attempt, I would just do it again.”

 

She separated strands of his hair, revealing his back and the long red scratches that went down from his shoulder blades to his waist- her handiwork of course, a souvenir from their night of passion that he seemed to be fond of.

 

“Your hair is so beautiful,” she murmured as she combed through it. “I wonder how it would look if it was brown like your mother’s.”

 

He turned his head to look at her from over his shoulder. “It’s strange I don’t look like her.. or my father.”

 

Lady stopped mid-brush, sighing and scooting over to sit in front of him where he could see her. “You do look like your mother actually.”

 

She traced a finger on his hairline where his bangs protruded from his head. “You have your mother’s bangs, although a different color, you both have such lovely hair.”

 

She traced a finger on the bridge of his nose and down to the outline of his lips. “You have your mother’s lips and nose. It’s clear where you got your good looks from.”

 

She traced a finger under his eyes and up to a half-circle around his orbital bone. “And again although they’re a different color, you have your mother’s eyes, beautiful and kind. I could get lost in them every time I look at it.”

 

She took the sides of his head to bring his forehead to hers as she got up on her knees to be an acceptable match to his height. “You are Lucrecia Crescent’s son.. and you will always be loved.”

 

He reached up to slide her hand down to his cheek, kissing her palm and inhaling her scent. “Thank you,” he whispered against her skin.

 

“There’s something else.. in those files. About you three, you, Gen, and Angeal.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

“I’m scared to.”

 

“How come?”

 

“They’re.. terrible. And the things I’ve seen- I’m scared how you’ll react.”

 

His eyes watched her as she bit her bottom lip, looking down to the side. Images of what she saw in the Shinra mansion basement flashed through her mind and she looked at the man in front of her. “I saw you as a child and Hojo used you in his experiments while you were still a fetus to make some sort of super soldier..”

 

He was silent as she talked and she didn’t know if that was a good sign or bad. “They did the same with Angeal and Genesis, they injected you three with cells from this alien being.”

 

“What was it called?”

 

She felt her heart skip a beat as she gulped. “Jenova.”

 

“The name of my supposed mother-“ he closed his eyes, inhaling. “No. That was the lie that the hack told me.”

 

Sephiroth kept his eyes shut as he breathed out, a shaky exhalation as he asked her, “Tell me.. everything that you saw.”

 

“Sephiroth-“

 

“Please.”

 

Lady swallowed, her nails digging into her palm as she sighed in defeat. He was owed the truth at the very least, it was all he ever wanted.. and so she told him. She told him what she saw, what were in the reports, what visions happened in vivid detail. And he only listened, his eyes shut as he listened to her tale.

 

As she finished he opened his eyes, a flash of something shimmering in their depths and she couldn’t discern what it was. “All four of us were experimented on?” He asked her to confirm once more as if he was told something outlandish.

 

She nodded, “Yes.”

 

“What do you know of what they did to you?”

 

“Nothing, Seph,” she looked down at her hands. “I don’t know what they did but I only remember bits and pieces.”

 

“What would you do if the results were to make you something inhumane?”

 

Lady flinched at his words, but looked up at him. “I would never let Shinra and their experiments define who I am today. My choices are my own, and I’ll be damned if I let them dictate my own fate. This life is mine to share and do as I will with the people I love.”

 

“I.. see.” He averted his gaze.

 

“Sephiroth, you are _human._ Please remember that _,”_ she grasped his hands. His eyes looked up to meet hers and she saw the waves of emotion clash inside him. As he opened his mouth to respond, his phone rang behind him on the nightstand. Lady waited for him to answer it, looking at him expectedly and when he didn’t make an effort to move- she reached over to grab his phone. As she brought it back to him, they both saw ‘Lazard‘ pop up as the caller. _Director Lazard Deusericus, the head of SOLDIER._

 

He covered the screen with his palm and tossed the phone aside, they both waited as the ringtone subsided and she looked at him.

 

“Sephiroth?”

 

“I need some time to think,” he replied. “I think I want to stay in bed today.”

 

“Of course, make yourself at home,” she whispered and he laid back down, his head landing on her pillows as she covered his body with a blanket. Her hands moved to tuck the blanket around his chest and she stopped when he brought a hand up to her face, caressing her cheek while he searched her eyes as if he was looking for an answer.

 

Holding his hand that touched her face, she kissed the inside of his palm and smiled at him. “I love you.”

 

He was silent, only watching her as she got up to get dressed. A shirt and some capris, she clipped up parts of her hair up to move strands away from her face and she turned back to him. “I’ll just be running errands. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

 

As she opened the door to exit her room, she heard him speak, “Don’t go where I can’t follow.”

 

Leaning on the door to look at him, she gave him her best smile, “Never.”

 

Shutting the door gently behind her, she exited the apartment.

 

•••

 

“Hey little prince, what are you doing out here?”

 

“Fishing.”

 

“Is this how you plan to get your future queen?”

 

“Shut up- ah, I got something!”

 

Noctis turned just as a smile appeared on his face, his raven locks concealing his alabaster skin as he reeled back his fishing rod with practiced ease, his rod bending as he pulled with all of his might. Pulling the fishing line out of the water and up into the air. Lady looked over his shoulder and stifled a snort when it came up empty as Noctis groaned.

 

“Lure’s gone, damn.” He tutted, twisting the lure around his finger as he reached down into his tackle box to retrieve another one. “Ya know, I’m surprised that more fish aren’t just floating around dead in the water after that storm last night.”

 

“Ah, about that..”  

 

“Gladio and Ignis already told me. It’s fine,” he fiddled with the fat rubber fish lure in his hand as he talked. “Uh, If you ever need- ya know. Well-“

 

“What is it?”

 

“If you need someone to talk to, I can- I’ll do my best to talk to you,” he looked back at her briefly before turning back to the ocean. “If you want.”

 

“Oh, aw Noctis. That’s so sweet! I’ll take it into consideration,” she nudged him again and he cleared his throat.

 

“It’s weird though, that storm of yours really should’ve killed more fish, right?”

 

“Maybe a bigger fish came by and scared them off before I could.”

 

“That must be one biiig fish.” His eyes glinted. “I’d love to catch something like that.”

 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it little prince.”

 

Noctis turned around just as she excused herself. “Hey you got something on your-“ he reached over and plucked it off her shirt. “-what's this? String?”

She looked to see a strand of long silver hair in between his fingers as he dangled it in front of his eyes to see. Her eyes widened as she snatched the hair from his fingers and let it fly away in the ocean breeze. “Just a.. just a thing.”

 

Lady turned around on her heels again and walked away as Noctis turned back to the sea, pulling his reel back in. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he sighed as he reeled in the line so he could answer properly.

 

“Hello? I- oh.. hey dad.. no, everything’s fine here. This place is pretty neat.. yeah.. uh, no, if it’s alright with you I want to stay here a little longer with everyone. The landlady is cool, you and Cor would like her. Maybe I could bring her to see Insomnia.. dad?.. what was that noise.. you sure? Uh, okay.. bye.”

 

Noctis looked at his phone with a dejected sigh as he put the phone back in his pocket and casting out to the water once more.

 

•••

 

Director Lazard sighed, putting his cellphone back inside the pocket of his tailored pinstripe blazer. Pushing his rectangular glasses up his nose, he tugged on a strand of his chin-length blond hair- sweeping it back across his head. He turned to the other two in the room. “He’s not answering. Angeal, Genesis. Forgive me, but I suppose it’ll only be you two today.”

 

The two soldiers shared a knowing look before looking at the director and exiting the room. As the two rounded the corner and made sure not a soul was around them, they began to speak.

 

“He probably stayed overnight,” Genesis hummed. “But it’s unlike him to be so.. irresponsible.”

 

“What do you think happened,” Angeal stopped. “Lady said she had something to share- with all of us.”

 

“She did seem serious,” he crossed his arms. “I must admit, I’m curious as to what happened.”

 

Genesis looked up at his friend and motioned to the elevator with his head. “Let’s go see what happened, shall we?

 

“But, we have to-“

 

“Angeal,” he sighed. “Do you want to stay loyal to a company who experimented on someone you care about and caused her to disappear for years? Think.”

 

Angeal averted his gaze, inhaling deeply. “You’re right, for once. I’m surprised you would give up your dream to be a world-renowned hero.”

 

“A passing fancy in the grand scheme of things, but it will happen sooner or later,” Genesis waved away his words. “Is that you agreeing? Then let’s go.”

 

They both walked towards the elevator, setting their sights on the Alstroemeria to find out what happened and to see their friends. As they descended, an unease settled in their stomachs. A gut reaction they couldn’t shake away as the floors passed them up.

 

Back in the director’s room, Lazard paced in front of his desk- wondering why his best soldier and one of most duty-bound wasn’t answering a phone call from him. It was unheard of for Sephiroth to be out of reach and it didn’t sit well with him.

 

He walked out on the balcony overlooking the ocean; sighing as he rested his hands against the rail, inhaling the fresh air and tilted his head back.

 

“The view is much better out here compared to Midgar, isn’t it?”

 

His eyes opened and he snapped his head back towards his office to see Lady perched on his desk, her legs crossed as she played with one of his pens between her fingers.

 

“You-!”

 

“Me.” She gave him a wry smile. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it director?”

 

“How did you get up here?” He stalked over to his desk and approached the woman.

 

As if to answer his question, a whirl of wind appeared in her hand and elevated the pen she was holding. He watched as the pen hovered and launched up into the air before landing back in her open palm. She set it aside as she angled herself, her hands poised neatly on her knees. “I’d like to discuss something with you.”

 

Lazard sighed, shaking his head as he rounded his desk to sit on the chair. His elbows on the table as he leaned forward, awaiting for her to continue. Lady swung her legs over the desk until it dangled close to him, and she leaned on her right arm. “I want to talk about Sephiroth’s, Angeal’s, and Genesis’ retirement from Shinra.”

 

“And you expect me to let the top three in our ranks go so easily?”

 

“Lazard..”

 

“I can’t,” he looked up at her from the top rim of his glasses. “Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be allowed to. Rufus wouldn’t allow it.”

 

“It can’t be that hard to try and negotiate with your half-brother.”

 

Lazard looked up, his blue eyes widening momentarily before he pushed up his glasses and looked down at his hands. “So you know about that, huh?”

 

“It’s not hard to track the deceased president’s path of infidelity. The question is, does Rufus know?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“I’ll let you decide if you want to tell him or not then,” she tapped her middle finger on his desk. “Lazard.. you’re an intelligent and informed man. Tell me, what do you know about Project S and Project G?”

 

“I only know that it was conducted by Hojo and Hollander.”

 

“What about Project SIREN?”

 

“Only Hojo worked on that as far as I know, the science department doesn’t tell me much as you can imagine. Why?”

 

“I have questions but I wouldn’t trust those two scientists to give me a straight answer,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, switching her legs to cross over each other. “You may not know much about them but you have to know how barbaric their experiments can be, correct?”

 

“Only rumors here and there,” he leaned back in his seat. “I also heard that Hojo has developed an unhealthy interest over you. So much so that he convinced Rufus to build Shinra’s new headquarters over here where _you_ are.”

 

“I’m flattered,” she said dryly. “Help me.”

 

“With?”

 

“Help me save those three. You’re a man of integrity, trust me when I say that they might be in danger if I don’t do anything. You care for them, I know you do.”

 

Lazard sighed, reaching under his glasses to massage his closed eyes before blinking. “Speak with professor Gast. There’s been talk of dissent in the science department and the Turks have been trying to get them to cooperate.”

 

“When are they not in dissent over anything?” She rolled her eyes, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, director.” She hopped off his desk and he caught her wrist before she could leave.

 

“But after you speak with him, I want to know everything you know. If I’m to help, I need to be informed,” he muttered quietly and she nodded.

 

Sliding her hand into his pocket on his chest, she pulled out his phone and began dialing in her cell number. Once saved, she slid the phone back in and gave it a quick pat.

 

“That’s unbefitting decorum towards your boss, soldier.” He joked.

 

“I’m not actually employed, so just think of it as a friendly gesture,” she smiled. “Where can I find Gast?”

 

“Two floors below, the elevator’s down the hall to the right- what are you doing?”

 

Lady sat on the edge of the balcony, peering down at the other balcony sitting two stories below the one she was in currently. She turned to the director and saluted him, “Stay in touch, Lazard.”

 

With that, she leaned back and Lazard ran towards her and reached for her falling figure. Gripping the rails as he looked down at her body that hovered in two balconies below him. She looked up at with a cheeky grin and had the audacity to _wink_ before entering the building once more. Lazard sighed, shaking his head, “That woman will be the death of me.”

 

•••

 

Genesis and Angeal stood outside of Lady’s room, leaning against both sides of the door as they waited for someone to answer their knock.

 

“If no one answers in two seconds, I’ll break in.”

 

“Genesis. No.”

 

The auburn haired man sighed and knocked on the door with more urgency this time.

 

“Is she not here? Should we call-“

 

The door opened and they were greeted with a partially nude Sephiroth. Only wearing his pants, he looked at them with a somber expression that could make a filled graveyard look like family friendly park to have a picnic at. His eyes didn’t light up in recognition of his two friends, only stepping to the side for them to come in.

 

Genesis and Angeal stepped in, looking at the agitated man before them.

 

“Sephiroth..” Angeal started.

 

“Where is she?” He said plainly, a sharpness to his voice.

 

“We don’t know,” Genesis replied. “What happened?”

 

Sephiroth looked down at his feet and was at a loss for words. What could he say? He was not exactly in the best mental state to even try and comprehend the information he was given this morning to his two close friends. And even if he did, how would they even react?

 

“Talk to us, what’s going on?”

 

His green-blue eyes looked up at Angeal then slowly to Genesis. “I’ll be blunt then.”

 

Angeal felt tense, something was off about the man he normally knew so well. His shoulders were drooped in defeat as opposed to the proud stance he always had, his eyes were filled with unprecedented sorrow mixed with dull anger, his hands would clench and unclench as if he was periodically calming himself down. That’s how he knew that the information that Lady found, was nothing short of devastating.

 

“So?” Genesis urged him to continue, also feeling the fear that his friend felt.

 

“Genesis, Angeal. You both, and I, were used as part of an experiment by Shinra to make the perfect superhuman soldier.”

 

Angeal stepped back, looking, and hoping, to see if this was another joke. But the severity of Sephiroth’s tone mixed with his silent glare made the unease in him grow tenfold. He looked over to see how Genesis took the news and wanted to reach out when he saw that he was shaking, his eyes wide as he gripped his fists to get ahold of himself.

 

Before he could reach out for his friend, Genesis marched past Sephiroth and sat on the couch. Angeal looked at the silver soldier and back on the couch, taking his lead- they both followed suit and sat down.

 

Genesis wasted no time to let them get comfortable before he leaned forward, his eyes lit with fire.

 

“Tell us everything you know.”

 

•••

 

Professor Gast Faremis was a quiet man, a deviant from his other colleagues in the research department of Shinra and from what she could remember- he was a kind man. Which leads to question why such a meek man would work at such a corporation that profited off of exploitation.

 

“You must be Lady, correct?” he adjusted his glasses as he cleared his throat. “I apologize.. I should be more familiar with those in first class.”

 

“It’s alright, I remember you briefly sir,” she crossed her arms and leaned against the bookshelf of his office. There were papers scattered around the room, his love for research and knowledge was apparent with the organized chaos of files and books. “You have a wife, right? Ifal..?”

 

“Ifalna,” Gast finished, looking down as he clasped his hands behind his back. “And, I _had_ a wife. She passed away.”

 

“Oh, my condolences, I didn’t know.”

 

“It’s quite alright. It’s been years now, nothing but an old wound, hm?” He gave her a sad tight-lipped smile, his moustache tickling his upper lip. “Now you probably came here for more than an old man’s rambling, no?”

 

She nodded, “I want to know about Project G, Project S.. and Project SIREN.”

 

Gast let out a light laugh, digging through his piles until he stopped and dug one out that had excessive burn marks on it. “I’ve heard of your exploits, you’ve caused quite a lot of noise, you know?”

 

He stopped to look up, an amused glint behind his glasses, “It’s not often I get to see Hojo and Rufus riled up by someone talking back to them.”

 

Fingers rifles through pages until he reached one in particular that made him pause, pulling it out and looking over it then looked up at her. “I’ve been waiting for someone like you.”

 

“It’s time..” he walked over to her and handed her all of the files he dug up, setting it in her hands. “That I’ve done something to make up for my sins.”

 

“Sins?” She repeated as she took the files in her hand. “What do you mean?”

 

“My wife was killed because of me.. I had a daughter and I had to hide her away where Shinra can’t touch her,” he confessed. “I’ve failed my dear friend Lucrecia and all I could do was watch Sephiroth from afar..”

 

At that point he was talking with a glazed look in his eyes and Lady almost felt like he wasn’t talking to her, almost as if he was listing out what haunted his consciousness.

 

“Why didn’t you tell Sephiroth?”

 

“I.. I've already done enough damage providing this company with my research. Every time I interfered, someone I cared about died,” he gave her another one of his tight-lipped smiles. “I didn’t want to cause Sephiroth any more grief.”

 

“I went to Nibelheim. In the Shinra mansion. I know what happened there, where is Lucrecia now?”

 

“She’s dead, for lack of a better word. Self-imposed exile, she encased herself in a crystal after a failed suicide attempt.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Here,” he handed another slip of paper to her, a worn and yellowed map. “Her location. I’ve only visited once, never could go back there after. Rather pathetic of me, isn’t it?”

 

“You can’t help it. She was your friend. I understand the guilt.” Lady closed her mouth, opening it to say something. Or at least wanting to anyways but the old man merely shook his head, stopping her attempt.

 

“I believe it’s time for you to go, read those files. I’m eager to know what you plan,” he gently pushed her back towards the balcony. “You should hurry before someone else comes in.”

 

Taking the hint, she nodded and tucked the files under her arm. Making her way back to the precipice, Gast stopped her once more.

 

“Ah, there is something else-give me a moment,” he scurried back to his desk and took out a book. Speed walking back over to her. “There is one more thing you should know..”

 

Handing her the book, he gave her a sad smile. “Please give my condolences to Sephiroth..”

 

She sat on the edge, waiting for him to continue.  ”The boy became like a son to me. I just want him, and his friends, to be happy.”

 

Lady rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “You should tell him that yourself, professor Gast. I’m sure he would appreciate it.”

 

He gave her a nod as she leaned back, the winds of her magic beginning to envelop her body as she descended the building. To the others below her, it was nothing more than a strong gust of wind that passed them up.

 

•••

 

Walking back with the files in her hand as if she was carrying a time sensitive bomb, she hurried along back home. Looking up towards her room when she stopped at the entrance, she felt an unease sweep by her while opening the iron gates. Closing it quietly behind her, she looked and expected to see someone in the courtyard- but nary a soul breathed except for her and the unease festered.

 

She opened the door to her apartment and was greeted with three sets of mako eyes that glowered at her. Her hand gripped the files as she closed the door behind her, swallowing.

 

“What do you have there?” Genesis asked, his voice low but communicated his elevated anger well enough.

 

Lady looked at Sephiroth and he only averted his gaze, Angeal repeated the gesture when she looked over to him.

 

“More importantly, what did you three talk about?” She asked.

 

“Stop dodging the question, answer me!” Genesis stood up, his fists balled tightly. “Tell us first and I’ll confirm what you want to know.”

 

“You already did,” she muttered as she set the files on the table in the middle. “Sit down Gen and I’ll tell you what I know.”

 

Lady sat on the couch next to Sephiroth, she looked at him as his eyes trained on the files on the table.

 

“Is it true? That we‘re.. _monsters_?” Angeal spat out the words like they were venom sucked from a wound.

 

Her head snapped towards Sephiroth. “Is that what you think you are?” She turned to Genesis and Angeal, “Is that what you both think you are?”

 

Genesis scoffed, “You said it yourself did you not? We’re injected with cells from an alien being that tried to destroy the planet! How does that not make us monsters?!”

 

“Jenova.. the calamity of the skies.. we inherited her power,” Sephiroth mumbled. “The power to destroy.”

 

“It doesn’t make us human,” Angeal’s voice shook. “My whole life.. I thought.. my mother.. she knew I was a monster.”

 

“That’s not true!!” Lady retaliated, her attention shifting to the three of them. “You three are human, I know it! I-“

 

“And what about that vision you told Sephiroth? Of us with wings surrounded by fire and destruction? Is that not our future?” Genesis goaded, his eyes lit with rage. “And to think, all I wanted was to be a hero. Only for the hero to turn into some lab-created monster-“

 

“ _YOU THREE AREN’T MONSTERS_ ,” Lady stood up and yelled, her fists balled as frustration built up inside of her- her vocal outburst demanding their full attention as it echoed in her apartment.

 

She turned to Genesis, “The fact that you were experimented on doesn’t change the fact that you were _loved_ by your parents in Banora and by us despite your origins! You met your best friend there and you both shared the dream that you wanted to save the world, right? Why should that change now? You would let your dream waste away and become what they _wanted you to be?!_ The Genesis I know would never give up on his quest to be a hero, he would never let his pride and honor go to waste for something like this- he would fight back!”

 

She turned to Angeal, “Just because you were injected with cells from some alien that destroyed the planet doesn’t mean _you want to!!!_  The Angeal I know is a man of honor and he would _never_ give into something so disgustingly evil. You remain a man of integrity no matter what your past is!! Your mother loves you and we promised to go see her again and that’s exactly what we’ll do! So don’t lose yourself to this, I believe and _know_ you have the strength to overcome this!”

 

She turned to Sephiroth, “You may have grew up alone but you’re not alone anymore, you have us three. You have your mother- Lucrecia’s love. You have a home here and you have my support, so don’t think you’re suffering by yourself because I’ll be damned if I let that happen. I made a promise and I intend to keep it! So even if you let yourself fall into the deepest pits of darkness, I swear to every god out there that I’ll come to you personally and pull you out. The Sephiroth I know would never let himself fulfill some prophecy made by a scientist who has no morality!”

 

“And don’t you _dare_ tell me I don’t know you three, because I do!” She shouted and at that point she couldn’t stop the hot tears of anger running down her face. “So don’t you dare give up on me, even if you all run away- I’ll chase down the three of you to the ends of the fucking planet until you agree to come home!”

 

Her knees trembled and she used the table to hold herself up as the tears spilled onto the wood. “I let you three go once before but I refuse for us to seperate ever again,” she choked on a sob as she wiped her tears with the back of her arm. “I really want to go to Banora- and live that silly dream of us being apple farmers..”

 

“Project SIREN, whatever the hell it is- whatever the hell it was and what they did to me..” she sniffled, the saline tears stinging her eyes as they ran like a river. “I won’t allow my _past_ to change the fact that I want my _future_ to be with the three of you.. so don’t..don’t give up on me..”

 

Her fingers dug into her skin, a habit she developed under times of duress that she tried to remedy over time.. but as of right now she couldn’t care about bad habits as she fell on her knees- holding herself as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Unable to stop the sadness that poured into them as she stared at the blurry wood floor beneath her, the room filled with naught but the noise of her silent cries and jagged sobs. The tears made everything looked bleary and she couldn’t see what their reactions were, only hearing the sound of leather rustling as someone stood up. She heard footsteps approach her and a warm coat draped over her shoulders, looking up she saw Genesis- his eyes filled with remorse.

 

Helping her up, he sat her back down on the couch and she felt an arm pull her closer to her left. She looked to see Sephiroth inch closer- his eyes filled with sorrow, his body providing her with warmth as he covered her hand with his and giving it a light squeeze. In front of her, she watched as Angeal stood and walked towards them. Sitting on the wooden table and leaning forward to get closer to her, he put his hand on her knee as his thumb grazed the spot- his eyes filled with grief. Genesis removed his gloves, setting it aside as he wiped her tears with a swipe of his fingers. Sephiroth moved a strand of her hair behind her ear in a similar fashion to what she did to him this morning.

 

She didn’t know how long they stayed there, like that. Genesis to her right, Sephiroth to her left, and Angeal in front. The four of them sitting in silence under the pool of pale light that flooded her living room while their combined despair permeated throughout. They sat close to each other, seeking each other’s company as they clung to the remnants of their shattered hope like they clung to their humanity.

 

Moonlight refracted off the surface of Lady’s tears, twinkling like stars and served almost as a beacon that beckoned them home-and they answered her call, for both her sake and for their own. 


	27. XXVII

Feelings of dizziness clouded her as Lady awoke, her head resting against the leather couch that was heated up with her own body warmth. A blanket was draped over her as she slowly got up to sit, her mind feeling heavy and her eyes felt swollen. From all of her crying last night, she would expect to see bloodshot and puffy eyes when she looked at the mirror. Rubbing at them, she set her hands down in her lap while she waited for her vision to come back to normal. While the edges of her eyesight came into view, everything slowly but surely coming into focus; her eyes widened when she stared at the table in front of her. 

 

An apple. More specifically, a Banora White- or as the locals called it, a dumbapple; because of its proclivity to grow at odd times around the year with no specific schedule. It’s purple-skinned sheen shone brilliantly under the morning sun and a single bright green leaf stuck out of the brown stem on top. A textbook example of the perfect apple. 

 

Her fingers touched it. Slowly. It felt cool to the touch and she held it in her hand, bringing it closer to her heart. The fuzziness in her mind soon snapped and her consciousness was on high alert, she looked around her- searching for any signs of Angeal, Genesis, or Sephiroth. Running to her bedroom, she swung the door open and looked around. Searching the bathroom, the kitchen, the balconies- nothing. 

 

Still gripping the apple close to her chest, she bolted out of the apartment and looked over the stone ramp that overlooked the courtyard. Hopping over, she landed on her feet to the floor below her and ran towards the beach. Looking down the stretches of sand, she started feeling more desperate as she ran back past the courtyard and towards the front courtyard. Throwing the gates open, she ran out onto the brick pathway leading to the Alstroemeria. Looking left and right and in front, she stopped and rested her back along the wall enclosing the apartments and she put her head in her hand as she held the apple in her other-close to her chest.

 

Inhaling and exhaling, she collected herself slowly as she cursed under her breath. Not even remembering when she fell asleep, she tried to recall what happened the events of last night. The wall supporting her weight as she yelled at herself mentally. If she had only stayed up, if she had been awake, if she just been-!

 

“I told you that sleeping spell of yours wouldn’t have worked on her long.”

 

Lady’s head snapped up towards the voice and her breath hitched as she saw the three soldiers walking from around the corner of a building and down the pathway towards her apartment. Pushing herself off the wall and sprinting down the pathway, the soles of her shoes beating against the pavement as she ran; afraid to slow down as if the vision of the three men in front of her would disappear if she didn’t hurry.

 

Genesis dropped the box he was carrying as he caught her when she flung her arms around his neck. Wrapping his arms around her body, he held her tightly. Sephiroth and Angeal both held their boxes as they looked down at the two embracing.

 

The auburn haired man sighed as he relinquished his arms slowly, “You two are more than welcome to join.” 

 

“And risk creasing your coat?” Angeal muttered as Lady pulled him with her right arm.

 

“Scandalous.” Sephiroth mused as he was pulled in with her left arm. 

 

Together, the four of them stood interlocked in a group hug and a rather awkward one at that. Her arms didn’t know how to properly grasp the men’s waist so it sat at a crooked angle around their hips as she gave it a tight squeeze before she stepped back. 

 

“You gave me a scare, I thought you were all gone.” She frowned. 

 

“What would you have done if we did disappear?” Genesis grinned. 

 

“Chase you three down and have a nice long chat until I get through your thick skulls,” Lady scoffed. “What’s with the boxes?”

 

“Well.. you did say you had an apartment for us next to yours, right?” Angeal bent down and picked up Genesis’ box that was left neglected on the ground. 

 

It took a couple of seconds for it to click as her mouth formed a silent ‘oh’. She looked to Sephiroth, “Are you all three moving in- right now?”

 

“That’s what the boxes are for,” he nodded to the one in his hands. “We didn’t have much in terms of personal items- by the way, your hair's a mess.”

 

Her hands reached up to ruffle her hair and tried to pat down the parts that stuck up. 

 

“If we’d known the landlady would be such a slob, we’d pick somewhere else to move in,” Genesis sighed, winking at her. 

 

“Asshole.” She clicked her tongue. 

 

“Whatever.” He shrugged.

 

“But,” she crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. “I’m glad you guys are staying here now.”

 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Angeal nudged her gently and tossed a box back to Genesis. “This is yours, don’t make me hold it for you.” 

 

Genesis frowned as he caught the box and followed Angeal towards the apartments. Lady looked back at Sephiroth and she slowed her pace to walk alongside him. The silver soldier looked down at her and spoke, “Professor Gast talked to me before we left. He told me what happened before he told the three of us to move here.”

 

“That’s good,” she slid a hand to wrap around his arm as they walked. “Does that mean..?”

 

“I know what happened to my mother,” he said plainly, his eyes glassed over as he talked. “In a way, it gives me peace that I know the reason I didn’t see her as a child was not because she didn’t love me.. but still- I feel a hollowness inside.”

 

He stopped. “I want to see her.”

 

“I’ll show you the map later to find her, if you want.” She squeezed his arm. 

 

His eyes turned to look at her, “I have a request.”

 

“Anything.”

 

“Will you come with me?” 

 

Lady looked at him and gave him a sweet smile, “Of course.”

 

•••

 

Lady: What’s the point of being a tank if your DPS sucks, change your role.

 

Noctis: My damage is amazing, you’re delusional. Right, Prompto? 

 

Prompto: Don’t bring me into this dude… 

 

Lady: Don’t expect him to lie for you. Best friends tell the truth. 

 

Noctis: Methinks you’re just mad because we defeated the raid boss without you and you didn’t get any XP lol. 

 

Lady: Get fucked. 

 

Noctis: Oho, someone’s mad~ 

 

Lady:  I know where you live. 

 

Noctis: I would hope so, you’re our landlady, right? Would be pretty dumb if you didn’t know where your tenants lived. 

 

Prompto: NOCT STOP

 

-Reno has entered the chat- 

 

Reno: Duuuuuude, I wouldn’t do that.

 

-Zack has entered the chat- 

 

Zack: Guess what I found guys!!! 

 

Zack: -attachment sent- 

 

It was a picture of Lady, more specifically it was her when she first entered 2nd Class ranks. Her hair was cut shorter than the length she had now and she was carrying the standard Shinra issued sword over her back as she looked at the camera with a bored pout. Lady remembered how itchy those ridiculous turtlenecks were.

 

Lady: Hey.. how did you get that? 

 

Reno: That’s nothing, let me show you something better! 

 

Reno: -attachment sent- 

 

It was a picture of Lady in a rather revealing exotic and colorful outfit that covered her upper torso and parts of her legs- the skirt being longer on one side and the other revealing her thigh, the lower half of her face was covered with a sheer lavender veil and only showed her eyes which was made up with an intense cat-eye styled eyeshadow. Her hand was on her hip as she held a dagger covertly under the folds of her skirt, her eyes were trained on something else entirely when this shot was taken. 

 

Lady: HEY 

 

Prompto: oh. my. gods. 

 

Reno: I know righhttttt. 

 

Zack: Lookin’ good, Lady! 

 

Noctis: Oof. 

 

-Saïx has entered the chat- 

 

-Saïx has left the chat- 

 

-Angeal has entered the chat- 

 

-Genesis has entered the chat- 

 

-Sephiroth has entered the chat- 

 

Angeal: -attachment sent- 

 

It was a picture, a rather blurred one, but she could still make out the large yellow flurry of that demonic chocobo that ran after Lady as she was caught mid-sprint; a look of genuine terror on her face. And the look was well deserved.

 

Lady: Whyyyyyyyy 

 

Genesis: Is this the infamous chocobo that stomped on you? 

 

Noctis: What a feathery fiend indeed. 

 

Reno: Lololol. You got stomped by a chocobo? That’s so lame. 

 

Zack: Were you in 1st when that happened? Uh.. wow. 

 

Lady: You weren’t there so don’t judge. 

 

Prompto: Chocobos aren’t bad!!! They’re cute and really friendly! 

 

Lady: This one was possessed by a demon, I’m sure of it. That thing chased me down for a mile. 

 

Angeal: It was true, I was there. 

 

Lady: So you stood there to take a picture but you didn’t do anything about it??!

 

-Angeal has left the chat- 

 

Genesis: Get off your phone and help us unpack. 

 

Lady: Asshole. 

 

Genesis: Whatever. 

 

-Genesis has left the chat- 

 

Zack: WAIT. You guys moved in the Astromaria?! No fair!

 

Lady: **Alstroemeria. 

 

Sephiroth: You can sleep on the couch. 

 

Zack: Ya mean it?

 

-Sephiroth has left the chat- 

 

-Lady has left the chat- 

 

She set her phone aside and looked behind her at the three of them sitting on the floor in a similar fashion to her- positioned in a misshapen triangle. “Thanks for backing me up in there! Why is it always me getting picked on in the group chat?”

 

“You make for an easy target,” Genesis smirked. 

 

Lady leaned back until she felt her head rest on his knee, looking up at him she reached up and flicked his forehead. “Just for that, I won’t help you guys pick out furniture.”

 

His hand reached down and petted her head, his fingers moving strands of hair away from her face. “Don’t be like that.”

 

“Well we need to get something or else we’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight,” Angeal sighed. 

 

“I can bring blankets and we can make a fort?” She suggested. 

 

“What are we, kids?” Genesis raised an eyebrow. 

 

“We’re not,” she laughed then raised her forefinger to point at him. “But _you_ are.”

 

He flexed his fingers and flicked her forehead hard, earning him a glare that he shrugged off. 

 

“Let’s ask Sephiroth.” She rolled her head off his knee and onto on her stomach, resting her head on her hands- she tapped a finger against her chin as she looked at the one sitting in front of her. “Well? What do you wanna do?”

 

Sephiroth looked around him at the apartment; it appeared larger due to the emptiness of the place. Lacking of any furniture with only the warm sunlight that filtered into the room through the windows- he had no idea where to start. “I’m not sure. I’ve never had a place of my own,” he replied. 

 

“That’s okay, the least we can do is get you some beds first.” She sat up, looking around the room. “I’m thinking.. maybe greige or a dark blue couch? How do you feel about a rounded glass coffee table? Ooh, and we can mount a flat screen on the wall right there and the couches there? Aaaannd maybe accent pillows that match the curtains?”

 

She looked back at them, “What do you guys think?” Her face fell when she stared at three clueless expressions that stared back. “Never mind, maybe I should decorate by myself. I guess I can do that today.”

 

“Well give us your key, you can’t expect us to wait in this barren room while you’re shopping,” Genesis grabbed her by the waist and pulled her across the floor towards him. 

 

“And leave you three unsupervised in my home?” She scoffed as she batted away his hand. “That’s just asking for trouble.”

 

“We won’t cause any trouble,” Angeal assured her, his eyes not missing the mischievous grin on Genesis’ face. “Right, Sephiroth?”

 

“We’ll behave,” Sephiroth nodded his head. “Don’t worry about us.”

 

Lady pursed her lips and sighed, reaching in her pocket for her key, “Hmph, fine.” 

 

•••

 

“Lady!”

 

She turned around to see a blond run towards her with his curious as ever cornflower blue eyes. 

 

“Prompto, what’s wrong?”

 

He put a hand on his neck and looked down, biting his lip in anticipation of what he was about to say. His fingers twiddled with the hem of his sleeveless worn denim jacket and he looked up. “Um.. sorry about Noct’s behavior. He usually doesn’t like that to girls.”

 

“It’s fine, it’s pretty funny to me actually,” she said. “Even if it does infuriate me sometimes.”

 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, the fact that Noct talks like that to you just means he’s really comfortable with you.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yeah.. he’s usually more awkward. I’ve seen him talk to people in highschool and trust me, heh it wasn’t a pretty sight,” Prompto’s eyes looked at her outfit; ripped jeans, ankle-length boots, and an off-the-shoulder blouse. “Are you going somewhere?”

 

“Just furniture shopping,” she smiled, tilting her head. “Probably get something to eat and then rest for a little.”

 

“D-do ya mind if I tag along? We can stop by the store to get ingredients for Ignis and we can eat at our place? We-ll, that’s if you want, you don’t have to-“

 

“I’d love to!” She smiled, moving her purse and hooking an arm around his. “Are you ready to go now?”

 

He only nodded, looking down at her arm wrapped around his. His face felt hot as they walked towards the entrance. “Are you.. sure you want me? I don’t know if I’m that good at picking furniture.”

 

Lady looked at him, “You’re a photographer, right? I trust your aesthetical instincts! You’ve got your phone right? Want to take pictures together too?”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Alright, let’s go!”

 

•••

 

Lady went through the receipt in her hand; a selection of top tier leather couches, beds made with down and custom frames, a seventy-five inch flat screen.. and much more that she couldn’t bare to list out else she would lose her sanity. The result was a hefty price tag that would most certainly blow a mega-flare through her wallet. 

 

“Am I spoiling those three too much..?” She groaned, folding the receipt and putting it in her wallet in her purse. “Nah. They deserve it.”

 

“Lady, come look at this!” Prompto nudged her and her attention looked up at a sign for an upcoming lantern festival celebrating the autumnal moon. “This would be pretty neat to go to, right? But- awww! It’s not till two weeks from now..”

 

“Ooh yeah, it does! We should check it out when it comes around. Hey you thirsty?”

 

“Heck yeah, any places you recommend?”

 

Lady looked over the street and at the posters showing the grand opening of a new café in town, a picture of a rather alluring cup of cappuccino was proudly displayed atop of the café’s name which was written in elegant calligraphy. 

 

“‘The Stardrop Café?’” She turned to Prompto. “Hey, let’s go there. They’re new!”

 

Her hands wrapped around his wrist and tugged on him to walk alongside her. Turning the corner of the busy sidewalk, she was delighted to see the signs for the café leading towards a rustic looking shop that sat on the end of the street. It was a two story building, the second level had tall windows to reveal the couches and tables that people rested on. The first level was filled with a large crowd of people lining up at the counter- waiting to order. Prompto and Lady walked through the single door and squeezed in line, their bodies in close proximity as they waited for their spot to move up. 

 

Her eyes spotted menus hung up on the wall for guests to peruse while in line and she took one, holding it for both of them to see. “Hey sunshine, what looks good to you here?”

 

Prompto craned his neck to squint at the ridiculously small font on the menu and gave up as he backed away. “Why’re the letters so tiny?”

 

Lady inched closer until her shoulder touched his and Prompto could smell the perfume on her hair, her head was close to his cheek as she held up the menu closer in front of them. “Can you see now?”

 

He only released a strangled yes as he tried to control his shaking hand- finally gripping it behind his back as they both looked at what they wanted.

 

She pouted her lips. “I think I’ll just go for the cappuccino I saw on the poster, you?” 

 

“That fruity drink looks good,” he mused. “Ooh, ooh, or that one! Or wait, that one looks good too! Ugh.”

 

Lady looked up at him and chuckled, “You’re so cute, sunshine.”

 

Pink bloomed on his face as he looked up and away from her, “Uh, so yeah, it’s weird that this place just opened up and there’s so many people here, right?”

 

“Yeah, I was expecting less traffic..” Lady muttered under her breath; moving up in line, the bodies in front of her moved and she caught a glimpse of the barista. “You know what, I think I know why they’re suddenly so popular.”

 

“Huh?” He looked at her with confusion then looked in front of him when they were at the register. They both set the menu down in front as the man gave them a kind smile. 

 

“Welcome in! What can I get you two today?” The man said, his long dark blue hair tied into a ponytail with the ends dangling at his upper back. He tucked his side bangs behind his ear but when he moved, it just came loose and hovered by his left eye; his irises were the color of deep sapphires that could rival the ocean’s depths and only stood out against his lightly tanned skin. Looking down at her, he gave her another smile; he stood taller than Prompto and Lady and his slim figure was framed nicely with the long-sleeved black turtleneck he wore with a dark forest green apron that had foam stains and coffee grinds on it. The man was undeniably handsome and would explain the exorbitant amount of young female customers that lined up outside the shop. 

 

Lady blinked a couple times before she nudged Prompto. “I’ll have the cappuccino special, I think it’s the one on your poster and he’ll have..“

 

“The star-berry slush!” He finished for her. 

 

“Alright,” The barista hummed, his voice as smooth as the cream he poured into his coffee as he punched in the order and he looked up at them. “That’ll be eight gil flat, please!”

 

Lady handed him the money and his fingers expertly caught the change that fell out of her hands. He looked up to give her another smile as he put it in the register. “May I have a name, miss?”

 

“Lady,” she replied. “Just Lady.”

 

“Okay, ‘just Lady’, I’ll have your orders out in a bit alright?” He winked at her and went to start operating the machines and mixing the drinks while another barista took over the register.

 

She nudged Prompto and pulled him to the outdoor terrace to sit, the inside was already crowded and a bit hot due to all the combined body heat. Sitting down in front of him, she looked at his face, “What’s wrong, sunshine?”

 

The blond opened his mouth to speak but shook his head as he turned his face from her, “You’re going to think I’m stupid.. and I don’t want you think I’m more of an idiot that I already am.”

 

Her hands took his and squeezed lightly, “Talk to me, I promise you I won’t think you’re an idiot.”

 

Prompto looked back inside the café at the tall dark blue haired barista with the kind smile and sighed heavily. “I just wonder what it would be like to be born looking that handsome, y’know?”

 

“Sunshine,” she took his hands and brought it to her lips for a quick peck. “I think you’re handsome. The barista is too, no doubt about that, but that doesn’t make you any less good looking to me. You have your own style and aesthetic and I appreciate it for what it is.”

 

“You really think so?”

 

“I know so,” she winked. 

 

“I.. thank you,” Prompto gave her a sad smile- thankful that the terrace was almost empty and that most of the customers were inside. ”It’s kinda difficult being around Noct and the other guys sometimes, y’know? My buddy Noct is gonna be king, mama Ignis is just multi-talented, and Gladio is so good with people and just freakin’ ripped and it makes me jealous sometimes.”

 

His eyes shimmered and Lady held onto his hand as he continued. “The other day, Xigbar and I challenged each other to see who could shoot better and he won- I mean his aim is outta this world, seriously. And now we got your three friends and maybe Zack staying at the apartments too, those guys are actual heroes! And the dudes from the Organization.. they’re so cool, and I-,” he stopped to inhale sharply. “-I just look around at everyone else and I feel like I don’t belong..”

 

“Including you, you’re just.. amazing. You bring everyone together and you do it so flawlessly. And you can fight and you manage to keep us under control and you’re so beautiful too,” at the last words, his face turned even more red and he looked down until all she could see was the top of his hair.

 

Lady reached over to caress his cheek and trail down until she felt his chin to pull up towards her. “You don’t have to believe me, I know how hard it is to overcome your own insecurities and it sometimes makes it hard for ourselves to believe other people.”

 

Her thumb grazed his lower cheek as she spoke, “But trust me when I say that you’re just as important to this misfit family and to me. Wanna know why I call you sunshine?”

 

He nodded. 

 

“Because you are, you’re a literal ray on sunlight and it’s needed. You manage to crack a smile even on the gloomiest days. You might not _think_ you belong but I _know_ you belong. You’re a handsome and bright young man, I couldn’t see anyone else replacing you in my life,” she wiped the tear coming from his right eye. 

 

Prompto sniffed, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes before giving her a sheepish smile. “Thank you.. I needed that. It probably lame seeing me cry, I’m sorry.”

 

She shook her head. “No, I don’t think it’s lame at all,” she leaned forward on her elbows, “I’ll be there to catch every tear that comes from those beautiful eyes of yours.”

 

He laughed nervously, scratching the side of his face, “I wish you could spend more time with me- well, all of us haha- me, Iggy, Gladio, and Noct.”

 

“I know, I’m sorry, there’s just so much going on,” she sighed. “Tell ya what, I’ll start paying more attention to you guys too okay? Or if I’m not, don’t be scared to pull me away to hang out alright?”

 

He nodded stiffly and she grinned. 

 

“Order for Lady!” The barista called and she looked up. 

 

“I’ll be back with our drinks, sit tight,” she patted the table as she got up, weaving around the crowds until she arrived at the counter where the blue haired barista set a pink and yellow slush down along with her petite cup that contained the fragrant cappuccino. 

 

Her hands instantly reached for her mug to pick up and she flinched when then handle felt like molten metal- causing her to drop it and watch as it spilled back onto the counter. 

 

“I’m so sorry!” She huffed, her finger still trembling from the burn as she used her other hand to grab tissues and wipe the mess. 

 

The barista gently stopped her and inspected the wounded hand, frowning. “No, this is my fault- I’m sorry,” He turned back to a coworker, “Hey I need to give first-aid, cover for me please?” 

 

His coworker gave him a thumbs up and the man cleaned up the mess quickly and exited from behind the counter. “Come with me, please. I’ll wrap your hand up.”

 

“No it’s okay, it was my fault, I should’ve known better,” she held her hand to her chest. 

 

His blue eyes shimmered as he talked, “I insist.” He held out his hand for her to take and Lady hesitated, finally nodding and taking his offer- much to the dismay of many female customers behind her as they groaned in disappointment.

 

He led her to the back room, pulling a seat out for which she took as he began searching the cabinets for a first aid kit. 

 

“Again, I do apologize for that, it’s just been so busy today-“ he muttered as he pulled out a tin box and walked over to her, kneeling as he set it on the ground beside him. “Let me see your hand.”

 

Lady held her hand outstretched towards him and he held it, looking over the faint red welts on her fingers. She noted that his hands were soft, a sign of a man who hasn’t seen a single battle. 

 

As he rummaged through to look for a roll of gauze, she closed her hand together and he turned to watch just as a soft green glow emitted from the cracks in between her fingers. Opening them up again, the barista whistled. 

 

“Well, would you look at that. Magic can be useful, guess I shouldn’t have missed out on those lessons in school,” he grinned. “You didn’t wanna do that on the spot out there?”

 

“Sorry, didn’t want to embarrass you in front of your female fans,” she chuckled. 

 

“At least let me wrap it up for you so I can be somewhat useful,” he smiled as he took the gauze and wrapped it around her fingers individually. After he was done, he looked up at her and held out his hand for her to shake. “The name’s Helios- you can call me Eli for short.”

 

“Mine’s Lady,” she shook his hand gently. “Well you already knew that, right?”

 

Getting up, he took the tin box and put it back in the cabinet. “I’m really sorry for the cappuccino, can I make you another one or-?”

 

“It’s fine, I’ll just take the other drink for my friend and be on our way,” she got up.

 

Eli stood with his hand on his hip and the other tugging on his ponytail with a pout on his lips. “Okay, what about the next time you come in..I’ll serve you a drink on the house?”

 

“Hmm, not sure, not too fond to revisit a café where the baristas spill drinks on their customers,” she smirked. 

 

“Only on the pretty ones,” he winked. “I’m serious though, if not one drink- how about two?”

 

“I’ll consider it,” Lady looked up thoughtfully and Eli opened the door for her, bowing as she walked past which made her giggle. “Such a gentleman.”

 

“That’s what my momma taught me,” he looked up at her with a wink. Walking from the backroom towards the counter, he reached over and handed her the slush that was now slightly melted. “I hope I see you again, Lady.”

 

“Maybe,” She hummed as she took the drink from his hands and walked back towards Prompto.

 

“Heyas, what happened?” He said as he noticed the bandages on her fingers. 

 

“Nothing really,” she handed him the drink and he sipped on it. “I spilled my cappuccino and the Barista, Eli, took me to the back to get them wrapped up. So you’ll be the only one drinking today.”

 

“Oh, okay,” He looked up at Eli and sighed, pointing the straw of his drink towards her. “Want some?”

 

She nodded and opened her mouth to suck on the straw, feeling the tangy and sweet slush infiltrate her mouth and cool her throat as she swallowed. “It’s pretty good, I just wish I had my drink now.”

 

“We can share,” he blushed at his own offer. 

 

“Only if you don’t mind indirect kisses from me,” she winked and a devilish grin appeared on her face as his was quickly turning red.

 

“Hey, um. Can I take a picture? The slush looks really good with your outfit.”

 

“Hm, alright. Go for it.”

 

Prompto pulled out his phone and leaned back, waiting for his camera to focus as he snapped a quick picture. Tapping on the reverse icon, he turned around and held his arm up to take a selfie. 

 

Lady looked up, smiling as the straw was between her lips and Prompto grinned as he took the picture. Looking through his phone at the shots, he smiled and nodded in approval. 

 

“These are cute!” He showed her and she smiled. 

 

“Those are, send them to me! I want to make a picture book.”

 

He sat on his phone and went through his contacts until he saw her name, sending the pictures over her way. Before he locked his phone, he got on the group chat- his eyes glancing up to see Lady distracted by something she saw on the horizon. 

 

His fingers typed quickly as he held the phone tightly in his hands. The group chat he was in consisted of everyone in the Alstroemeria.. except for Xion and Lady herself. 

 

Prompto: -attachment sent- 

 

It was a picture of the two of them, her cleavage was showing slightly at the high angle he took it at and her mouth was wrapped around the straw- her lips stained pink from the slushie’s coloring. 

 

Noctis: You sneaky little

 

Ignis: Bravo

 

Gladio: Didn’t see that coming. Nice going, squirt. Does this mean we can all take her on a date since you did?

 

Xigbar: I’ll do you one better, kid. 

 

Xigbar: -attachment sent-

 

It was a picture of Lady in the midst of the holographic stars in the observatory. He still had it set as his wallpaper. 

 

Prompto: UGH how did you get that shot?! 

 

Xigbar: Not tellin’ 

 

Demyx: I got one too! 

 

Demyx: -attachment sent-

 

It was the picture he took of her at the concert they went to, although slightly blurry- you could still see the curve of her hips through the small skirt she wore. And yes, it was still his wallpaper. 

 

Axel: The fuck man, when was this?! 

 

Saïx: Jealous? 

 

Roxas: Ur jealous too, Saïx. I can see you scowling from across the room. 

 

Saïx: Mind your own business. 

 

Zack: I wish I took a picture of her on our date!!! UGHH. 

 

Terra: Is this what you guys do in your free time? 

 

Riku: Not what I was expecting 

 

Sora: Why not? It’s fun! 

 

Roxas: Who invited these nerds? 

 

Xigbar: I did so they can check in on us without stalking the Alstroemeria.

 

Zack: She got me this awesome keychain from our date, I wanna go on another one! 

 

Prompto: OMG I never should’ve sent it.

 

Reno: Is this gonna be a competition? Coz I’m in.

 

Zexion: I don’t think that’d be appropriate. 

 

Xigbar: Don’t be a killjoy, Zex. I see the way you blush when she ruffles your hair. 

 

Zexion: Shut up. 

 

Angeal: Why is this chat only for the men?

 

Genesis: You really think if she saw this, she would be okay with it? 

 

Sephiroth: I’m assuming we don’t want to anger her. 

 

Axel: Yup! Number one rule of the Alstroemeria. 

 

Xigbar: Don’t 

 

Roxas: Piss 

 

Demyx: Her 

 

Saïx: Off 

 

Riku: Is she really that terrifying? 

 

Ignis: Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to. 

 

Prompto: Yeah but

 

Noctis: But what? 

 

Prompto: She’s going back to the barista!! The really handsome one!! I can’t compete with that.. oh wait she’s just getting a napkin. 

 

Prompto: Nonono.. he’s chatting her up again what do I dOOOO?!!!!!! 

 

Reno: Take a picture, let us see what he looks like!

 

Prompto: -attachment sent- 

 

The picture looked like it was taken from under the table. It showed Lady looking up at Eli, handing her a napkin with a series of numbers on it. His smile was alluring as she took the napkin from him. 

 

Terra: Is that his number on the napkin? 

 

Reno: Yep, that date of yours might as well just be with him. 

 

Gladio: Think he’s got you beat out, bud. Sorry.

 

Demyx: RIP Prompto 

 

Genesis: He doesn’t look all that impressive.

 

Zack: Make a stand dude!! 

 

Roxas: Yeah, don’t be a lamer.

 

Sora: Roxas don’t be mean! Do your best, Prompto!! 

 

Noctis: Getting shown up on your own date, smh.

 

Xigbar: Yikes. That’s kinda pathetic man. How did he even get close with her?

 

Prompto: I hate you all. She said she spilled her drink and he took her to the back to get her fingers bandaged up. 

 

Angeal: A cheap strategy. 

 

Sephiroth: But an effective one, it seems.

 

Gladio: My money’s on that he wanted that to happen. 

 

Riku: Psh, yeah, spilling hot coffee on a cute girl is a great way to get their attention. 

 

Axel: Oh so you think she’s cute? Welcome to the club, man! 

 

Riku: Don’t put me in your fan club. 

 

Sora: I wanna join, Lady seems really cool!

 

Zexion: What is she doing now? 

 

Prompto: GOTTA GO. 

 

-Prompto has left the chat- 

 

He set his phone down as Lady sat down in front of him, looking at the napkin in her hand with what he assumed was the barista’s phone number scribbled onto the corner. She folded it in half and slipped it in her purse, looking back up at him, “Everything okay? Your face is so red.”

 

“Hm? No! Everything’s fine!” He said, a little too loudly. 

 

“If you’re ready to head out, let’s go.”

 

He nodded, getting up to throw the drink away in the trash then jogging up to her. His face downturned as they left the terrace and walked down the street. 

 

“Prompto.. what’s wrong?” She slowed her pace to his.

 

“N-nothing!”

 

“Sunshine,” she stopped and put a hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me.”

 

“It’s nothing, really! Don’t worry ‘bout it,” he gave her his best smile but it faltered as she gave him an unconvinced pout.

 

Taking his hand in hers, she pulled him along. 

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“Just follow me.” She said as they walked down the sidewalk, turning the corners of buildings until she stopped at a store with jewelry hanging in careful selections all around the glass display in front. She turned back to him, “Wait here please.”

 

Prompto did as he was told and tapped his foot against the pavement. Counting the amount of red cars that drive down the road in front of him and before he knew it, the door opened and Lady exited the store with a paper bag in her hand. 

 

“Follow me, sunshine,” she smiled as she extended her hand for him to hold. When his fingers intertwined with hers, they walked down until she spotted a bench in an empty pavillion. Pulling him to sit beside her, she unwrapped the bag and pulled out a spool of string and red beads marbled with gold. Prompto watched as she strung the red beads along with a set of white pearls, her fingers working quickly as she pieced them one by one until she reached in the bag for a charm. The charm was a bright yellow chocobo tuff encased in warm amber and wrapped with a silver wire; she strung it on the bracelet, tying it and double tying it together tightly to make sure it would unravel. 

 

Prompto’s eyes widened when she brought the charm to her lips, closing her eyes and whispering something into it. The charm emanated a soft golden glow before diffusing around the beads and seeped into it, her eyes opened and she inspected it. Taking his hand, she slipped the beaded bracelet around his wrist as she smiled. “This has a protection spell on it, so if you’re ever in a pinch. This should help you out.”

 

“Also,” she pointed at the chocobo tuff, “I want you to look at this as a promise that one day we’ll both go see the chocobos.”

 

“But you’re not a huge fan of them, right?” He cocked his head. 

 

“Nope, but-“ she raised a finger to point at him. “-if there’s anyone in the world that could _possibly_ make me like them again, it’s you. So I’m counting on you, ‘kay?”

 

“I’m the only one who could do that,” he repeated, pointing at himself. “Me?”

 

“Yes. You.”

 

“Uhh, okay.. I can do that! You can rely on me!” He grinned. 

 

“I know I can, sunshine.” She smiled and put her head on his shoulder. _I don’t ever wanna see you lose that energetic smile._

 

They sat there for a while, enjoying the breeze as Prompto fingered his new- and now favorite, piece of jewelry. Enjoying the feeling of her soft hair tickle his shoulder as they enjoyed each other’s company. He let out a content sigh, all of his anxiety from earlier had completely washed away and he felt as if the gentle breeze along with her voice carried it off somewhere far far away. 

 

•••

 

Lady waved to Prompto as he gave her a goofy smile before heading back inside his apartment. She grinned, opening the door to her apartment and looked to see Genesis and Angeal laying on the couch. An open bottle of red wine shared between the two of them as they both made themselves comfortable. 

 

“Well, I see my secret stash of wine has been found out,” she tutted.

 

Genesis looked up at her and towards Angeal, “My friend, your desire/ Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess..” 

 

Angeal and Lady both groaned in unison. 

 

“Are you drunk, Gen?” Lady took the bottle and shook it, finding it only to be half-empty. 

 

“You think that could get me drunk? That insults me,” he scoffed. 

 

From behind him, her bedroom door opened and Sephiroth stepped out with only sweats on, his hair dripping wet and sticking to his bare torso. “You’re back, we didn’t expect you to be gone so long.”

 

“My apologies,” she smirked and pulled out the invoice for all of the furniture she had bought earlier. “Wanted to make sure everything I got would be top tier.”

 

Angeal reaches up and swiped the receipt from her hands, his eyes widening as he looked at the calculated costs. “You did _not_ have to buy this much. How did you pay for all of this?!”

 

Genesis walked up to him and sat on the couch next to him, grabbing the receipt from his hands. “This is all for us? What did you even buy?”

 

Sephiroth took a seat on the now vacant couch and looked to Lady who took a seat next to him. 

 

“Don’t give me that look,” she huffed. “I know I didn’t have to buy all of that but.. you guys deserve the best.”

 

Genesis handed the receipt for Sephiroth to look at and even she saw his eyes widen a bit. 

 

“That’s fine, but at least let us pay for some,” Angeal shook his head, mouthing the amount that he saw on the paper. 

 

She rejected his offer. “No I got it, it’s okay. I saved up money for a long time, I’ll just do it again.”

 

“Thank you,” Sephiroth said and she looked to her left, smiling at him.

 

“I hope you like the stuff I pick out for you, the beds I got for you guys were apparently made from these exotic birds that nest up in the mountains.”

 

“Oh?” Genesis grinned, his eyebrow raised suggestively as he gave her a small wink.

 

“Never mind, I’ll return your bed and give you a rock to sleep on,” she scowled, turning her head away from him.

 

Sephiroth took a strand of her hair and played with the ends, “Do you mind if I sleep here until our furniture arrives?”

 

“Don’t forget about us,” said Angeal. “We gotta sleep somewhere too.”

 

“Of course, I’m not gonna force you guys to sleep on the floor!” She turned to them. “It’s fine with me.”

 

Before they could discuss sleeping arrangements, her phone rang in her pocket. Her eyes narrowing when she saw the caller ID. Turning to the three of them, she excused herself before heading out to the balcony and closing the door behind her. 

 

“Hello?... Lazard, what’s up?... No… What about it?... The Shinra mansion, yeah that’s where I found the files, why?... N-no there was no one else there… Yes, I’m sure… What-?! But I thought he was dea-... No, no.. I’ll let you know. Goodbye.”

 

Lady set her phone down and gripped the balcony, her eyes closed as she processed everything she heard on the phone. Looking up at the setting sun, it’s dying rays turning the sky an orange that deepened as it lowered some more; she sighed and repeated the words Lazard said in the call. 

 

“The man that helped bring Project SIREN into fruition…” she gripped her fists, mimicking his words. _How is it possible that he’s still alive? I saw him bleed out right in front of me._

 

She looked up at the horizon that now flashed a brilliant crimson red before sinking into the dark indigo of the night sky. 

 

“A man named Vincent Valentine.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where’s Cupid ‘coz I see a Valentine heading your waaaaay~ 
> 
> -Hojo has left the chat- 
> 
> (Psst did y’all see the two new relationships I added to the tags?)


	28. XXVIII

“How do you know what you saw was true?” Lazard pushed his glasses up as Lady dangled her legs over the side of his desk, pouring herself a cup of coffee from her thermos. 

 

“Because I know what I saw, Lazard, Hojo shot Vincent and he was _dead._ No man could survive after losing that much blood and especially at point blank range,” she grumbled as she passed a mug of liquid ambrosia towards Lazard. “You take sugar or milk in yours?”

 

“Black, thanks,” he took the cup and inhaled the brew. “Well, I guess your vision skipped out on telling you that he was.. revived, more or less.”

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“Gast did some digging and he found something interesting, it was detailing the work of doctor Lucrecia before she ran away. About twenty five years ago, give or take, she found a spring of tainted mako.”

 

“Sounds like something you should stay away from,” she scoffed, sipping her drink. 

 

“They didn’t and what they found was something ancient and evil.”

 

“Of course they did. Why can’t scientists leave things alone?”

 

“Human curiosity,” he looked at her over the rim of his cup. “Anyways, the spring held an entity they dubbed ‘Chaos’- about as old as the planet, maybe older. And from Gast told me.. Lucrecia used Vincent’s dead body as a host for the entity.”

 

Lady stopped mid-sip as she turned to meet Lazard’s eyes slowly. “A _host_?”

 

He nodded. “Chaos revived Vincent and it lays dormant within him, Hojo used the data from the tests doctor Crescent ran on him to make.. well, you know.” His eyes watched her reactions carefully, “His last known area was in the basement of the Shinra mansion, that’s why I asked if you found anything there.”

 

“No.. I told you. I searched the whole place there was nothing there,” she shook her head putting her cup down. “Wait. There was that small crypt with the coffins and skeletons. But everything in that room was dead.”

 

Lady set her mug down beside her, tapping her finger against the smooth metal of his desktop. “But there was one coffin.. it was empty- and it didn’t have that much dust on it as opposed to the other ones. Could it be that-“

 

The door to Lazard’s office made a whirring noise, signaling that it was about to open and Lady looked to the director who quickly motioned her to get under the desk below him. 

 

“Seriously?” She hissed as she dove below and under the hollow space of the desk. 

 

He didn’t say anything as he scooted his chair up and she frowned when she had to back up further into the already cramped space. She heard the door slide open completely and a set of footsteps approaching them. 

 

“Lazard.”

 

“Rufus. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

Lady leaned forward a little towards the open to try and hear more of their conversation, her hand resting carefully on the director’s knee.

 

“I’ve heard you gave permission for our top three SOLDIER’s to move into Lady’s apartments,” he said. 

 

“I did. I don’t see the harm in it if were going to be staying in this town for an indefinite amount of time,” Lazard responded.

 

“Forgive me if I think that’s a bit suspicious.”

 

“Rufus, you think everything that you didn’t give a direct order to is suspicious. Have some faith in your company members.”

 

Lady heard hands slamming down above her. 

 

“I will require updates on their well-being then. And keep a constant vigil on that woman.. she’s proving much too troublesome. It’s a wonder why Hojo is so fascinated with someone so-“

 

Lady’s hands now rested on both of Lazard’s knees. Leaning forward more and very eager to head what Rufus has to say. 

 

“-so bothersome, an absolute thorn in my side. If only she learned to keep that temper and mouth of hers in check, I would be more inclined to actually admire her beauty and grace.”

 

Lady’s fists clenched and crumpled Lazard’s pants under her grip. She saw him slip a hand under his desk and _pat_ her head, smoothing her hair down as if to say ‘down, girl.’ 

 

“I almost regret listening to that old mad man,” Rufus muttered and he stopped. “Why do you have two cups of coffee?”

 

“I’m a thirsty man,” Lazard cleared his throat. “Burning the midnight oil, as they say.”

 

“I’ll leave you to it then, don’t forget about those reports.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Footsteps echoed further away from the desk and the door slid open. Once she heard it slide close, she released a heavy sigh. Looking up at him with a scowl.

 

He chuckled as he scooted his chair back, allowing her to rise from her hiding spot. “He wasn’t wrong, you know.”

 

“I _don’t_ have a temper, I control it rather well I would think,” she muttered as she crawled forward.

 

“No, he was right about your beauty and grace,” he smiled as he offered her a hand to help her up. 

 

Lady cocked an eyebrow and a sly smirk came to her lips as she accepted his hand, “How sweet, dear director. You have a way with words.”

 

“It’s how I got this job.”

 

“Well,” she stood up and downed the rest of her coffee. “If I want to find out more, I have to find this Vincent person right?”

 

“I would assume so.”

 

“And I’m guessing you don’t know where he is now?”

 

“That would require time and some searching. Obviously I can’t launch a full scale investigation or else I’ll risk exposing myself,” he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

 

“I’ll see what I can do on my end. Maybe go back to the mansion and see what I missed,” she cleaned the mugs with a napkin before tossing them back in her pack. “Next time I should bring some food too.”

 

“Is this gonna be a regular thing now?” He downed his coffee before handing it to her.

 

“Maybe, do you mind?”

 

“Not at all, maybe work on bringing a stronger brew next time,” he walked her over to the balcony. 

 

“Tsk tsk, picky man. Can’t just enjoy what I bring you?” She smiled, leaning over the rail. “Keep in touch, Lazard. I’ll see what I can find.” She gave him a small salute, holding her pack close to her side and she leaned back until her head fell first with the rest of her body following. The director looked over the rail, always expecting something bad to happen despite the times she’s already done this in front of him. He sighed in relief when he saw strong gusts of white wind gather under her body as she descended the building just as the morning sun rose out of the green horizon to greet the world with its warmth. 

 

•••

 

Lady walked into her apartment, spotting the bodies sleeping on her two couches with their blankets and pillows thrown onto the floor. She sighed as she picked up the pillows and fluffed them before putting it back besides Genesis.

 

“My goddess?” He mumbled with his eyes still closed as she lifted his head to put it back on the pillow. 

 

“Nope,” she chuckled silently, placing a kiss on his forehead. “It’s a giant Malboro.” 

 

Genesis scrunched his nose and turned his back to her, mumbling more under his breath before his breaths became steady and deep- dozing off again.

 

She turned to pick up the blanket that slid from Angeal’s body and she draped it over his torso, patting it down gently over his legs. Hovering over his head, she tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and gave him a kiss on his forehead. He lazily grabbed for Lady’s arm and she dodged his hand, taking it and laying it over his chest before backing away slowly to walk towards her room.

 

Lady knelt down by her bed, pulling the sheets up over Sephiroth’s bare shoulders and tucking it in. He stirred slightly and she reached up to plant a kiss on his forehead. 

 

“Early..” he muttered under his breath, still drowsy as he frowned with his eyes closed before his face turned relaxed and his breathing became even. She sat down on the bed, carefully making sure it didn’t dip too much under her weight. His arms instinctively reached to wrap around her waist and bring his face close to her skin, feeling his soft breath flutter across it. 

 

Taking out her phone with one hand, she used her other hand to stroke his hair as she texted. 

 

Lady: Hey! Sorry for the time, but if you’re up do you mind meeting me?

 

She set her phone down on her lap as her fingers ran through Sephiroth’s silver tresses, surprised to see her phone light up with a notification so soon. 

 

Zexion: No not at all! I’ll come right now. 

 

_Early riser.. does that boy even sleep?_

 

Lady moved to unwrap his arms from around her waist and he was adamant to not let go at first before she whispered to him, “My love, I’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

 

At her words, he relinquished his grip and rolled back to the other side of the bed- falling asleep with an almost peaceful smile on his lips.

 

Getting up, she grabbed her black hoodie from the closet and slid it over her white tank top she wore. Bending over, she folded up the jeans to her ankles and dusted them off at the knees; she had her hair tied into a loose braid that hung off to the side on her shoulder that she twirled between her fingers while making sure everything in her place was secure. 

 

Walking back towards the front after making sure none of the men had tossed their blankets and pillows off again. After seeing they still slept soundly, she slipped on her sneakers at the front and exited the apartment. 

 

Once she closed the door, she turned to see Zexion who lit up when he looked at her. “Oh, good morning!” He fiddled with the bottom of his white button down shirt as he smiled at her. 

 

“You’re an early bird, aren’t ya?” She grinned and motioned for him to follow her downstairs. “Did you sleep well?”

 

“I can only rest for five or six hours, after that my body wakes up and I can’t go back to sleep,” he sighed. 

 

Lady stopped and looked back at him, “Shall I knock you out with a sleeping spell?” The look on his bewildered eyes made her laugh as she shook her head. “I’m kidding! But let me make you some tea soon to help you relax and you let me know if that helps okay? And if it does, I’ll make you a brew whenever you need it.” 

 

“I appreciate the gesture but I can’t possibly have you do that for me every night.”

 

“Why not?” She winked at him. “It’s the least I can do to help since you made this amazing app for all of us,” she said as she held up her phone.

 

His face flushed and he looked to the side, “So, what was this task you require of me?” 

 

“Well,” she sighed, resting her back against a pillar. “If you’re not busy today, I need your help with an issue and it’ll require us to use your corridors.”

 

•••

 

Zexion shuffled through the dark, squinting at the stone hallway they stood in while Lady examined the pile of busted bricks before her. The lights of the Shinra mansion basement flickered and gave an underwhelming amount of illumination for them. 

 

“So you were an experiment?”

 

She stopped, sighing as she nodded. “Yes. Shinra likes to play with the DNA of their loving employees.”

 

“And this man we’re looking for, he might have answers for you? The one in your visions?”

 

“That’s the thing,” she dug through the rubble, examining the brick for any anomalies before tossing it aside. “The key word is that he _might_ have answers. He might be as clueless as I am, but it’s worth chasing after. He’s the only lead I have right now.”

 

Standing up, she dusted off her hands and pulled her hoodie over her head. “Mind holding this? Might have to do some heavy lifting.”

 

Zexion took the hoodie and folded it, letting it hang over his arm as he watched her enter the crypt. He followed in and his blue eyes widened when she squatted down in front of an empty coffin and she lifted it up with ease- the muscles flexing in her arm as she did so.

 

Looking under it, she clicked her tongue when there was nothing of import hiding underneath. Setting it back down slowly, she paced around the room. 

 

“There’s nothing here, it’s as empty as when I came here with Xigbar,” she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

 

“Earlier, you said you can see visions correct?” Zexion started as she took a seat on the edge of the coffin. “Do you think they could help you out now?”

 

“Erm, they don’t exactly come when I want them to. They just show up like an annoying neighbor at inconvenient times and leaves me dizzy afterwards.”

 

“What if-“ he stopped, averting his gaze and shaking his head. 

 

“What if what?”

 

“No. Never mind .”

 

“Zexion.”

 

At the call of his name, his head snapped up towards her. He gulped, inhaling and exhaling deeply before speaking. “What if I put you under hypnosis to try and activate that power?”

 

Lady raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head, turning away, “I’m sorry, I don’t want to do that to you again. It was a stupid suggestion, please don’t mind it-“

 

“No,” she stopped him. “It’s good. That might work.”

 

“Are you sure? After what I did to you that first time, I don’t want to hurt you again, I-“ he began rambling and she got up, swiftly walking over to him and taking him in her arms. 

 

“You didn’t hurt me because you wanted to, you were forced.” She shushed him, her hand reaching up to ruffle his hair. “I trust you. Right now it’s just me and you and I trust you. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

 

Zexion inhaled deeply and looked into her eyes, nodding. “Okay. Okay, I’ll do it.” He cleared his throat. “I apologize.”

 

“There’s nothing to apologize for, like I said. That thing from the past is just water under-“

 

“-the bridge,” he finished for her, a slow smile appearing on his face.  

 

She moved a strand of his steel blue hair behind his ear giving him a reassuring squeeze before backing away and sitting in the coffin again, leaning until she felt the cold leather interior rest against her back. 

 

Zexion knelt down to her right, looking down at her in the coffin. His hand stretched over but faltered as he looked at her with increasing worry.

 

“Seeing you in this coffin makes me feel sick,” he mumbled. 

 

“I’m very much alive, I assure you,” she reached to massage his hand, bringing it down so she could kiss the inner palm- the gesture making him blush. “If it brings you any consolation, I don’t like it either- but it comforts me knowing you’re here.”

 

He nodded. “Thank you.. for trusting me.” Exhaling he pulled his hand away from her gently, “Ready?” 

 

She nodded, closing her eyes as Zexion channeled his energy towards her and she felt her consciousness fall into a deep spiral.

 

It had a similar feeling akin to an unexpected lurch on a rollercoaster that usually runs just fine- it brought on the sense of dread and unwelcome anxiety that soon washed away when her mind began floating across the darkness as if it was an endless sea and she was it’s only sailor. Her guiding star being a light in the sky that shimmered a light green with what looked like white shimmering fairies floating around it. Stretching her hands toward the light, she felt her body being pulled in by its gravity and the environment around her warped until she opened her eyes to find herself in the coffin again. 

 

She looked to her right and didn’t see Zexion but only up at what looked like the cover for the coffin; frowning she rolled her head to her left and flinched when she was mere millimeters away from a pale slender face that stood out against the darkness and framed with long black hair. She blinked a couple times for her eyes to adjust to the lack of lighting and looked at the man some more. He wore a crimson bandana that wrapped around his head with strands of his hair sticking out of it in a disarrayed pattern. Looking down, he wore a black outfit fitted with belts that held it taut against his lean body and a blood-red cape covered his shoulders, its’ length stopped just below his knees- the ends being tattered and looking like bullet holes were shot through it. On his left arm hung a large golden gauntlet with what looked like claws at the end, it’s tips gleaming even in the confines of the coffin- itching to be used. 

 

Her face was so close to his, and she could see the rise and fall of his chest when she looked down and back at his expression which looked peaceful- almost as if he was sleeping.

 

“Vincent..?” She mumbled and the man’s eyes opened, revealing irises the color of a burning sun that granted the world it’s last fiery rays before disappearing down into the horizon; similar to the red sunset she saw yesterday when she learned his name. His eyes were framed with long dark eyelashes that fluttered every time he blinked. 

 

_Vincent Valentine. What happened to you?_

 

Vincent’s eyes snapped up towards the coffin lid and before she could try and listen to what caught his attention- she heard a blast from outside her confines. Her instincts made her hands fly up to cover her face in case debris came crashing through. 

 

Heavy armored footsteps approached where they both lay and the cover was thrown off, squinting when bright lights shone on them. 

 

A muffled voice came from the one holding the flashlight and Lady held her hand up to block the light but watched in displeasure as the light merely went through her hand. She tried looking past the obnoxious brightness and at the person holding it; they wore iron chainmail with black and white chest armor bearing a red insignia over the left side that looked like a deformed dragon with wings set to fly. The large iron helmet they wore masked their identity and had vertical slits that only served to let them speak and nothing more. 

 

 “Vincent Valentine. You’re coming with us.”

 

“Like hell I am,” Vincent grimaced, quickly sitting up and pulling a gun from his holster; firing it at them with practiced skill. The man groaned as he grabbed at his chest, a large cavity blown through his chest armor with blood beginning to seep through.

 

Lady sat up and watched as Vincent grabbed the wounded in front of him and used his body as a human shield as more stormed into the room, their rifles pointed at him. Pushing their comrade towards them, he released more shots at the crowd while dodging their attacks. She could only watch in wonder as the man moved with grace throughout the small crypt, fighting and proving to be more than a match for their ranks. 

 

Vincent cocked his gun, smoke rising from the barrel as he held it down at his side. Leaning down and picking up one of the soldier’s by their helmet with his gauntleted hand, he let out a feral growl, “You should have just let me _sleep_.” 

 

He released their helmet and it clamored onto the floor as the soldier groaned at the impact. Off to the side of her vision, she looked as one of the soldiers shakily raised a gun and placed a syringe inside the barrel. 

 

She leaned forward, gripping the edge of the coffin. “Behind you!” She found herself shouting an unheard warning. 

 

It was too late. Of course it was. The soldier pulled the trigger and Lady watched as the small syringe zipped through the air and struck Vincent’s arm. He quickly took it out, looking at the remains of the viscous thick fluid sloshing inside and sticking to the inside of the glass capsule. His left foot staggered back and he caught himself on the wall; his gauntlet scratching the stone as he slid down slowly. Lady watched as he finally collapsed onto the floor and she looked back at the soldier who shot him. 

 

“Target neutralized,” they wheezed. “Proceed.. extraction.. rendezvous at-“ they coughed and held their chest, speaking into a radio. “-at.. sixty-five degrees north of Nibelheim.. base zero..”

 

The soldier laid back, panting and soon more soldiers arrived in the room. Picking up the fallen and two soldiers immediately tied Vincent up to carry him out; his body limp as they transported him out and disappeared around the corner. Lady looked at the one who reported the incident as he struggled up with the help of another and followed the rest out, stumbling over the broken bricks as something fell out of his pocket and into the rubble. 

 

She blinked and felt warmth on her hand, looking up she saw Zexion who looked at her with worry. 

 

Catching her breath, she immediately began reciting the words, “Sixty-five degrees north of Nibelheim, base zero.” Standing up, she began digging through the rubble at the entrance of the room. Zexion followed and only watched as she threw bricks aside, her eyes frantically searching amidst the fragments when at last she finally stopped. Her hands picking up a work device and she tentatively examined it, holding it up so the light could further reveal what it was.

 

Zexion came over, his attentive eyes looking at the object in her hands. “That looks like.. it’s supposed to display something.” He said as his finger pointed at the ocular disc that was displayed on top of the rectangular device. 

 

And as if to confirm his suspicion, Lady’s finger grazed over a button on the side and a small blue hologram showed up for them to see. It showed a flat geographical display of the region with a glowing red dot indicating to what she assumed was their current location. 

 

“Sixty-five.. sixty-five.. north,” she mumbled as she pinched at the map, watching as it expanded and large enough to show the mountain ranges around Nibelheim. Scrolling through north, the man began to distort and she exhaled sharply in annoyance. “Great. It’s broken.”

 

“I believe I can fix it,” Zexion took the device from her, turning it over in his hands. “It’s a simple contraption, it won’t take me long.”

 

“What would I do without you?” Lady looked up at him with a grateful smile. She saw his face darken a color even in their dim surroundings. 

 

“Did you get everything you needed from here?”

 

She gave the crypt another once over. “I think so. I hope.”

 

“If not I can always take you back here,” he offered. 

 

“You’re a sweetheart, you know that?” Getting up, she took her hoodie from his hands and slung it over her shoulder. “Okay, let’s go home.”

 

•••

 

As soon as she opened the door to her apartment, she was greeted with a disgruntled auburn haired man- his arms crossed as he looked at her. 

 

“Where were you?”

 

“Good to see you too, Gen,” she sighed, walking past him. “What’s got you so grumpy now?”

 

He pulled something out of his back pocket and flashed it towards her and as soon as she saw the bold black lettering spelling out the word ‘Loveless’, she cursed silently. 

 

“Oh astrals, that was _tonight_?” She winced. 

 

“Yep, and I paid a pretty penny to get front row seats.”

 

“Of course you did.”

 

“So you should get ready.”

 

“Don’t you want Sephiroth or Angeal to go with you instead?” 

 

“No thanks,” she heard two additional voices respond loudly to her inquiry; one from her room and one from her kitchen. 

 

He grimaced and shook his head, walking away to sit back on the couch. 

 

“Aren’t you going to get ready too? Or will you just sit here and wait for me?” She asked him. 

 

“I will, after you,” he glanced back at her, wrinkling his nose. “You smell like a tomb. Unless you want to shower together-“

 

“I’ll go first,” she waved away his suggestion and entered her room to find Sephiroth leaning back on a propped up pillow with a photo album in his lap. He went through it lazily, looking through the pictures before moving onto the next page.

 

“Like my pictures?” She asked him as she closed the door behind her and put her hoodie back on a hanger inside the closet. 

 

“They’re well taken,” he hummed. “There’s rarely any pictures of you though.”

 

“Ah, well. I usually like taking pictures of other things besides myself.”

 

“Let’s take one together then,” he looked up at her. 

 

“Not right now, I look like a mess,” she tutted and before she entered the bathroom, she turned back to him. “But I do want to start filling that album with pictures of us. All of us.” 

 

“I look forward to the results,” the side of his lip curled into a smile and she returned the gesture before closing the bathroom door. 

 

Turning on the shower, she waited for the steam to appear and fog up against the glass before she stripped out of her dirty clothes and placed them in the hamper. Stepping into the shower, she let the hot water run over her shoulders as she closed her eyes and thought about the man in the coffin- Vincent. 

 

Shampooing her hair, her fingers ran against her scalp as she tried to piece together what she knew. _How is it that he’s alive? Was it really the same man I saw dying on the floor?_

 

Washing the suds off the strands of her hair, she reached down for the conditioner and left it to soak in the ends of her hair while she soaped her body. _And how does he not look older? That incident happened so long ago, yet he still looks so young- as young as the day he died._

 

Sighing, she finished rinsing the scented soap off her body and washed off the conditioner. Turning the faucet off and grabbing a towel to wrap around her body, she leaned over the shower and gently squeezed out the water from her hair.

 

_Whatever, I’ll think about it later._

 

Lady exited the bathroom and jumped when she saw three sets of eyes look toward her. 

 

“You- I-“ she stuttered, holding the towel close to her chest. 

 

“Hey, can you wear this dress? It matches my outfit,” Genesis gestured to the black dress laid out on the bed. The man was already suited up with his dark grey v-neck topped with a black blazer that he rolled up to his elbows. His legs were accentuated with black slacks that fit his slender frame well and overall she had to admit- Genesis was a handsome man. And something told her that he knew that too, with the way he tilted his head to the right so that his single silver earring dangled amongst his chin-length auburn locks and even the way he smirked when her eyes lingered on him a second too long.

 

“Also,” He sat on the chair in front of her vanity mirror, reaching behind him; fingering her array of lipsticks before he plucked one out from the display and held it out for her to see. “I want to see this shade of red on you.”

 

Setting it back down on her vanity, he turned towards her and leaned back with his elbow while crossing his legs with an expectant look. She looked at Sephiroth who only stared back, his position unchanged since she went to take a shower; then to Angeal who leaned against a wall with his arms crossed as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“Okay, I guess I’ll change now,” she announced, looking between the three of them and she waited for them to start moving. Which.. None of them did. 

 

She cleared her throat and said it louder, “Okay, I said I guess I’ll change now.” 

 

“Then change,” Genesis sneered, his eyes flashing in amusement. 

 

“Can I do it without an audience?” Lady hissed. 

 

“Why are you so embarrassed? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.. remember?” he said loudly and at his words Angeal and Sephiroth’s eyes snapped to him. 

 

Her face felt hot and the sensation grew even more intense when all three sets of mako eyes looked back at her. She gulped and held the towel tighter around her. 

 

“What is he talking about?” She heard Sephiroth ask her and her head started to feel cloudy. 

 

“Genesis..” she heard Angeal address the smug man sitting at her vanity. “What did you do?”

 

“Can you guys wait outside of the room? Please?” Lady spoke quietly, looking at the drops of water that gathered around her bare feet and she heard them shuffle out of her room. Closing the door behind them, she heard hushed whispers as they went to go make themselves comfortable in her living room. 

 

Swallowing, she cursed as she sat down in front of her vanity- looking at herself. All those times with the three of them.. they were so in the moment that she didn’t stop to think that- 

 

She clapped her cheeks and shook her head in an attempt to shake away the reddening color on her face. _Shit. Shit. Shit!_

 

Genesis’ handsome- _wait, no_. Genesis’ smug face fresh in her memory made her exhale sharply as she spotted the lipstick tube he left on the counter for her. The way he outed her in front of all of them with his ever present smirk and how flustered she felt that she couldn’t even formulate an intelligent response on the spot. 

 

“Fine, you want to play that game with me?” She muttered and tucked her hair behind her ears; carefully selecting her makeup brushes along with palettes containing smokey eyeshadow colors. “Then let’s play, asshole.” 

 

•••

 

“What’s taking her so long?” Genesis grumbled as he paced on the balcony. 

 

“Are you going to tell us what you meant earlier?” Angeal frowned. 

 

Genesis stopped pacing, turning towards his friend, “I can.” He leaned forward towards him. “But I don’t think you’ll like the answer.”

 

“Try me,” Angeal responded in a low voice, his eyes narrowing further. 

 

Sephiroth mimicked Angeal’s expression, aiming it at Genesis. “Must you always treat everything as a competition?”

 

“And lose to you two?” He scoffed and he repeated the gesture when his two friends looked at him with confusion. “Don’t play coy, I see the way you two act with her. And I think you both know what I meant by my comment, it was quite _obvious_.”

 

“Although it is touching to see you finally keen on a woman,” he turned to Sephiroth. “Never thought I would see the day. But unfortunately that adds more competition and I can’t afford to slip up.”

 

“Genesis,” Angeal sighed. “I don’t think you’re just competing with us two.”

 

It was Genesis’ turn to look at him with confusion. 

 

“Come now,” Sephiroth continued for him. “If you look around.. it’s quite _obvious_.”

 

Genesis frowned and opened his mouth to say something until his speech was interrupted by the double doors opening behind him. 

 

The three soldiers looked as Lady stepped onto the balcony, a hand on her hip as she raised her chin at them. 

 

“Don’t we have a play to get to?”

 

The black dress she wore had a plunging v-neck with a silk ribbon connecting and tying the collar together. The bodice was opaque and hugged the curve of her waist as it flared out above her knees; the sleeves were made of sheer black chiffon material and tied around her wrists with a small ribbon. On her feet were simple black heels with a silver anklet dangling on her left leg that shimmered everytime it caught light. Her lips were the color of a deep ruby and her eyes were smoked out with black eyeshadow on the lid that faded out to a light mauve brown; her lengthened lashes flaring out flirtatiously everytime she blinked. If anything, her outfit and makeup along with the soft romantic curls that framed her face made her the manifestation of the type of woman that men wanted to meet under an autumnal moon.

 

“Well?”

 

Genesis walked towards her, his eyes going over her with a voracious hunger. As his hand came up to rest upon the crook of her waist, she took her other hand that held his copy of Loveless to push against his chest, stopping his gesture. Her eyes were shining. With rage, frustration, embarrassment- none of them could tell just what was going on in her mind. Sultry eyes looked over Genesis’ shoulder at Sephiroth, blinking and then looking over at Angeal. Her lips curled into a sidelopped smile, pulling Genesis forward with a tug of his blazer. 

 

“Let’s not stall. Are we going or not?”

 

•••

 

Lady and Genesis both took their seats on a gallery to the right of the stage that sat higher than the rest. The interior of it being lined with luxurious woodwork with large red curtains that draped the sides of the balcony. She peered over the edge and noted the other gallery that hung under them, close enough to see but far enough to hear the individual conversations of other guests. A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. It was perfect.

 

The large heavy curtains slowly opened as the stage lights shone brightly on the momentarily empty stage. An actor came out on from the left, and Lady already knew what lines he would first open with. 

 

Loveless was a short play, yet every time she heard it it would seem like the lengthiest piece of work ever. At first, she enjoyed it’s deceptively simple yet complex stanzas that had her often wondering what the true meaning behind their words was.. then after around the thirty-third time that Genesis whipped out that book, she would begrudgingly recite it in her head while he read aloud. 

 

The actor faced the crowd, his costumed armor shining under the stage lights and his sword flashing as he raised it up high towards the heavens. 

 

_“When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end / The goddess descends from the sky.”_

 

Lady looked to her side and she watched in amusement as Genesis quoted the poem, word for word- as expected. She waited.

 

_“Wings of light and dark spread afar / She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting.”_

 

As if the fourth stanza signaled her cue; she placed her hand over his as he looked down at it with surprise at the sudden show of affection; especially since she spent the whole time getting to the theatre giving him the cold shoulder. Her hands traveled up to grapple his arm gently and he winced slightly when he felt his wrists bound to the arms of the chair with cuffs made of solid ice, sending chills up his arms that his blazer couldn’t even protect him from. His eyes narrowed at her as she put a finger at her lips, shushing him. He only watched as her lips whispered the next lines perfectly with her eyes glinting in the dark- like an animal cornering her long awaited prey after an extended chase. 

 

_“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess / We seek it thus, and take to the sky.”_

 

Struggling against her magical restraints, he gritted his teeth when it came to no reasonable result. He swallowed as her hand came down to rest on his knee, her fingers walking up his thigh until she neared his crotch; her forefinger sliding up his zipper and feeling the length hiding underneath. He winced again when he felt a small jolt of electricity zap him, sending waves of energy through his pants and to his member. Her smile grew when she felt it harden under her touch. Looking up, she made sure he watched her mouth as she continued to recite the poem flawlessly. 

 

_“Ripples form on the water's surface / The wandering soul knows no rest.”_

 

Her eyebrow quirked at the word ‘rest’ and her fingers pinched his zipper, a quick flick undoing the button and continued on to undo his pants around his crotch. Palming his cock through his boxers, his breath hitched as she stroked him. He would’ve moved his legs if it weren’t for the additional cuffs that held his ankles to the chair- deeming his body totally vulnerable to her mercy.. but when he looked into her hungry eyes, he saw that there was none.

 

_“There is no hate, only joy / For you are beloved by the goddess.”_

 

She stroked his cheek with her other hand and wrapped it around the back of his head, caressing his hair as she pushed his face towards hers. He closed his eyes, ready to receive his gift when he felt the tips of her lips brush against his momentarily before she pulled away abruptly. “Tsk, tsk. You don’t want to ruin the lipstick you picked out for me, right?” 

 

He opened his eyes to see a sadistic smile on her face before he felt his hair being pulled down, exposing his neck. Feeling her tongue run up the side of his jugular, he shivered when he felt teeth graze against his skin. The overwhelming urge to open his mouth for a snide comment was quickly overpowered with his desperate attempt to not make any lewd noises aloud for the rest of the theater to hear. Not here. He wouldn’t dare. 

 

_“Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds / Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul.”_

 

As she bit down on the spot where her tongue drew circles, she reached under his boxers and stroking him bare eliciting a strangled groan from him. His fists clenched as he felt powerless against her touch, simply payback from when he had undone her in a similar fashion. Her thumb traced the slit on his head as she pressed against it, feeling the wet pre-cum on her finger. 

 

_“Pride is lost / Wings stripped away, the end is nigh.”_

 

Genesis watched as she took the thumb with his glistening fluid gathered at its tip and taking it into her mouth, sucking it off. Her tongue lashing out and wrapping around each digit on her hand before returning to stroke along the underside of his cock rather slowly. He bit the inside of his cheek when he could only watch as she unraveled him.

 

_“My friend, do you fly away now? / To a world that abhors you and I?”_

 

Her lips close to his ear as he whispered the words to him in rhythm like a sweet melody that was only meant for him; each sentence punctuation in time with her strokes. 

 

_“All that awaits you is a somber morrow / No matter where the winds may blow.”_

 

Warmth emanated from her palm as Genesis’ breathing got heavier while her hands worked him like an instrument she was well-versed in. 

 

_“My friend, your desire / Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess.”_

 

How he wanted to break through his icy restraints and bend her over the balcony, exacting his revenge as she screamed his name along with the recited verses of his favorite poem. Oh, how he wished he could. Alas all he could do was watch as the woman in front of him touched when he could not. 

 

_“Even if the morrow is barren of promises / Nothing shall forestall my return.”_

 

They were on the final act now and he felt like he was on his as well. 

 

_“My friend, the fates are cruel / There are no dreams, no honor remains.”_

 

She picked up her speed, the slick on her hands working with her quickening pace as his cock throbbed in her hand- aching for release. 

 

_“The arrow has left the bow of the goddess / My soul, corrupted by vengeance.”_

 

He swallowed hard, his nails gripping the arm rests to the point where he heard the leather ripping under his abuse. She chuckled and it echoed in his ear, almost like little bells hanging off an angel’s wings. 

 

_“Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey.”_

 

Her teeth nipped at the lone of his ear, gripping his coco tightly at the head before releasing the pressure as she slid down his length; repeating this process until she could feel his chest rise up and down heavily. 

 

_“In my own salvation / And your eternal slumber.”_

 

Her thumb grazed along his bottom lip and even now in his stubborn quest for dominance, he bit down on it lightly. He felt her smile against his ear, chuckling once more as began palming and massaging the base of his cock.

 

_“Legend shall speak / Of sacrifice at world's end.”_

 

A jolt of electricity traveled from the base all the way to his head and he jumped in his seat, the sensation excited him even more and he could feel _his_ end quickly arriving. Jagged breaths came out of him as she twisted her strokes, paying extra attention to his head as she noticed he would squirm even more whenever she did that. She felt his cock began to pulsate in her hand as a stifled moan came from his mouth; signaling what could be his final undoing. 

 

_“The wind sails over the water's surface.”_

 

Her thumb slid up and down across the slit on the head once more and Genesis shut his eyes, trying to control the groan he was holding in. As his cum began to come out of the tip, she got on her knees in front of him and swallowed him whole; her tongue wrapping around the head tightly and savored the product of his finale-eliciting a deep groan as he tossed his head back in his chair. Panting as he rolled his head forward to look as her head pulled away from his dick slowly. White fluid leaking from the sides of her mouth as her tongue darted out to catch the remains. The ice restraining him melted and he sat back, inhaling deeply as his eyes saw the ruby red lipstick mark encircling his cock as if it was a parting gift from yours truly.

 

_“Quietly, but surely.”_

 

The crowd below them erupted into deafening applause. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genesis finally got “played”, amirite girls.


	29. XXIX

Boxes of tea piled up in her basket as she strolled through the aisles, holding her phone to her ear using her shoulder while her fingers ran against the cardboard wrappings of the merchandise. “So the furniture came in right? Do you guys like it?”

 

Lady backtracked her steps, putting a box of tea back on the shelf and trading it for a bottle of loose-leaf in a glass jar. “You do? Okay I’m glad!... Oh, about that..”

 

Her hands grabbed a specific brand of rock sugar extracted from the shores of Altissia.. or so the bottle claimed. “Angeal,” she sighed. “You know Genesis-... He did?... Look, I’ll talk to you about in person later, then… No, it’s fine. I’ll see you later, Angeal.”

 

She hung up and stuffed the phone in her pocket, looking at her selection in her basket. Satisfied with it, she stopped in front of a shelf carrying canned coffee of different kinds. Standing on her tippy-toes to reach higher on the shelf, she stopped when her phone began to ring.

 

“Hello?... Hey, Zexion, what’s up?... Mhm… Oh, guess it was roughed up too much, huh… Oh? Interesting. Mind sending it over then?”

 

A message tone went off in her ear and she looked at it, the text containing a series of numbers and dashes and degrees that were close to each other in proximity. She held the phone back to her ear. 

 

“I just see a series of numbers, do they mean something?... Well, I can ask… Hey! What if it’s- hm.. I’ll just show you in person. By the way I got you tea so I can make you some tonight!... Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you later okay?”

 

Getting back on her tiptoes, she reached for a can high up to try and grab a can of coffee. As she stretched, another hand reached up and took it with ease. She turned to her right and looked up at her valiant helper with a big smile. 

 

“This situation seems familiar.”

 

“It does, doesn’t it?” Gladio chuckled, tossing the can up in the air before catching it and placing it in her basket. 

 

“Gotta stop bumping to each other like this.”

 

“And miss getting the chance to see you? I think not.”

 

“Always been a smooth talker, aren’t ya?”

 

“Glaadd- oh, hey Lady!!” Prompto’s blond head came up from under Gladio’s arm and stood in the middle of them. “Whatcha doin’ here?” 

 

“What anyone would do at a grocery store,” she replied with an amused smile. “You here with Noctis and Ignis too?”

 

Just as she asked, she saw the two aforementioned stroll up to them from another aisle.

 

“Hey, what’s up?” Noctis looked at Gladio and then to Lady.

 

“Nothin’ much, just reminiscing with our landlady here,” Gladio jutted a thumb towards her. 

 

She grinned and held her basket to her side, leaning forward slightly, “So these were the two that you got the aspirin for, right? I do remember you guys at that party that Axel threw.”

 

“Yep, little Noct and Prom here can’t hold their liquor.”

 

“Yes I can!” Prompto protested. 

 

“I held it pretty well if you ask me,” Noctis scoffed. 

 

“You threw up on the side of a building and kept singing the national anthem for Lucis before passing out on the couch face down,” Gladio scoffed, folding his arms and looking down at the raven haired heir. 

 

Ignis snorted in amusement and when Noctis looked back at him, the man turned to the side, suddenly interested in the selection of toppings for coffee. 

 

“Oh, can I ask you guys something?” 

 

“What is it?” Noctis replied for them. 

 

Taking out her phone and scrolling through messages until she got to Zexion’s thread, she held up the series of numbers he sent her for them to see.

 

“What do these look like to you?”

 

Ignis stepped forward, his hand outstretched, “May I?” 

 

She nodded and placed the phone in his hand, watching as he looked at the numbers and to Gladio; nodding when he looked back at the tactician bespectacled face.

 

“These seem like coordinates, to where would be the question needing to be asked.” Ignis handed her the phone back and she released a dejected sigh. 

 

“I thought so.. guess I’m doing this the old fashioned way,” she muttered. “Hopefully they sell maps here then.”

 

“It’s at the front,” Gladio looked over where a check-out counter was. “Hey, let’s grab a drink or something.”

 

“Ooh, yeah let’s go!” Prompto agreed, his head shaking up and down with an enthused nod. 

 

As Lady took a map of the world and placed it in the checkout counter, getting out her wallet as she turned to them to answer, “You guys wanna go to the Stardrop Café?”

 

Prompto’s face fell slightly, his eyes widening at Noct as the prince shrugged. “Sure, I’m down for whatever.”

 

Lady smiled before walking towards the entrance with her bag to wait for them. Prompto grabbed Noct’s arm and shook him, “DUDE. That’s where the barista guy is remember?! We can’t go in there!”

 

“I know,” Noctis nodded. “That’s why we’re going, I wanna see this guy close up.”

 

“Not cool.”

 

“Chill, you’ll be with all of us.”

 

“Yeah,” Gladio muttered as he picked up the groceries. “No way he can take her attention away with all four of us, right?” 

 

•••

 

Prompto peeked over Lady’s shoulder at the café as they approached, looking for a specific set of deep blue locks on someone behind the counter. Squinting to make sure, he sighed in relief as he turned back to the guys and gave them a thumbs up to indicate the barista’s absence. 

 

“Should we get seats first?” She turned to them and pointed at an empty round table near a window. They all took their spots and made themselves comfortable, Gladio grabbed a chair from another table and scooted up between Noctis and Ignis. Lady sat in between Prompto and Noctis, setting the shopping bag set in front of her neatly while she dug out the map that she bought and set it aside. 

 

“What do you guys want? I’ll buy,” she asked the Insomnians. 

 

“I’ll have whatever you’re having I guess, thanks,” Noctis shrugged, getting out his phone and starting up a game. 

 

“Alrighty then,” She turned to Prompto. “Do you want that slush again?” 

 

Prompto pouted, “Hmm, kinda wanna try something else.” 

 

“Gladio, you?” 

 

“I’ll just take a water, please.” 

 

“Ignis?”

 

“He only drinks Ebony,” Gladio jerked his head towards the man. 

 

“Almost exclusively,” Noctis added with a sigh. 

 

“I’ve got a can in here,” Lady reached in her bag and took out the black can with elegant gold script on the side spelling out ‘Ebony’ as well as it’s trademark red bean logo.

 

“It’s quite alright,” Ignis held up a hand to stop her from sliding it over. “I’ve a stash at the apartments.”

 

“Yeah but you’re here right now,” she insisted. “Just take it.”

 

“I wouldn’t want to reject you twice,” he replied. 

 

Lady’s left eyebrow twitched, her hand still holding the can in the middle of the table and she sucked in her cheeks before clicking her tongue in annoyance. Her fingers flexed to pull on the tab of the drink, opening it in one swift moment and sliding it across the table towards Ignis. 

 

“Oh, would you look at that, an open can of Ebony. And _I’m_ not gonna drink it,” she leaned forward, her chin on her fist as she smiled. “It’s a shame for it to go to waste.” 

 

“Well played,” Ignis sighed, finally taking the can and sipping it. 

 

“If only you can play that well during our raids,” Noctis nudged her.

 

Lady scoffed, “Says you, you can barely keep up with me because you’re so concerned with killing every enemy on sight!”

 

“You’re one to talk,” it was Noctis’ turn to scoff. “You loot everything like you’re some type of hoard goblin.” 

 

“Because that’s what you’re _supposed_ to do in RPG’s, dummy,” she frowned. 

 

“Whatever you say, goblin,” he turned his head down to try and hide the growing smile on his face. 

 

“Sure, prince Noct-ass,” she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

 

Prompto let out a strangled snort and she could see Gladio and Ignis sport a small smile. 

 

“Good one,” Gladio winked at her. 

 

“Don’t enable her,” Noctis sighed. 

 

“I don’t see the harm in it,” Ignis said between his sips, his eyes closed to the heated scowl that Noctis threw at him. 

 

“I suppose that’s my cue to go and order,” she whispered to Prompto and he nodded. 

 

“Can I come with?” He asked.

 

“Of course, sunshine.”

 

As they both got up, she heard a familiar voice emerge from the backroom of the café. “Hey, I’m ‘bout to head out! Good job today!” 

 

Lady and Prompto stopped when they both saw the head of blue hair that came their way. 

 

“Huh, oh! Hey Lady!”

 

“Eli,” she smiled. “Heading out?”

 

“I was about to, but if you’re here I think I can stay for a few more minutes,” Eli winked as Prompto looked behind him at his friends to jerk his head slightly at the barista.

 

“Were you gonna order? I can make your drink on the house, remember?” He continued.

 

She shook her head and glanced behind her shoulder before looking up at him. “I was ordering for them too, so I’ll take your offer up another day.”

 

“No no, a promise is a promise. I’ll make their drinks free too!” Eli grinned and he peeked over her shoulder at Gladio. “Hey big guy, whatcha feeling?” 

 

“Water,” Gladio replied plainly. 

 

“Awesome, aaaand you already have a drink but do you want anything?” He asked Ignis. 

 

“No, thank you.” Ignis raised his can of Ebony.

 

“What about you?” He finally asked Noctis. 

 

“Uh, just whatever she’s having,” the raven haired boy replied, pointing at Lady.

 

Eli’s blue eyes turned to Prompto, “Lemme guess.. you want that Star-berry slush again, right?”

 

Prompto’s mouth hung open to try and force his reply out but he shut it in defeat and only quietly nodded.  

 

“And for the lovely lady, how ‘bout that cappucino you wanted?” Eli looked down at her. 

 

“Will it burn me this time?” Her lips curled into a smile. 

 

“Heh, I’ll be sure to have a word with our machines to confirm that their drinks won’t be too hot this time,” he bowed slightly and gestured for them to sit back down. “I’ll be back with your drinks, ‘kay?”

 

His ponytail whipped around along with the sash of the apron he wore as he disappeared behind the counter to begin making their ordered beverages. Lady and Prompto sat back down with the blond’s face looking more dejected by the second. 

 

“He seems nice,” Gladio squinted at the barista. 

 

“Yeah. A reaaaal swell guy,” Noctis muttered under his breath as his thumb moved across the screen of his phone. 

 

Hazel green eyes looked at Prompto, Gladio, and Noctis respectively and he let out a heavy sigh, setting his can down. “Lady, may I ask what those coordinates were from earlier?” Ignis leaned forward, looking down at the map by her bag. 

 

“Ugh, I almost forgot, thanks for reminding me,” she blinked a couple times before taking the map and spreading it out on the table. “I’m honestly not sure what it is I found.”

 

Taking a pen out of her purse she searched for Nibelheim on the large map that detailed everything from the city she lived in right now including Midgar, Insomnia, and on one point of the map she could even see Twilight Town and nearby was a place called Radiant Garden. Marking the beginning of the trail when she touched down on the small mountain village, her pen went up until she reached another point that rested amongst jagged cliffs- marking it with a black x. Pulling out her phone and setting the set of coordinates by the map as she went along and following it. 

 

Prompto looked at the map and pointed at Insomnia, “Hey, it’s us! Where’s Midgar?” 

 

“Over here,” she guided his finger to the city. 

 

“That's where you’re from, right?” He asked her. “It looks like we weren’t that far from each other!” 

 

“It does look like that.. on a map of the world,” Gladio rolled his eyes. “Midgar would be thousands of miles away, blondie.” 

 

“I actually didn’t grow up in Midgar, it definitely isn’t a nice city to grow up unless you’re rich,” she leaned back in her chair, looking at the large metal encirclement that divided the sectors around the original Shinra base. 

 

“If I remember correctly, they did say they moved their headquarters all the way here.. to where you are presently,” Ignis pointed out. 

 

Gladio’s eyes looked from Midgar to their current location and gave a low whistle, “That’s.. pretty far.”

 

“Wonder why’d they do that,” Prompto muttered. 

 

“I don’t know,” Lady dug her thumbnail into her skin. “But I wish I knew.” She cleared her throat to dispel the tension and quickly pointed at a crossroads; one leading to Insomnia and one to Midgar. “I found myself here once and I had a choice. Insomnia or Midgar.. I chose the latter.”

 

“Should’ve went to Insomnia and joined up with the Glaives instead of SOLDIER,” said Noctis, his phone now shut off as he invested himself into the conversation. 

 

Prompto gasped, “We all could’ve met each other sooner probably! You would go to school with me and Noct or be a Glaive and see Gladio and Iggy everyday!” 

 

“Me? A Glaive? Hmmm,” her eyes turned downwards thinking.  “You think I could’ve actually joined?”

 

“I don’t see why not, they’re all capable warriors and you are too,” said Gladio. “It would’ve been fun, meeting like that.” 

 

“Wouldn’t that be something,” she smiled. “Maybe in another life we would’ve all met in better circumstances. I should’ve though.. heard the Glaives have cooler uniforms.” She closed her eyes, “But then I wouldn’t have met those three dummies of mine.”

 

“And besides,” she opened her eyes, a dreamy smile on her face. “Without those three, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am today because..“

 

“Because of the bonds you hold?” said Ignis. 

 

“Because their strength is your strength?” Gladio added. 

 

“Or because you feel more confident with your friends?” Prompto chimed in, scratched the back of his neck. “‘Cause I know I do.”

 

“Mmm, no,” Lady shook her head. “I was gonna say because they constantly beat the shit out of me during sparring sessions haha!”

 

“Oh.” Came four collective voices. 

 

“Angeal seems like a nice guy on the outside but when he really wants to be, the dude is a beast. Ask him how many times he’s knocked me down with just his martial arts alone, and that’s when he’s not serious!

 

_“Defend yourself!” Angeal commanded her as she shakily stood back up, using the sword as support. The thing that pissed her off the most was the fact that the man hadn’t even taken out his Buster sword. Like she wasn’t even worth the challenge._

 

_“I’m TRYING!” She yelled before jumping at him with her blade poised to strike, the bruises blossoming on her skin like indigo colored lotuses twirling over water._

 

“Also, don’t even get me started on Sephiroth- the man is the reason SOLDIER exists and he’s just so strong that it’s ridiculous. I challenged him once and he finally agreed after consistent begging and.. I don’t remember much but I did get hospitalized for a week so that was fun. 

 

_She ducked, the Masamune barely grazing the tips of her hair as she dodged- watching as some strands were sliced off neatly. Her heart began to pound furiously as Sephiroth turned his blade face up towards her._

 

_“Prepare yourself,” he said lowly before he brought it back and ran towards her. The last thing she saw was a flash of silver hair and the reflection of her face on his sword._

 

“And Genesis.. Genesis is just an asshole. He’ll fire his stupid fireballs at you and then when you’re done dodging them, he’ll come out of nowhere swinging with his Rapier if you’re not careful you’ll end up staining his his blade even more red than it is.. ugh.” 

 

_Fire singed the tails of her coat and she patted it off hastily, looking up through the gathering smoke to see another flash of red as Genesis emerged through it. His face in twisted content as he stood in riposte, his crimson Rapier next to his ear as he beckoned her with his finger- taunting her to attack him._

 

_“Is that all you got? Pathetic.”_

 

_“I’m not finished yet, Loveless asshole!”_

 

“But you still ended up good friends with all of them, huh?” Noctis asked. 

 

“Yeah, I suppose we did. They made staying in Midgar more doable since that mako city is nothing like Insomnia,” she flipped the map around and drew a large circle, sighing when it came out imperfect and more oval than anything. “There’s this disc- more commonly called the ‘pizza’ to all the locals. And if you stay below the pizza, it’s pretty miserable, it covers the sky and you can’t even tell if it’s day or night.” Turning the map back around, she turned to Noctis. “What’s your city like? I’ve only seen pictures.” 

 

“Uh well.. it’s a nice.. city, I guess. There’s buildings and other stuff.” Noctis ruffled his own hair. 

 

“A future king who doesn’t know his own city?” Lady laughed. “Prince of Insomnia- more like prince of amnesia!” 

 

“Hey!” Noctis pushed her gently and she let out another laugh. “Just gimme a minute, I’m thinking.”

 

“Don’t know if we have that long to wait for you to remember,” Ignis shook his head. “The Crown City is beautiful and expansive. Everything you've seen in pictures, I’m perfectly confident that’s how it is in reality.” 

 

“Wow, I want to see it one day in person,” Lady looked at the city on the map. 

 

“Ooh we should go on a road trip there one day! With the Regalia!” Prompto grinned and he looked to Noctis for approval. “It would be fun! We could show you around and show you the Citadel and the school we went to and the arcade we used to go to every weekend-“

 

“Calm down, Prom, you’re scaring her,” Noctis chuckled. “But.. it’s not a bad idea.”

 

“Okay, sounds like a plan to me!” Lady nodded, looking at Prompto- her eyes searching his face. 

 

“Uh-m,” Prompto raised an eyebrow. “Is there something on my face?” 

 

“No, sorry, you just reminded me of someone,” she gave him a sad smile before looking down at Nibelheim in the map. “You look kinda like him to be honest.”

 

“Who’s ‘him?’” 

 

“This boy I met in Nibelheim when I stayed there for awhile,” her eyes looked up past Gladio and Ignis’ heads and up at the sky, looking at the white puffs floating against the serene blue. “His name was Cloud.”

 

“And I look like him?” Prompto tilted his head. 

 

“Just a little, if he had freckles and smiled as much as you did,” she laughed. “He was kinda shy and awkward. But I found it endearing..” She released a sigh. “I think I had a crush on him.”

 

“Why didn’t you stay then if you liked him?”

 

“Because, there was another girl there named Tifa- real nice girl and pretty too. I knew she had feelings for him and he felt the same about her even if he denied it,” she smiled. “Besides that was a long time ago. You know how it is, childhood crushes are fleeting. He’s part of the reason I joined SOLDIER, he and I both bet that we could both be great a hero as Sephiroth.”

 

“What happened to him?” 

 

“Hmm.. I don’t know.. I didn’t hear from him after I ranked up. He was still just in the Shinra infantry and I thought he quit and went back to Nibelheim. I should’ve kept tabs on him,” she sighed, shutting her eyes. “Some friend I am.”

 

“Hey! So I got your drinks- oh, am I interrupting something?” Eli stopped and he looked at everyone’s somber expressions. 

 

Her eyes snapped open and she turned to the barista with a smile, “Hey! Took you long enough.”

 

“Sorry sorry, I had to wait for the rest of my coworkers to finish their orders!” He grinned sheepishly as he started handing out drinks. “And this one’s just for you.” 

 

His hand set down the mug in front of her and she looked down as the vapors of cinnamon and nutmeg wafted into her nose, sending waves of spice filled hugs through her being. In the middle of the white foam that floated on a caramel colored surface were the words ‘I’m sorry’ spelled out in cursive in light chocolate foam. She looked up at the bluenette with an amused grin, “Is this what took you so long?” 

 

“At least you got to see it before it melted away! Trust me, I probably went through four or five cups before I got it down perfect. Do you like it?” He tilted his head, his bangs moving over his left eye. 

 

“Yeah,” she looked back down at the mug, watching as the chocolate words began to drown and mix in the liquid. “I think it’s cute.”

 

“Mission accomplished then,” he laughed. “Well I should go before my manager comes out and sees me.” He looked up at the four guys, “It was nice meeting you all!”

 

“Seeya, Eli,” Lady waved to him. 

 

“You’ll come by again, right?” He stopped to ask her. 

 

“Of course, if you learn to draw a moogle on the next cappuccino,” she smirked. 

 

“I’ll start practicing now,” he gave her a quick salute with his fingers before exiting the café. 

 

“Ugh.. that guy..” Prompto groaned, his face in his hands as he shook his head; grumbling something incoherent in his palms.

 

Noctis sipped on his cup, “Damn. That’s good though. Try it Prompto.”

 

The blond begrudgingly took the cup and drank from it. Handing it back, he put his face in his hands again and cursed, “Dammit. It _is_ good!! Ughhhh.”

 

“We should get going too, almost forgot we had groceries,” Gladio inspected the inside of their bag and Ignis nodded, both of them getting up from their seats. 

 

“Wha-? Hey, Lady you coming with us?” Prompto asked her. 

 

“Let me finish with this map first,” she shooed them with a gentle smile. “I’ll be home after, don’t worry.”

 

“Seeya,” Noctis tapped her shoulder as he walked past, the guys throwing away their cans and leaving their cups on stand atop the trash can. 

 

The four exited the café and Prompto stretched his arms above his head, “It’s always a good day when we get to hang out with Lady. I hope we get to do it again soon!”

 

“Desperate much?” Gladio snickered. 

 

“There’s no way you can compete with that guy- what’s his name? Eli? And the other three that just moved in,” Noctis pushed Prompto and his friend pushed him back with a sad pout on his face. 

 

“But you heard her! I look like the guy she had a crush on!”

 

“Yeah, when she was a _kid_.”

 

“Don’t break my heart like this, man,” Prompto groaned. 

 

“She’s way outta your league,” Gladio added.

 

“Nuh-uh!” Prompto’s pout grew into that of a kicked puppy.

 

“Yuh-huh,” Noctis said as his smile grew wider. “Right, Ignis?”

 

“Hm?” The man turned to them, his hazel green eyes seeming almost in a daze. “Ah, my apologies.”

 

“What’s up, Iggy? You were pretty quiet back there, more than usual,” Gladio stopped the man, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

 

Ignis looked at all three of them before glancing back down on the ground, his finger curled against his chin as he pondered. “Those coordinates on her phone. One of them stood out to me and I’m having difficulties remembering why.”

 

“Where did you see them from?” Noctis asked.

 

Ignis looked up at Gladio and then towards a store. “I’ll need a map to confirm my suspicions.”

 

•••

 

Lady set her pen down, her hand throbbing as she held it close to her chest to stretch it. Eyes looking over the series of dots she laid across the map, looking as it zig-zagged through mountains and crossed ravines and through thick forests. What confused her the most, was the fact that it headed towards Midgar then to Insomnia then.. 

 

Her eyes looked as the path of dots seemed to turn right around in an almost hasty fashion and right towards.. 

 

Fingers traced the dots until it was inches away from the city she stayed in now. Like it was a last minute decision to turn towards their destination. 

 

“Why,” she mumbled to herself as she looked at the most recent dot she plotted. It was the last coordinate available on her phone and it was placed inches away from she was on the map. 

 

_Coordinates, to what? To who? And why is it zigzagging everywhere like this?_

 

“Umm excuse me, are you using these chairs?” 

 

Her daze was broken as she looked up to see a group of girls point to the chairs besides her. Lady shook her head and smiled, “No, I’m not, you guys can use this table. I was just about to leave.”

 

Gathering her items, she folded the map to where she could only see the portion where she marked last. Holding her bag tightly, she walked down the sidewalks- turning and twisting on the familiar road that lead back to Alstroemeria.

 

_How recent is this? What can be moving with such mobility?_

 

She turned the corner and kept walking, she soon heard gulls squawking- alerting her proximity to the ocean. 

 

_Is it Vincent? No, he was unconscious.._

 

Sighing, she put the map down by her side and looked up towards the sky. 

 

“Oh astrals. Send some help, this is getting too confusing,” she said aloud. “A sign, anything!”

 

“Oi, lass,” came a voice with a strong accent from some unknown origin from a faraway place. 

 

Lady whipped around, looking around with a confused expression. Left and right, she saw no one and shook her head. “Weird.”

 

“You blind, lass?! Down here!” 

 

Lady looked down and her eyebrows knitted together when she saw a doll- a moving doll at that. It was a plush black and white cat that stood about three feet off the ground with adorable white gloves and brown boots; a mini red cape was tied around its neck and a small crown rested between it’s black pointed furry ears. 

 

“Um. Hi?” she looked around to see if this was a prank.

 

“Don’t you know me?” The cat put its paws at its hips. It looked.. upset. It’s slanted eyes downturned along with it’s eyebrows. 

 

“Uh, I hope not.” _Should I be concerned?_

 

The cat jumped up to gain her attention. “It’s me! Reeve!”

 

“Reeve? Don’t know a Reeve.”

 

“Yes you do! Y’know.. Reeve from Shinra!”

 

Lady made a face as if she tasted something sour, racking her head. _Reeve.. Reeve…. Oh!_

 

“Director Reeve Tuesti from Urban Development?”

 

“Correct-o, lass!” He reached into what she assumed was his pocket in his suit and watched in dismay as the cat flung confetti at her. The red and pink glitter stars hanging onto pieces of her hair as she looked down at the plush cat with an unhinged twitch of her eye. _Um, what the fuck._

“You’re.. a cat?” 

 

“More or less! While I’m wearing this, just call me Cait Sith!” The cat bowed. “Dunnae want any Shinra spies finding out ‘bout my hobbies hmm??”

 

“Why are you _talking_ like that?”

 

“Hmm? Like what?” The cat’s ears twitched. 

 

“You know what, never mind. What do you want?”

 

“Lazard and Gast sent me!”

 

Lady squatted down till she was almost eye level with the small thing. “What’s your reason to help them?”

 

“Look, I’m not the only one who realized Shinra is a shabby place to work for. I’m doing what I can to help set things right. So, they sent me so you can stop trying to sneak in the building.” Cait Sith grinned, baring his tiny fangs as it looked up triumphantly at her.

 

She couldn’t resist. She picked up the plush doll and held him out in her arms, her hands feeling the synthetic fur and finding it to be pleasantly soft. “Ahh you’re so cute! If only every Shinra director looked like you.”

 

“This is only a remote controlled doll, lassie. Don’t get your hopes up!” He jumped out of her grasp and leapt onto her shoulder, using her hair to steady himself. “A little birdie told me you went snoopin’ around the Shinra mansion basement, eh?”

 

Lady nodded, reaching into her bag and pulling out the map to display for him. “I found this device that held coordinates. So far this is all of them plotted down, I don’t know what it’s tracking though.”

 

Cait Sith perched himself atop her head as he looked up and down at the zigzagging plots. “I’ll let Lazard know and see what he makes of this. In the meantime.. let me stay with you!”

 

“Ugh, don’t you have to go back?”

 

“I’m just controlling this doll from afar, I can shut down whenever I want to and plus I can update you faster if I’m just with you. Come on, don’t be mean, pleasseeee?”

 

“Okay okay, fine! Geez..” she sighed as she stuffed the map back in her bag. “You gonna ride my shoulder the whole time?”

 

“Yep!” Cait Sith said, enthused- his whiskers ruffling in the wind. “Let’s get goin’ then.”

 

Lady groaned, but didn’t force him off as she continued walking back to the Alstroemeria. The gulls getting louder with each step she took.

 

“So, Cait, what do you know about Vincent Valentine?”

 

“Err heard the man was a Turk and was assigned to protect doctor Crescent long ago. ‘Twas before my time, he should be older than me by at least twenty-five years.”

 

“He barely looked over twenty when I saw him. Real young.”

 

“You saw ‘im?!”

 

“Ugh, no. Let me explain everything.”

 

And so she did, telling him whatever bits of information she knew while he listened. His ears twitching and his whiskers tickling the side of her cheek as they both went home. 

 

•••

 

Cait Sith let out an excited purr when he looked around the Alstroemeria still perched on her shoulder. Lady sighed as she walked down the cobblestone path towards the central courtyard to see Roxas and Xion sitting down with Sora in the gazebo. She approached them, “Hey keyblade kiddos, what’s up?”

 

“Hey Lady!” Sora waved at her, that same old enthusiastic smile ever present on her face. A part of her wanted to ask how he managed to look so happy all of the time. 

 

“Hi there.” Xion looked up at her shyly.

 

“Nothing much, just hangin’ around,” Roxas stretched his arms and looked at Cait Sith. “What’s with the doll?”

 

“I’m her new business partner, lad,” Cait Sith jumped down on the table in front of them, his paws on his hips. “Yer lookin’ at your new landlord!”

 

The cat let out a hiss as Lady picked him up by the scruff as she shook him. “Hey I never said that! Take it back or else I’ll kick you out!”

 

“I was kidding,” the cat screeched as he was shook around. “Is a joke! A joke! Don’t kick me out!”

 

She stopped shaking him and looked at him with a frown, her other hand on her hip. “Something tells me you’ll be a handful.”

 

“Don’t be like that, lassie. Just havin’ a pinch ‘o fun!” He grinned, putting his paws together in a praying motion. “I’ll be a good boy.” 

 

“Better be..” she muttered, her eyes squinting as she set the cat back down on the table. 

 

“Aww, he’s adorable!” Xion grinned at the cat, perching her face in both of her hands. “We can keep him, right Lady?”

 

“Yeah, if he behaves,” the landlady sighed. “Will you guys watch him for me while I’m gone?”

 

“You bet!” Roxas and Sora both saluted her as the latter tried picking off the crown off Cait Sith’s head. “Oh wow, it’s stuck on there.”

 

“Don’t touch my jewelry,” Cait Sith hissed as he smacked Sora’s hand away. “Only admire it from afar!”

 

“Hey Xion, where’s Zexion?” Lady asked the young girl.

 

“Umm, I think he’s in his room working on something. The others are in Axel’s apartment,” she responded. 

 

“Can’t imagine they’re up to anything good,” Lady muttered under her breath. “Thanks Xion.”

 

She left the three with Cait Sith gallantly jumping around on the table much to their giddy merriment.

 

Jogging up the stairs two steps at a time, she stopped at Zexion’s apartment door- _well technically it was also Xigbar’s and Demyx’s._ Giving the door a slight rap, she heard footsteps on the other side and the lock sliding before it opened to reveal Zexion.

 

“Lady!” He grinned.

 

“Heya, I bought the tea,” she raised her plastic bag. “May I come in?”

 

His head turned towards the living room with a nervous noise escaping his mouth but he finally opened the door wide enough for her to enter. Taking her shoes off at the front, she saw that papers were scattered all over the hardwood floor; some detailing notes, others containing random doodles, and many had sheet music drawn on in multiple melodies. 

 

“I apologize for the mess,” Zexion sighed. “Xigbar and Demyx are.. difficult to negotiate with at times.”

 

“I can talk to them if you want,” Lady followed him into the kitchen, pleased to see it was cleaner than the living room. “Axel’s room was a mess when he first moved in. After I talked to him, there’s rarely a shirt out of place now.”

 

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” he took two mugs down along with a kettle. “But I _would_ appreciate that.. I hate living in dissaray. It feels as if it clutters my mind.”

 

“I can relate,” she smiled, beginning to mix the loose tea together after eyeballing the portions. Wrapping it up in a small translucent green leaf and tying it with string made with rye, she set the two bags in the mugs. “Don’t worry, I’ll let them know.”

 

“Thank you. So, what did you think of what I sent you earlier? I assumed they were coordinates but I wanted to be sure.”

 

“You were right to assume so,” she leaned back against the counter, taking the map out of the bag and unfolding it for him to see. “Look, I already plotted it out but look at the way it’s moving around.”

 

Zexion took the map from her and his eyes scanned the regions, “Peculiar.. almost as if it was an animated lifeform traveling.”

 

“Right? I assumed a base would be at a single location, not traveling across countries at that pace.” She took her phone out and took a quick picture of the map, sending it to Lazard. 

 

Lady: Take a look at this, pretty please. 

 

“Oh! Hey do you have a pen?” She asked him and he took one out of his chest pocket, handing it to her and watched as she took the map back and flipping it over to the blank side. Drawing a sloppy illustration of the logo she saw on the armed men that took Vincent. She pointed at it with the end of the pen. “See this? This logo was on the armor of those who came into the mansion.”

 

She took another picture, making sure the wings of the dragon were in frame before snapping it and sending it to Lazard. 

 

Lady: -attachment sent- this too. It was red and their armor was black and white. Sound familiar, dear director?

 

“I.. I would have to research this some more. Unfortunately-” he cut himself off, averting his gaze. 

 

“Unfortunately we don’t have much to go on,” she finished for him. “It’s okay. I’m just really frustrated. I sent the plots to a friend so hopefully he can help us out.. but in the meantime.”

 

The kettle began letting out a pillar of steam and she poured the water into the mugs, watching as the clear liquid started diffusing into a shade of dark forest green. Taking the mugs into her hands, she looked at him, “Where’s your room?”

 

“Um, r-right this way,” he walked past her and headed down the hall, stopping at a door to his left and she nodded at him as she entered. 

 

His room was tidy, of course, the only thing remotely cluttered was his desk where he tinkered with items of different origins- some organic and some mechanical. His bed was made neatly and the only color on it was a simple blue bed sheet that popped on the otherwise white bed. Other than that, there wasn’t much in his room besides his nightstand, closet door, and the large bookshelf that stood near his desk and the window that had an ocean view as well as the courtyard. 

 

“Oh, I apologize for the mess,” he chuckled nervously as he rushed over to his desk and began clearing up the items and dumping them into a drawer. 

 

“Trust me, this isn’t a mess,” she laughed, her head jerking back towards the living room. “ _That_ was a mess, not this.”

 

“I suppose,” he cleared his throat. “Ah, would you like a seat- ah!” As he pulled the chair in front of him and tried pushing it towards her, he bumped against the leg and stumbled slightly. “S-sorry!”

 

Lady set the mugs down on his nightstand and helped him move the chair towards the side of the bed. She looked back at him and gave him a once over, “Is this normally what you sleep in?” 

 

“Yes,” he nodded.

 

“Then get in bed,” she motioned for him to climb in. 

 

She tilted her head when he hesitated, his lips parting modestly as he spoke. “Are we- what are we doing?”

 

“I’m helping you go to sleep,” she raised her left eyebrow with an amused smile. “Come on.”

 

“Right,” he muttered as he climbed in, his face growing redder as he laid his head back slowly against the headframe and she handed him the mug. The warmth permeating through his fingers as well as the strong leafy aroma of the tea. 

 

She sipped her tea with her eyes closed, her left eye opening as she looked at him. He took her cue and brought the mug close to his face, inhaling the scents which were now stronger. When his eyes closed, he felt as if he was transported to a lush forest meadow filled with fragrant flowers that lulled him to a peaceful mood.

 

“You like it?”

 

His eyes opened to see a soft smile on her face as he nodded. “It’s delicious. How did you learn to make this?”

 

Lady set her mug down in her lap, cupping it with both hands as she spoke. “Back in Midgar, when I was still employed under Shinra, there was a hospital floor with a trauma unit to help other soldiers recover.. it was pretty gruesome. Ever heard of the Wutai War?”

 

“Wutai? That isolated nation of ninja warriors? I heard most of them are extinct and that they were subjugated. Now they’ve relinquished their nation to Shinra, correct?” 

 

“Not by choice,” she grimaced. “It was really bad, Wutai gave their best to fight against us. But Shinra’s numbers and resources are inexhaustible.. I fought for them. For Shinra. And I took lives for a cause I used to believe in.” She shut her eyes, “Most of the friends I made were slaughtered, some survived but only barely and they were sent to the intensive care unit where I visited them but it was mostly at night after I was done with my missions. When I found them, they were tossing and turning- they couldn’t sleep.”

 

Zexion’s eyes watched as Lady shifted in her seat, her face filled with old pains. 

 

“Since it’s rare to find even a blade of grass in Midgar, I tried to recreate a meadowy type of drink.. if that makes sense. Just something to help them relax,” a small smile appeared on her face. “I remember making the tea leaves before heading there and they said that it helped make the nightmares go away. It made me happy.”

 

“So,” she raised the mug towards him in a toast. “Here’s hoping it works on you too.”

 

He raised his mug, clinking it against hers before taking another sip. “I do feel more relaxed.. but how do you know it wasn’t the tea but your presence that helped them?”

 

“Dunno,” her eyes glazed over, a hollow smile present on her lips. “Never got to ask them.. they..”

 

She shook her head and downed her drink, setting the empty mug down on his nightstand. “Tell me, do you feel sleepy yet?”

 

“Maybe a little.”

 

“Shall I tell you another story? A better story with a happy ending?”

 

“That method is for children,” he let out a light chuckle. 

 

“It’s effective on adults too,” she pouted. “I fall asleep to stories all the time!”

 

“What’s the story about then?” 

 

“Hmm.. what about the one about the princess and the tonberry?” 

 

“Isn’t it supposed to be a toad?” Zexion looked confused. 

 

“Yeah, but tonberries are cuter! Just hush and sit back, will ya? Finish your tea too!” She urged him, bringing the cup up to his lips as he obediently drank. 

 

“Okay.. so it all started in a kingdom far away that lived in peace. There was a beautiful princess that lived with her loving father and mother...”

 

•••

 

“... and when she opened her eyes, the tonberry she kissed turned into a handsome prince that was from a neighboring kingdom! They soon told everything they wanted to say and after finding out more about each other, they both fell in love and married.. whatcha think?” Lady turned from the window and back towards him. “Zexion?”

 

He responded with a light snore and a huge smile appeared on her face. Reaching over and carefully taking the mug from his hands, she set it on the nightstand. She took his body and slowly laid him out flat, moving his hair from his face, and tucking the sheets over his shoulders. Getting up, she quietly moved the seat back to the desk and took a pen and paper from it. 

 

Writing a note, she left it on the nightstand where he could see it as soon as he woke up. Taking the mugs and tiptoeing out of the room, she pulled the door close with her foot. Walking to the kitchen and washing the mugs to leave them drying on the rack, she took her stuff and exited the apartment-making her way towards her own. 

 

She was stopped when her phone’s text tone sounded off, taking it out and looking at the message she sighed in relief. 

 

Lazard: Won’t be long. Give me a bit and I’ll see what I can dig up. Nice drawing by the way, a bit sloppy thought but not totally illegible.

 

Lady shook her head in disbelief, a sly smile on her face as she entered her apartment and the smile falter when she saw Angeal look up at her from the couch. His arm slung over the top of the pillows as he leaned back casually, his dark blue eyes observing her as she took off her shoes at the front. 

 

“Hey,” she greeted him simply as she passed him on the couch, tossing her bag on the kitchen counter before heading back and taking a seat adjacent from him. 

 

“Hey.” He responded, the silence alone feeling as thick as murky water in a swamp.

 

“Angeal-“

 

“I know what Genesis did..” he sighed. “He told me last night. As well as Sephiroth.”

 

Lady gripped her arm, her nails digging into her skin as she bit the inside of her cheek. “I.. see. Do you all..?”

 

“Yeah, we know,” he said and Lady dug her nails deeper into her arm. 

 

“Ah,” she shut her eyes tight. “Angeal..” 

 

“  _Don’t_.” 

 

Lady flinched at his tone. She didn’t dare look over at him as she swore she could have felt the palpable rage that rested beneath the calmness of his demeanor. She swallowed, feeling as if the saliva in her mouth solidified and couldn’t melt down her throat like it did every other moment- just not this time. 

 

“This changes nothing,” Lady whispered harshly. “I’ll still fight to protect you. All three of you. Even if you hate me.”

 

“I don’t hate you.” 

 

“You’re mad.”

 

“How can I not be?” He growled. “I-“ 

 

“I love you,” she said, her voice cracking at the last word as she looked to the side and sniffed. “I love you, Angeal.”

 

From her peripheral vision, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees; putting his face in his hands as he shook his head. “I love you too.. more than anything.”

 

She shut her eyes and inhaled, a shaky breath. Cloth rustled against the leather couch and she felt hands take her face tenderly. Opening her eyes, she watched as her eyes met his. Her hands reaching up to his as their foreheads touched. 

 

“I want to take you away,” he said and she wasn’t sure if he was addressing her.. or himself. “I don’t want anyone else taking you away.”

 

“I’m not going anywhere, Angeal. I’m right here in front of you.”

 

“And Genesis.. Sephiroth?”

 

Lady swallowed again, trying to avoid clamping down tighter over his hands. _I don’t want to be the reason you all start to hate each other._

 

And before she could stop herself, she let the words slip. “I never should’ve let myself get involved with any of you.” 

 

The hands on her face loosened in grip. “Do you regret it..”

 

“I don’t.. I can’t be the reason we break apart. You three need each other.”

 

“But-“

 

_I’m sorry._

 

“If I choose one,” she said through gritted teeth, feeling as if a knife had gutted her and it slowly made its way slicing up towards her heart. “The other two will be hurt..”

 

_I’m so sorry._

 

“So I don’t want to choose at all. You deserve a better woman, Angeal. All three of you do.”

 

The hands slipped off her face, leaving a coldness in place of the warmth and she didn’t dare look up at him; afraid that his blue eyes would be the catalyst that shattered the rest of her heart.

 

He inhaled and exhaled heavily, sitting back. Seconds passed when she heard him get up and she looked up to see him stop at the door. His head turning slightly towards her and she got up, her lips forming his name in a broken cry. 

 

“Angeal..!”

 

The only response was the door slamming shut and Lady held herself, a hand on her hip with the other covering her mouth to try and stifle the sob that escaped. She paced back and forth in front of the couch; trying to control the hot tears that formed in her eyes. She looked up at the ceiling to try and stop the tears from running down her face. 

 

Her rushing thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing and she answered right away. 

 

“H-hello?” She said shakily. 

 

“Lady, it’s Lazard- are you okay?” 

 

“I-,” she held the phone away from her face and wiped the tears, sniffing, and bringing the phone back. “I-I’m fine! What’s up?”

 

“About the attachments you sent me..”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Well, they’re...” she heard him inhale heavily before continuing. 

 

•••

 

“I see. Thank you,” Ignis hung up with a click and took off his glasses, massaging his eyes before putting them back on. The map in front of him was only marked with one dot of the only coordinate that stood out to him earlier. 

 

“What’s up Iggy?” Gladio sat down on the couch near him, looking down at the diagram. 

 

“Who did you call?” Noctis took a seat across from Ignis and Prompto jumped over the top of the couch to plop down right next to him. 

 

“That was the Marshal,” Ignis slid the map closer to the center of the table. 

 

“Cor? Why?” Noctis leaned back with his right leg crossed over his left. 

 

“I asked him if there was anything we should be concerned about when we came to this city. At first there was nothing.. but,” he looked down at the plot point. “I was sent reports of an approaching threat to make sure we were amply prepared if need be, unfortunately I didn’t know it would be so imminent.”

 

“Spit it out, specs. What is it?” The prince now leaned forward, a confused frown on his face. 

 

“There’s a sizeable Niflheim base approaching the city at an alarming rate.”

 

•••

 

Lady let out a breath that she held in. “I see. Thank you, Lazard.”

 

“..Will you go investigate?”

 

“Yes. The logo is the one I saw on the chest armor, correct? The ones who took Vincent? If it is, then they most likely have him held in there.”

 

“I’m afraid so. The emblem of the Niflheim empire… Lady, I can arrange for one or two of those three to go with you-“

 

“No-!” She shook her head, looking over at the front door where Angeal took his exit. Shutting her eyes and recollecting herself. “I’ll prepare and go alone. Goodbye, director.”

 

She hung up the phone and sat back down on the couch, her face in her hands, her back heaved as she shook; only the sounds of her choked and muffled sobs echoing in the empty apartment.


	30. XXX

It was dark when Lady set out from the Alstroemeria, the hood of her jacket pulled down towards the tip of her nose as she stuffed her fists in it’s wooly pockets to try and stave off the excruciating early morning chill. She didn’t sleep. She _couldn’t_ sleep. Countless minutes she spent sitting on her bed with her back touching the wall where she knew the other three stayed just beyond the sheeted concrete partition walls that separated the apartments. Half of her time was also spent scrutinizing over maps and reviewing routes towards the Imperial base she planned to infiltrate in the midst of pacing in her room, her eyes always glancing at the wall- wondering if they were getting good sleep. Even then, she was concerned about their health and her promise would stay unbroken despite their feelings were towards her now. 

 

_I’ll protect you, damn it._

 

She jumped onto a scaffold of another building, hoisting herself up the emergency stairs that hung on the side of the brick-and-mortar establishment. Climbing up until she got to the top where she could see the tall expanse of the Shinra building in front of her. Most of the building was glass with metal pipes going up and around the building to provide it with mako energy, hence the slight green glow that it gave off- almost as if it was a lunar moth. It was pretty to look at from afar, she admitted, but only from afar. 

 

It looked nothing like the building from Midgar, this one was more modern, clean even. If it wasn’t for the mako pipes and the large obnoxious Shinra logo on the front of the building, she would’ve assumed it was a luxury resort. Her eyes scanned the sides where the balconies were, leading to some of the director’s offices; pleased to see that Lazard’s office light was still on. Hoisting her backpack up on her shoulders, she bent her knees slightly; launching herself forward on one foot across the tops of buildings. The building momentum of her jumps launched her forward more as she landed on the final building of her ascension until she bent her knees until her butt touched down on her shins then she finally jumped up. Winds of white and dark blue swirled under her feet and lifted her up in the air. 

 

Closing her eyes, she held onto the strap of her backpack with one hand as she did a front flip mid-air. She continued ascending until Lazard’s balcony was eye-level and the winds guided her body towards until she landed softly on the floor with her tiptoes. Looking up, she was met with soft blue eyes that were encircled with dark bags from sleepless nights. 

 

“Lady,” he greeted her. 

 

“Lazard,” she let the backpack slide down her arm until it fell to her wrist then she caught it with her hand. Balancing the bottom on her knee, she unzipped the bag and took out two mugs and a thermos. “You need to rest too, you know?”

 

“I will,” he took his glasses off, rubbing at his eyes and setting he spectacles on the desk near his open laptop. “Just.. after this bit of work.” 

 

Lady took her seat on the open space of the desk near his laptop, a space he would now leave clear in anticipation of her visits. She set the thermos on the table and looked at him, “Is all of your work saved and backed up?”

 

“Yes, why-“

 

She reached over and closed the laptop, setting the empty mug atop of it and raised an eyebrow at him; as if daring him to open it again. She smiled when he leaned back in his chair and she happily poured him the hot drink from the thermos. 

 

“What’s this? It’s not coffee,” he almost pouted. Almost. 

 

“It’s tea, director. You can’t just ingest coffee all of the time,” she scoffed as she handed it to him and he took it from her. 

 

“I’ve gone this long doing so,” he muttered as he sipped the drink. “This is actually quite good, onto business then?” 

 

“Thank you,” she raised her mug up at him before also taking a drink. “Yes, I’m planning on leaving later on today. I just need to see if there’s any shops that can sell me some basic armor and weapons. I’ve already got a pack filled with curative, all I really need is transportation. I’m assuming I can’t just carry Vincent on my back all the way here.. considering the fact that he might actually be there.”

 

“If the empire is one thing, they’re pragmatic. They won’t waste time with endeavors that won’t benefit them, trust me.”

 

“Why do you think they’re coming here?”

 

“That’s what concerns me,” Lazard looked up at her and she could see the indentations of where his glasses used to rest on his face. “It’s something I’ll have to look into. Carefully, of course.”

 

“By the way,” he scooted his chair back and got up, walking over to a chest and opening it. Reaching inside and taking out two black metal lockboxes with the Shinra logo engraved neatly on the bottom left, barely visible against the dark grey monogram; one was long and thin while the other was fitted in the traditional suitcase shape. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about armor or weapons.”

 

“New toys? For me?” She couldn’t help the growing smile on her face, the excitement of new equipment was always something she looked forward to. 

 

“These were made for you a long time ago, before you- you know. I was asked to store them for future use in the unlikely events that you would be re-employed.”

 

“Heh, unlikely indeed,” her fingertips ran against the smooth cool exterior and opened the clasps of the long box. Eyes widening and her lips growing more into a grin as she took out the sword and held it up so she can examine it closer. The silver blade extended about forty-five inches in length and three inches in width; the sharpened edge was curved slightly with the blunt side having a vein of glowing green mako embedded into it. The hilt was wrapped in deep purple ribbons mixed in with black indented metal to form a better grip. It was shorter than Sephiroth’s and Angeal’s sword and certainly less flashy than Genesis’, but she preferred it that way. The hidden blade was always the deadliest one anyhow. 

 

“The mako in here.. is it fully fused with the sword?” She asked him as she gripped it and gave it a few swings. Lightweight. Good. 

 

“It was forged with the heat of Sector 8’s reactor back in Midgar, the whole blade is infused with its energy. But it can be charged up and taken out for your own personal use if need be.” 

 

Lady put the sword back in the case and opened the other one, revealing a black leather outfit fitted inside. Taking it out, she was pleased that the standard SOLDIER turtleneck wasn’t present and it came with a coat, pants, and what seemed to be a loose corset-style bodice along with other stylized accessories designed for her. “Nice to see that they finally gave me an outfit worthy for 1st Class.”

 

He laughed. “You didn’t like our standard uniform?”

 

“No, they’re itchy,” she scowled. “I always envied Genesis and Sephiroth’s outfit.” Her eyes began to glaze over, “Angeal never cared about what he wore, just that he wanted to get the job done right.” She sighed as she folded the coat back in and shut the case.

 

“There’s just the matter of transportation.” 

 

“I’ll see about a rental.. or something. I don’t know, I’ll figure it out later.”

 

“You told me to get sleep, but did _you_?”

 

Lady waved away his concern and tried stuffing the suitcase of her clothes inside backpack while carrying the one holding the sword under her arm. 

 

“Do you have materia with you?”

 

“Just some, why?”

 

“You might need it, I know the empire managed to make machines that can inhibit king Regis’ magic.”

 

“But it only works on their little magic crystal, no? Not regular magic?”

 

“Do you really want to take that chance?”

 

Lady sighed, closing her eyes, “You’re right. Better start preparing again then.”

 

Stepping out onto the balcony, she gave him a tiny smile, “Get some sleep, I’ve got some work to do.” With that Lazard watched as she disappeared into the darkness.

 

•••

 

Cait Sith hopped around the courtyard until he stopped when he spotted people crowding the gazebo, all of them with serious looks on their faces. He approached, his little boots hitting the stone as their voices got louder. 

 

“Are you sure?” Zexion narrowed his eyes. “Could your information perhaps be mistaken..?”

 

Ignis mirrored his expression, his voice calm as he explained. “No, we’re sure. We need to go and-“

 

“But that’ll be asking for a war,” Genesis scoffed, his eyes bloodshot around the edges and his hair was unusually disheveled. He looked on edge. 

 

“They already started a war with them though,” Xigbar pointed at the two Lucians and then at Genesis. “And with you guys right? Didn’t they attack you at one point?”

 

“True, we didn’t think anything would come of it though,” Angeal muttered, his eyes were accentuated by the dark bags under them and his face carried a more somber tone than his usual nonchalant-ness. 

 

Gladiolus shook his head, “Should’ve known it couldn’t be this peaceful for long.” His amber eyes looked up, “But no matter what, we gotta go get rid of the problem. For Noct.” He looked at Ignis. 

 

The tactician nodded, “For his highness.”

 

“So where you lads going?” Cait Sith hopped up on the table, looking down at the map under its booted feet. “Ahhh. Interesting.”

 

“Know something?” Zexion asked the little animatronic and it only shook its head. 

 

“It’s an imperial base, right? Niflheim?” Cait Sith looked around for approval on his answer. 

 

“Yes. Anything else to add?” Ignis asked. 

 

Cait Sith circles the large dot on the map, tapping his foot against the paper until he raised a finger with an excited grin. “Looks like the base that our landlady’s went off to!” Right when he said that, his gloved hands came up to cover his mouth and the men around him looked at him with growing anger. “Oops, should’nae have said that! Right-o, lads, best be on my way-!”

 

A hand swiftly snatched him up by the scruff of his neck and he struggled against the iron grip. His slanted eyes looking up at one very pissed off Angeal. 

 

“Say. That. Again,” he ordered the cat.

 

“I-I dunno much, just that she was asking for help on finding it-!” Cait Sith pleaded and Xigbar walked over to snatch him, holding him in front in a similar fashion. 

 

“Look kitty, if you know something we don’t know, best spit it out now or you can kiss that crown and boots goodbye,” Xigbar frowned.

 

“That’s all I know, I swear by it!!”

 

“We’re wasting time,” Ignis took the cat from Xigbar and dropped him on the table, surrounded by all of them as he interrogated. “Is she still here?”

 

“No no no, she left early this morning but maybe she came back??” Cait Sith pointed up at her apartment door and Gladio took the lead as he bounded up the rounded stairway leading towards her apartment door. Knocking on it heavily, not even seconds went by when he knocked again with more urgency. 

 

Genesis pushed him aside and dug in his pocket, taking out a key and shoving it in the doorknob. Behind him, Angeal frowned, “Why do you have a key still?” 

 

The auburn haired man ignored his friend’s inquiry and unlocked the door, opening it wide for everyone to come through. Xigbar stepped in between and his watchful eye made note of the various files strewn around the floor. Her bedroom door was left wide open and he frowned when he noticed the bed was carefully made up yet its surroundings were messier; clothes thrown about, drawers left open, and a bag was unzipped on the floor with various items tossed in carelessly.

 

“She left in a hurry,” Xigbar reported back to them. 

 

“ _Shit_.” Angeal cursed, massaging his eyes and letting his hand slide down his face as he looked at all the evidence in disbelief. Gladio shut his eyes, his head leaning back as he let out an exasperated sigh. 

 

“Let’s calm ourselves,” Ignis uttered in a hushed tone.

 

Zexion nodded in agreement, “It’s not like her to leave in such a disarray, maybe she’ll be back.”

 

Xigbar wandered over to the coffee table where she marked a point on the map with a large black x. His head tilting, he whistled to Zexion. “I’ve got an idea.”

 

“Spit it out then,” said Genesis.”

 

“Calm down, pretty boy,” Xigbar tutted at him as he grabbed the map off the table; his one eye looking up at Zexion. “She should still have that recusant’s sigil on her neck right?”

 

“Possibly, I forgot that she even had it still,” Zexion confessed. 

 

“She probably did too,” Xigbar muttered as he lay the map flat down in his hands. “Good ol’ Xemmy uses those sigils to track us down, ya know?”

 

“If so,” Zexion scoffed. “Only the Superio-“ He shook his head. “Only Xemnas would know how to, right?”

 

“Did you forget who was number two and his right hand man?” Xigbar rolled his eye and pointed at himself with a thumb. “This guy. And yeah, he does, _buuut_ I know how to do it too- only within certain boundaries.”

 

His hand raised over the map. “If she’s in the city still, she’ll pop up on this map. If not.. well it’ll be obvious.”

 

Slowly, a curved silver x appeared on the map and rose above a spot where two intersections met. The x started to float in place and spin, giving off a pulse of light that hovered millimeters from the paper’s surface. “There you are, princess.” Xigbar said with a smile. “Looks like she hasn’t skipped town yet.”

 

“But she will,” Genesis crossed his arms, a sour look marring his face.“Sooner or later. She’ll just up and leave without telling us.”

 

Xigbar poked at the silver x and they watched as it expanded bigger into a sphere of light with a black center. The darkness defused and revealed Lady sitting down at a table, her head was down and resting on her arms. A backpack was in the seat in front of her and two suitcases rested on the chair as well. 

 

“Where is that?” Angeal squinted. 

 

Her head raised up slightly, revealing a worn out face as she sat up straight and gave a weary smile. A man with blue hair set a coffee cup down in front of her and slid a muffin her way. Lady reached across the table and moved the backpack to another chair, allowing him to sit 

down in it. Raising the cup to her lips, she drank, a warm look on her face when she spoke to the man. 

 

“Who is that again? Elliot or whatever?” Genesis growled. 

 

“Helios or rather, Eli. The barista at Stardrop Café,” Ignis sighed, motioning Xigbar to finish his spying. 

 

“So let’s say she comes back, then what? Try and convince her not to go?” Gladio asked the group.

 

“Hah, as if,” Xigbar let out an amused snort. “You really think that would stop her? That’d be like telling the sun where not to shine.”

 

“How about offering to accompany her? You four are going there anyways,” Zexion offered and Ignis and Genesis shook their heads. “She would just find a way to sneak off or make up an excuse. The last thing she’d want is to put you in the line of danger.”

 

“And what? She thinks sneaking into an imperial base isn’t dangerous? What’s even her reason for going?” Gladio countered. 

 

They all turned to the door to see Cait Sith’s ears perk as he entered the room. “Isn’t this a bit much? You all can’t really think she would do that by herself- I mean, is she that reckless?”

 

“Yes.” Came a united reply. 

 

“We’ve no choice then,” said Ignis. 

 

“What do you have in mind?” Angeal turned to him. 

 

“We must outsmart our landlady. We need to prepare for the trip ahead to make sure we’re better equipped for the empire’s forces. She just needs to stay here till tomorrow then we can leave.”

 

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Genesis looked at him, his eyebrow quirking in irritation. 

 

“I’m sure you can think of something,” Ignis replied to him. 

 

•••

 

“I’m sorry, how did you like your coffee again?” Eli pushed a cup towards Lady and she sipped the remains of her drink.

 

“Bit sweet, bit dark. Kinda in the middle,” she smiled, drumming her finger against the side. Looking up at the dying orange sky, she sighed. “I gotta go soon.” 

 

“You sure you don’t want me walking you home? I’m about to clock out anyways.”

 

“No, you must be tired after your shift. Just go home, I’ll be fine.”

 

Eli looked at her with worry and she couldn’t help but smile at his expression. 

 

“I’m a big girl, don’t worry. It’s not a big deal,” she assured him. 

 

“Okay,” he sighed in defeat, getting up from the chair and walking away. She watched as he stopped, turned on his heels and crossed his arms at her. “But you better send me a text to let me know you made it home, okay?”

 

“Yes sir,” she winked and he gave her a satisfied nod, taking her empty cup and returning back to the store. 

 

Gathering her things, she swung the backpack over her side and looked at her phone. Her thumb scrolling through missed calls and texts as well as notifications from the group messenger. She sent a quick message to Lazard. 

 

Lady: Couldn’t find a decent ride today. I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

Honestly, she didn’t even try to find one. Her mind was clouded with depressing thoughts along with the missing pieces of the mystery that surrounded her. It was infuriating- also, she was just exhausted.

 

She took her sweet time walking back to the Alstroemeria, sitting down on an available bench whenever she saw one to avoid coming home too early. She waited fifteen minutes at each bench before moving on, watching as the sky darkened to a deep indigo. 

 

_Let’s hope no one’s up._

 

The iron gates soon came into view and she looked to see if any lights were on in the windows. None were. Instead of opening up the gates, she hoisted herself up on the wall and catapulted herself over it. Landing on her feet softly, she cursed when she almost dropped the case carrying her sword. Her steps were feline-like and walked carefully, heel to toe, to ensure she made as less noise as possible. It was quiet- almost _too_ quiet. At this time, she would usually see someone up and about or one of the boys yelling at someone about something. But then again, all of the apartments had a charm placed on them to reduce noise. Tenants who snored too much or played music too loud or just were disturbing the peace in general lead Lady to place that spell on each room. For everyone else’s sanity and hers. 

 

Walking up the stairs, she took out her key from a carabine. Placing the tip against the knob and jabbing it softly until she found the keyhole, turning it she opened and was greeted by complete darkness in her apartment. She released a heavy sigh when she closed the door behind her and took off her shoes. Squinting hard, her eyes adjusted to the darkness slowly as she walked over to where her room was. She only stopped when she heard a voice that made her jump. 

 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

 

Lady flinched. She recognized that voice. Whipping around, she swallowed when she saw three sets of mako-infused eyes that peered at her; the glow piercing through the darkness and she slapped herself mentally for not noticing them earlier. 

 

“I- um,” she started, whatever lie she began to spin in her head quickly became unraveled as she struggled to put a new one together. “I went out for some stuff- what are you doing here?”

 

“Why don’t you sit down? Come chat with us,” Genesis pointed at the couch in front of him. 

 

“I really shouldn’t, I’m actually really tired and-“

 

“I _insist.”_ He said, much more firmer this time and she frowned. Walking over to the couch, she set her stuff down and sat on the cushion. To her far left was Sephiroth who didn’t say a word as she adjusted herself on the seat. His silence cutting through her harder than his sword. She looked up to Angeal who didn’t even bother looking at her after she sat down, he only played around with the empty cup in his hands. 

 

On the table in front of her, she counted one.. two.. three empty bottles of wine and one that was still filled with a little that was taken from her private collection. Noting the fact that there were also empty glasses either in their hands or on the table in front of them.

 

“Have you been drinking?” Lady frowned. 

 

“So what if we did?” Angeal finally spoke, but he still refused to look at her. “What’s yours is ours too, right?”

 

“Want the last sip?” Genesis gestured to the bottle on the table. 

 

“No thanks,” she muttered. “Why don’t you guys go back to your room?” 

 

“We just thought we could spend some time here,” Genesis smiled at her coyly and Lady could only see his expression due to the glow in his eyes. The room was cold and dark, if she didn’t know it was her apartment she would’ve assumed she was in an underwater cave.

 

“You’re drunk,” she stated.

 

“What if we are?” Angeal responded again, twirling the cup in his hands.

 

Lady looked to her left. “Sephiroth..” she called softly. 

 

No answer. He continued to ignore her and she felt another slice at her heart. 

 

“Why are you doing this,” she asked aloud, addressing no one particular as she looked down at her hands. “Just go away please, I haven’t slept yet.”

 

“Neither have we,” Genesis laughed. “We were waiting for you to get home. Do you know how long it’s been?”

 

Angeal let out a small and hollow chuckle, still looking at his hands with great interest. “Wonder what she was doing? Like she would ever tell us.”

 

Lady opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by Genesis. “Now now, Angeal. We shouldn’t be so cruel to her. Where she goes is her business, it’s not like we’re her boyfriends or anything.” He stopped to roll his head towards her, cocked to the side as he smiled at her. “We only all just fucked her, right dear?”

 

If she had a cup in her hands, she would’ve shattered it in shock. Her eyes widened and the back of her neck felt like it was on fire that trailed towards her face, threatening to burn it alive. Her nails dug into her open palm. _Astrals lend me your strength._ Her mouth parted to speak but closed, she opened it again and found all she could do was stay in a state of complete and utter stupefaction. 

 

“I’m sorry,” was all that she could choke out. “I should’ve never let myself get involved. It was a mistake and I regret it.” Her words cracked at the end and she swallowed before continuing, “You three deserve more than me, a better woman. I didn’t want to be the cause of us breaking apart but I guess it’s too late to make up for that now.. but know that I’ll keep my promise still and keep you three safe no matter what.”

 

Her eyes began to sting, an all too familiar feeling these days and her vision blurred. Not that it mattered anyways, she couldn’t see anything but their eyes which looked like orbs of blue light floating in darkness in the midst of the darkness. 

 

“I’m going somewhere tomorrow, but I’ll be back and um-“ she stopped to try and find the words which were escaping her once more. “-we’ll, I’ll..”

 

The words weren’t there and she closed her mouth in case something regrettable came out and the moonlight seeped through the curtains, only illuminating the top of Lady’s head as she buried it in her hand. She didn’t cry, she refused to, what reason did she have to cry? This was her fault. 

 

“If it makes you feel better, you guys don’t have to live here anymore. I-“

 

_No, that’s not it._

 

“I still want to be..”

 

_You want to be friends with them? After you’ve destroyed them emotionally? Try again._

 

“I…”

 

_Just shut up. Shut up already._

 

“I think we’ll finish our drinks and take our leave,” said Genesis, the last drops of red wine sliding down the side of his glass. “The least you could do for me is pour me the last bit.”

 

Lady looked at Genesis and then at Angeal to his left, his head still turned down to avoid looking at her. Sephiroth didn’t even turn to look at her the whole time, only seeing the sheen of silver on the back of his head. Defeated, she stood up slowly and took the fourth bottle of wine; the red liquid sloshing in it as she went over to Genesis and he held out his glass for her to pour it in. Once she was done, she only looked down as Genesis finished his drink in one go and handed her the glass. 

 

“Be a dear and put it down for me,” he gave her a wry smile. He was testing her patience, that was for sure- but she obliged nonetheless.

 

Taking the glass in her other hand, she turned around and bent down slightly to place the empty containers back on the table; telling herself she’ll clean up everything after she’s done being frustrated. Before she could get back up, a hand shoved her down and she fell onto the table. Her stomach hitting the wood and she coughed out a surprised noise, looking back she pressed her hands against the wood to try and lift herself up but the same hand pushed her back down. 

 

“What the hell-?!” She hissed as she felt something wrap around her neck, looking down she could see red illuminate against the shadowed wood as it tightened fast. Turning her head, she saw Genesis with a glowing crimson tether wrapped up in his left hand. A cruel smirk was present on his face as her eyes widened, anxiety racking through her body. 

 

“Hey.. Angeal. Want to see how I fingered her the first time?” He whispered to his friend. 

 

“What- Genesis have you lost your mind?!” She struggled and she almost forgot how strong he actually can be. 

 

“It won’t be _me_ losing my mind, sweetheart,” he chuckled. His hand resting on her waist and slid down till he rested just up on her ass, he leaned over slightly to whisper in her ear. “This is payback for the play.. and for everything else.”

 

_Shit..!_

 

The more she struggled against his grip, the more he pulled the leash back- cutting off her air and she fell limp against the table to let the air fill in her throat again. She felt the capri tights she wore slide down by a rough tug and the cold air brushed against her now naked legs; she shivered under the chill along with Genesis’ bare fingers. His fingers left her skin and for a moment she wondered what he was doing now until she felt a sharp smack hit her ass causing her to bite down a surprised squeal. 

 

“I didn’t hear anything out of you.  Was it not hard enough?” He asked her and before she could respond, another smack came down. This time much harder and her nails dug into the wood to try and stifle the noises that came out of her. 

 

“How about one more?” 

 

Another smack and this one sent her forward slightly as she shut her eyes, trying to recover from the stinging pain she felt on her skin. She shivered more when she felt his middle finger slide up against her clothed slit and she gritted her teeth when she heard Genesis laugh.

 

“Did you actually get wet from that? Are you secretly a masochist?” 

 

She felt hot tears come out of her eyes. From the new pain that throbbed on her ass cheeks or the embarrassment of this all. In a way she was glad the tears blurred her vision, so she couldn’t see if anyone else was watching her punishment; but even then she felt their eyes on her even without seeing them.

 

“Just watch,” Genesis spoke to whoever, she assumed it was directed towards Angeal as her has was angled more towards the right where he sat. He took her panties in his fist and bunched them up, having the cloth strain and thin to make a taut line that he dragged across her slit. Just in the same fashion as before, he wrapped it around his fingers and ripped it off- leaving her cunt now fully bare to her audience. She soon felt fingers massage around her labia that made her shiver, _almost_ letting out a whine when they were no longer there. The feeling of disappointment was followed by a sharp slap to her ass and before she could wince in pain, the pleasure of two fingers inserting inside her overrode any previous reprimand. 

 

“See how easy it can slide in? Almost like your body was molded to my touch,” Genesis chuckled, his fingers moving around inside of her as she did little to struggle against the pleasure he gave her. Without warning, his chaste touches turned more urgent. His middle and forefinger entered and exited her almost as if the man was composing a dessert; delicate and he knew what notes to hit. Her breath fogged up the laminated wood and she couldn’t hold back the pleasured mewls that came out everytime he flicked his thumb over her nub. To him, her cunt was his instrument, her body was his the crowd- gauging the reactions to see what notes to hit, and her voice was the music that sounded like a sweet melody to him.

 

“Genesis..” She let out a sigh and almost regretted it. That simple call of his name made him insert another finger as he began working on her even faster. His other hand that held the leash pressed down on her back to hold her still from her constant squirming. 

 

“That’s a good girl,” he sighed, taking out his hand and flicking her clit before inserting them once more, relishing the warmth of her insides. “You’ll cum for me, right?”

 

His fingers curled inside of her and pressed against the inner walls, the pads caressing them before pushing upwards making her eyes widen as it sent chills up her spine. The slick noises mixed with the feeling of warm liquid slide down her inner thigh and dripping onto Genesis’ hand made her tremble. The sensations clouding her mind as she could only think about the fingers that were in between her legs. She shut her eyes, not wanting any more of this punishment. _Liar_.

 

“Look,” his voice commanded her and she opened them slowly to see his hand in front of her face. Her head was still resting on the table and she lifted it off to see more clearly. Her breath hitched when she saw how absolutely _drenched_ it was. The juices still ran down his wrist as he moved it to showcase his handiwork to her and he held it up to where the moonlight shone brightly on the fluids, making them almost glisten. “Isn’t it clear that you enjoyed it?” He bent over her and kissed the tip of her ear. “Your body knows who’s its master is, so why not choose me?” 

 

She looked back at his face which was much more softer now even with that conceited grin still present but her attention was ripped from him when she heard clothes rustling as someone got up. 

 

“Leaving so soon?” Genesis smirked. “You didn’t enjoy the show?” 

 

Lady balanced herself on her elbows to look up as Sephiroth only looked over her head at Genesis with steely eyes. She wanted to plead him not to leave and to ask him for his forgiveness, but truly she was in no such position to make such a request. 

 

She watched as he walked past her, not looking down once until she heard his footsteps stop just before where Genesis was stationed. Swiftly, he grabbed the leash from his hand and Lady felt her neck being tugged in the direction where Sephiroth walked. She struggled to get up, her legs feeling a bit weak as she used the table to help her stand up shakily. She turned up towards him, hoping to see if he would finally look at her and she saw his eyes glare at her at last.. and it terrified her. 

 

His green-blue eyes were clouded with a storm of emotions that she couldn’t even begin to decipher. But one of the most prominent ones was that of rolling waves of anger.

 

 Her eyes flitted to the tether he had wrapped in his hands and he only observed her with the calm outer disposition he usually had right before a battle. 

 

“Sephiroth..” She started but was halted when her neck was pulled forward with immense strength, making her fall onto the ground. She caught herself with her hands and was only given a second of relief before the leash yanked her to look back up at him. 

 

“On your knees,” he said, his voice sending her into a void of unseeming terror. His words exiting gritted teeth and tight lips. “I want you to _beg_ for forgiveness.”

 

They were right in front of the table that Genesis had her bent over just prior, the other two watching but he could care less. His attention was focused solely on the woman knelt before him. She looked up at him, her eyebrows knitted in confusion as to ask him non-verbally: ‘what am I supposed to do?’

 

To answer her question, he only reached down to unbutton the front of his pants- leaving only the zipper to be undone as he looked down at her expectantly. She inhaled and nodded shakily, her hands reaching to undo his zipper before he yanked the leash to stop her. “Mouth only, don’t you dare use your hands.” He barked an order and she flinched. Usually he was much more soft-spoken, but now.. it was as if the calm facade he had on was a ruse. 

 

Both of her hands rested on his thighs as she leaned forward and took the zipper in between her front teeth, taking it down carefully. She looked up at him to gauge his reactions and watched as his pupils dilated slightly when her lips and tongue worked to take down the hem of his boxers. It shocked her when his dick came forth, already hardened and she heard Genesis chuckle in the back. 

 

“So even you aren’t completely immune to these sinful acts?” He laughed. 

 

Sephiroth ignored him and only focused on Lady as she looked at his member, unsure of how to even begin. Looking up at him once more for guidance, he yanked on the leash in growing irritation. 

 

“Do your best to please me,” he said lowly and she bit on her lower lip. Despite what she was about to do, it still hurt her that he was talking to her like this. Like nothing. 

 

Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth to take in the head; her tongue swirling around it and tasting the salty pre-cum that had already leaked out. Slowly, she sucked on the head, adjusting to it’s impressive size in her mouth as she tried to take more of it in. Her hands grasped at his pants to try and ready herself, her jaw started hurting at the size it was taking in. 

 

Once she fit in all that she could, granted that it wasn’t much. She swallowed the saliva that started piling up in the back of her mouth and the sensation of her throat constricting around him made him inhale sharply. Looking up, she saw his feline-like pupils started to dilate. To test out the waters, she swallowed again and like a well-timed reaction- he inhaled again.

 

This gave her more confidence as she worked up a steady rhythm, with her tongue caressing his cock as she bobbed her head to and fro. Squeezing her fists and holding onto him, she dared to take more of him in her mouth which she immediately regretted as his was an incredible size. She pulled back, gagging and coughing slightly; the saliva dripping out of her mouth unceremoniously as it plopped down on the floor beneath her. From the tip of his head, a trail of fluids mixed with his and her salivation made a trail that ended at her bottom lip shimmered under the dim light. Her eyes almost seemed in a daze and her head felt even more clouded than before, only focusing on the phallic thing before her. She almost didn’t notice the two hands grabbing the sides of her head and pulling her forward, her half-lidded eyes widening when her lips were forced to accommodate once more. 

 

Her hand tried pushing against his thighs as he forced his member down her throat, feeling it’s girth take up the majority of her mouth as tears flooded her eyes- struggling to breathe as her nails dug deep into his pants. Only the feeling of her throat being fucked and the sounds of her gags and gasps filled her head as she hung onto Sephiroth for dear life. Every time her mouth began to overflow with saliva, she would swallow and elicit a low groan with the tightening of her throat around him. Blinking away the tears when his hands stopped moving her head, tilting her head back she looked up at him and she froze. His eyes were filled with even more anger than before and she swore she could’ve saw his breath leave his nostrils in whitish mist that quickly dissipated. They were glowing and filled with quiet rage that he seemed to take it out on her with the way he handled her head. She sniffed, the saliva trail now webbed between her parted lips and the head of his cock. 

 

“If I cum, you’ll swallow it all. If one drop spills out then we’ll start again,” he muttered as his hands took their position on the sides of her head. She only swallowed hard and felt powerless to fight against the grip he had on her, both mentally and physically. As the tip of his head pressed against her lips, she obediently opened and let it slide over her tongue and filled her mouth once again- as if she was already conditioned. His right hand shifted to the back of her head, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pushing her forward while his left hand with the leash pulled her forward and pushing himself more into her. 

 

There wasn’t any room to yelp or even moan as any noise that wanted to come out was quickly muffled and squeezed her fists tightly together to brace for what was about to come. Without warning, Sephiroth slid her head back and slammed back in; wet lewd sounds coming from the sides of her mouth as she tried her best not to gag. Shutting her eyes, she let her tongue run over the sides and veins of his member in attempts to please him. Sucking in the head as it entered and exited out of her lips; hollowing out her cheeks as she applied more suction made him grip her hair harder as he continued to fuck her mouth. 

 

Lady let herself be an object of his pleasure, her jaw now aching as her eyes were half-lidded while inhaling the erotic scent of his musk everytime her nose hit close to his base. Just as soon as she felt like she would pass out from insufficient air, she felt his grip tightening more as the cock throbbed in her mouth. Giving her one last pull to take in as much of him as possible, she felt it pulsate on her tongue before it spurted out and down her throat. The volume was too much as the viscous bitter fluids flooded into her cheeks and he let himself slide out of her mouth. Her saliva mixed with his semen coated his dick as it was still erect in front of her.

 

Her head now felt as if it was deluded with mists of overwhelming lust and she couldn't think of anything else besides the cum that soon dripped over her lips and down her chin onto her knees. Her eyes snapped awake when she realized she didn’t swallow it all, she looked up, hoping he didn’t catch that. 

 

But he did. His hand reached to rest on her head, this time caressing it as he looked down at her with a sadistic expression she’s never seen before. “What did I say? Looks like we’ll just start over.” 

 

She wanted to protest, but his eyes just drew her further in to him and she could only obediently nod as a smirk graced his lips. Before he could do anything else, footsteps came from behind her and another hand snatched the leash from Sephiroth who looked up, disgruntled and irritated that she was taken away. 

 

Lady’s eyes rested upon a very displeased Angeal who yanked the leash towards him until she collided into his arms and his lips came down on hers. His other hand held her cheek while the one with the tether wrapped around it was tightened fast around her waist in a secure grip. She felt his tongue kick at her lips until she parted them for him and granted him entrance. Entranced by the sudden show of affection, she let herself fall into his sweet sentiment and touch before he suddenly pulled away. Her eyes looked to see his face now contorted in disdain. 

 

To her shock he turned his head and spit out saliva onto the floor before turning back to her with seething anger. “You taste like him,” he snarled, looking over her shoulder and at Sephiroth. “It’s disgusting.” 

 

Lady felt anxiety coil up in her stomach as he dragged her along, her hands grabbing at the collar that tugged her skin as Angeal pushed her down over the top of the couch. Pushing her back down with a hand, she caught herself with her hands to steady herself when she heard pants unzipping behind her. Before she could guess his intent, she felt her ass cheeks being spread open and the feeling of the head of his cock at her entrance. She had no time to prepare herself as Angeal fully sheathed his cock inside of her and shockwaves were sent through her body. 

 

She bit down on her bottom lip, eyes shut as she tried to withhold the pleasures scream that was going to erupt from her. “Ang-,” she choked out. “Angeal-!” He slid inside her so easily and the warmth made him let out a strangled groan. 

 

“Shut up.. shut up!” He said lowly as he slid himself out of her and slamming back in with full force that made her cover her mouth with her hand to muffle her mewls. Angeal clicked his tongue in frustration and grabbed the hand that covered her mouth, twisting it so he held it fast on her back. His mind quickly changing decision on how he wanted her when she saw the submissive look in her eyes. “Don’t bother, let them hear how much you can scream under me!” 

 

With that he plunged himself deeper into her and it immediately sent stars dancing across her vision. Her arm was held tightly in his grip while he brought the leash up, making her arch her back against him as he pounded into her with brute strength that made the couch beneath them slide with each powerful thrust. Her moans were in time with him as he tried his best to control his already teetering self-discipline, her hips grinding against his. 

 

“Fu-ck,” Lady panted between his brutal thrusts, each sending her to a spiraling void of pleasure that she could get lost in forever. It didn’t take long for the pressure within her clit to become ripe to burst with the way her own arousal coated her inner thighs and slid further down her legs. His own aroused sighs led her further to her undoing, in a way she was pleased that her body could evoke such a response from such a man like him. From such men like the three of them.

 

_I’m gonna lose my fucking mind._

 

She was at a loss for words, unable to form any type of coherent sentence unless it was any of the names of the three men she was with right now. 

 

A hand caressed her cheek and she looked to see Genesis kneel in front of her with an amused smile. He leaned forward to give her a chaste kiss on her cheek before he got up and ran his fingers through her hair before gripping it while his other hand fumbled with his belt. His smooth velvety voice was all she heard. “You already know what to do, right?” No further instruction was needed. 

 

She parted her lips for him and he slid himself into her gently as opposed to the crippling thrusts of the man behind her. “Now give me the same treatment as you did for Sephiroth,” came another demand. She swallowed hard and she heard him sigh against the sensation. 

 

“You always have to make everything as a competition? You already got your turn,” Angeal growled, annoyed at his friend’s audacity. Taking a step back and thrusting once more, causing her to swallow up more of Genesis. 

 

“Jealous? Then do your best to try and maintain her attention on you, Hewley,” Genesis sneered, his hands caressing her head as he felt his head slide over the back of her tongue smoothly. With his taunt, Angeal dug his nails into her hips as he pounded into her harder and making her whine with her lips still wrapped around Genesis’ length.

 

And just as their banter went back and forth, so did she in between them. Like a tug-o-war, she was going to and fro with Angeal fucking her in the back and Genesis fucking her in the front. Her pleasure seeking senses were being overloaded and her body and mind simply didn’t know how to handle it. 

 

The cock on her tongue soon pulsated and Genesis let out a jilted moan as she felt bitter fluids spill onto her tongue and slide down her throat. Angeal gripped her hips hard as he slowed down his strokes, his length going in and out until he pulled out and his cum shot out over her ass. 

 

If it wasn’t for the couch she was bent over, her legs would’ve gave out and she would collapse then and there. Her head was spinning faster and her breath left her lungs in deep heaves, trying to let the oxygen circulate in hopes to clear up the fog in her mind. 

 

Lady’s legs wobbled as she saw Sephiroth walk towards her and pull her back up against him. Wrapping the leash around his wrist as he picked her up, taking her legs to wrap around his waist as he carried her into her room. Dropping her down onto the bed, she could only observe as Sephiroth dropped the leash in front of her. Genesis and Angeal followed him inside her room and together, all three of them started to pull their shirts over their heads. Each tossing it unceremoniously to the ground and giving her only a quick moment to admire their battle-hardened bodies under the dim moonlight as Sephiroth reached down to yank it forward. She yelped as it made her lean towards them, on her knees as she looked up with pleading anticipation. 

 

They looked at her hungrily, as if she was a rabbit cornered in a den of three starved and feral wolves. 

 

“Come on then,” Sephiroth whispered to her, caressing her neck with the leash taught in his hand. His deep voice commanding her obedience. “Shall I give you pleasure?” 

 

She closed her eyes and felt his lips against hers while a hand took her cheek and faced her to the right to face Angeal. He only placed his other hand on hers and their fingers intertwined together; his face was gentle but his eyes glimmered with the unbridled lust he had for her. He didn’t say anything but she understood him regardless.

 

Her attention was brought to her left as hands pulled her hips and Genesis immediately buried his face into her neck, his lips leaving a trail of kisses along the side of it. After kissing the lob of her ear, he whispered to her and the sensation of his hands mixed with his voice brought more shivers that racked her body. “I’ll make sure you’ll become completely entranced.. so that your body will only respond to my touch and no one else’s.” 

 

With that he pushed her back down on the bed with a light shove and she looked up at all three of them, the glowing red leash still held fast in Sephiroth’s hand. As if the leash was required- their scent and voice and bodies alone were enough to entangle her in their figurative and literal grasp. 

 

Three sets of beautiful mako eyes: one the color of dusk, one the color of the deep ocean, and one the color of the very life force they were all infused with. All of them glowing in the dark and focused on her and her only. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s chapter XXX for a reason, right?


	31. XXXI

Warm sunlight bathed Lady’s bare shoulders as she rolled over to the cooler side of her bed, her body woke up first before her mind did as she tossed and turned. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and sat there with her hair in a tangled mess that stuck up as if it were a failed arts and craft project. Slowly opening her eyes, her eyelashes batted until she squinted into her brightly lit room. 

 

“Good morning, beautiful.”

 

She looked up to see Genesis leaning back on her desk, his worn copy of Loveless rested in one hand with his thumb holding the pages apart. He adjusted the collar of his black long sleeve as he looked at her over the top of his book. 

 

“Gen..” Lady yawned, putting her face in her hands and letting out a pained groan. “Oof, why does everything hurt..”

 

Genesis let out an amused chuckle, “What do you mean?”

 

“I don’t know,” she mumbled, looking up at him weakly. “I .had a weird dream last night.”

 

“Oh?” He closed his book and moved to sit down on the left beside her on the bed, dipping the mattress slightly as he moved a piece of hair behind her ear. “Tell me about it.”

 

“We-“ her eyes flickered up to him and back down at the hands in her lap. “-umm. It was a really _weird_ dream but-“

 

“Was it a good weird or bad?” 

 

“I,” Lady’s cheek flushed. “I, um, I thought it was good.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

“You, me, Angeal and Seph,” she mumbled, her fingers twiddling together. “We all, um, well we..”

 

“Fucked you senseless?”

 

“Wow, I was expecting a more eloquent reply from you but-“ Lady stooped and her eyes widened, looking up at him. “So last night wasn’t-?!”

 

“Let’s ask the others, shall we?” Genesis smiled, clearing his throat. “Angeal, Sephiroth. Come in here for a bit!”

 

Seconds after he called, Lady’s stomach dropped when the door opened and then saw the two of the ones summoned. Angeal wore a short-sleeved dark blue shirt that pulled taut across his chest as he took a seat in front of her on the bed. Sephiroth had his silver hair almost glow against the dark grey button-down he wore, he front was unbuttoned to reveal his midsection unapologetically. He took a seat on her right, and she felt the bed dip under their weight; her heart began to beat harder. 

 

“She thought last night was a dream,” Genesis told them, chuckling. 

 

“It wasn’t,” Angeal reassured her, moving his shirt collar to the side to reveal a large hickey that graced his collar bone. 

 

“Did I do that?” She squeaked, staring at the mark, angry and red and he proudly traced a finger around it- as if it was an earned prize.

 

He nodded, laughing. “You were.. quite feisty.”

 

“That’s only a minor injury,” Sephiroth quipped, moving his open shirt to reveal the side of his abdomen where long red marks ran down it in a diagonal trajectory. “You actually drew blood here.”

 

Lady refused to look at any of them, her heart threatened to burst out of her chest and disappear in the pure embarrassment she was now experiencing. _Fuck fuck fuck!! It really happened!_

 

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the blanket and dove beneath its covers- squeezing her eyes shut and trying to calm down her own pulse. 

 

The sheets were pulled up to reveal Genesis’ face tilting to the side to look at her. “You can’t just hide under the bedsheets and pretend we’re not here.”

 

Lady pouted, pulling the sheets from his grip and turning around yet it was pulled up in a similar fashion- except this time it was Sephiroth looking down at her, an amused smirk on his face. “Come here,” he told her and he took her wrist, pulling her out from under the sheets and onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her against his chest as she used the blankets to cover her front. “You didn’t enjoy last night?” He whispered to her.

 

“I did, but-“ she closed her eyes, her hands resting on his. “It’s not right. I..”

 

“We’d rather have _you_ with us or no one at all,” Angeal answered firmly, her attention immediately snapping up to the black haired man. “I.. don’t see myself with anyone else but you.”

 

“The feeling is mutual for me, we discussed it while you slept,” Genesis’ hand traveled up her left leg. “Although, forgive me if I want to be a bit more selfish with you at times.”

 

“Every moment I have with you is a moment I feel human,” Sephiroth mumbled, his lips by her ear. “I.. need you here.”

 

Lady bit her bottom lip, sniffing. “Don’t say that, that’s not fair.”

 

“But understand this,” Angeal looked at her with hardened eyes. “Don’t feel forced to be with us because of how we feel.. if you feel your heart belongs to anyone else, don’t hesitate.”

 

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, “What? Why would you say that?” She shook her head, “The same goes for you, if there’s someone else-“

 

“There won’t be,” Angeal cut her off. “I know there won’t be.”

 

“You don’t know that-!”

 

“Well, neither do you!” 

 

Lady exhaled with exasperation. “You are so stubborn.”

 

A smile cracked on his lips, “ _You’re_ telling _me_ that?” 

 

“Then..” she looked to Genesis and at a Sephiroth behind her shoulder. “Do you both feel the same?”

 

“Yes,” came their reply. 

 

She sighed, putting her face in her hands and massaging her temples. “Whatever, fine. On _one_ condition.”

 

“What is it?” Genesis asked. 

 

“If there’s anyone else that remotely interests you, you better go and I’ll-“

 

“Shut up already,” Genesis reached up, grabbing her chin and silencing her with a kiss. “Don’t worry about us. Worry about what _you_ want.”

 

“How uncharacteristic of you, you’re never this generous,” she scoffed. 

 

“I had a good night last night, what can I say?” He winked, leaning back. 

 

Lady leaned back against Sephiroth’s chest, her back feeling the muscles of his abdomen as his arms tightened around her stomach. She heard him sniff, “Angeal.. something’s burning.”

 

”Damn,” he cursed as he got up. “Genesis come with me.”

 

“Why?” Genesis wrinkled his nose. “You’re cooking, not me.” 

 

“Because I need you in case something catches on fire,” Angeal called back before exiting. Genesis grumbled something under his breath as he got up and followed. 

 

Lady turned to Sephiroth and he twisted her body around, lifting her closer on his lap. Taking her face, he leaned into her and his lips ghosted hers. “Never leave me,” he mumbled. 

 

“I don’t want to,” she kissed the side of his mouth and then his cheek. 

 

“But you said you needed to go somewhere today, no?” 

 

Lady froze, closing her eyes. _I almost forgot_. 

 

“Yeah, it’s nowhere dangerous don’t worry. I’ll be there and back here, okay?”

 

“Humph.”

 

Sephiroth leaned down, resting his head on her shoulder and inhaling her scent. 

 

“Say those words,” he whispered against her skin. “Those three words.”

 

Lady smiled, caressing his hair. “I love you.” 

 

His hands gripped her back and hugged her tight. “I.. love you too.”

 

Her eyebrows raised up, she’s never heard him say those words. To anything or to anyone. 

 

And as if to answer her question, he spoke.“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

 

“You know I mean it too, right?”

 

“I know,” he said. “Thank you.”

 

Her fingers ran through his bangs and down his hair, “Your hair is a mess, Seph. Want me to brush it?” She reached around him to take a comb from her nightstand. 

 

A small smile appeared on his still lips. “You should see yours,” he took the comb from her hands. “Allow me.” 

 

She turned to allow him to brush through her tresses easier and she flinched when the man pulled through her strands rather roughly. “Astrals.. you’re brushing hair, not tugging on ropes.” 

 

“My apologies,” he sighed, his fingers stroking her hair as he tried to do it more carefully. “I’ve never done this before for anyone else.” 

 

“It’s okay, just be more gentle. Like you’re stroking a kitten.”

 

The following brushes were far more delicate and she smiled. His touches were comforting, his each move was careful and soon she couldn’t feel her scalp being tugged on anymore. 

 

“Is this better?” He asked her. 

 

“Much,” she laughed. “You really do learn quickly.” 

 

“Anything to please you,” he murmured as he finished smoothing down her hair. 

 

“Hey,” Genesis knocked on the open door, leaning against the side. A splotch of flour staining the side of his face. “You two done? Food’s ready.” 

 

“You got a little-“ Lady looked at him with her finger pointing on her upper cheek. “You know what, never mind. Let me get freshened up, gimme a minute.”

 

Swinging her feet over the side of the bed, she wrapped the sheets around her shoulders and stood up quickly. Unfortunately, just as her feet touched the wooden floor- her legs began to sway and wobble and she fell forward. A thud echoed in the room as she caught herself just in time with her arms. 

 

“Ugh, not this again,” Lady cursed aloud and looked up at Genesis who grinned at her. “Don’t you _dare_ say anything.”

 

“What happened? I heard something fall.” Angeal called out from the living room. 

 

“Our landlady had a tumble,” Genesis called back. 

 

She heard laughter echo from outside her bedroom. 

 

“Leave me alone,” she grumbled as she used the side of the bed to pull herself up. “You had your laugh, so go away.”

 

“If you can’t walk that just tells us we did a good job,” Genesis had a smirk on his face. “Hurry up will you, I’m hungry.” 

 

The sheets fell down around her shoulders as she stumbled in the bathroom to look for her toothbrush. Sephiroth came in and took the sheet from her, letting it slide down her nude body. She looked at him through the reflection on the mirror with a raised eyebrow. Watching as he took his shirt off and waited for her to extend her arm to slide through the sleeves; the bottom hem ending at her lower thigh, his arms wrapped around her as he buttoned it up just below her breasts. 

 

“‘Sank youf,” she said through the foam of the toothpaste and toothbrush resting upon her tongue. 

 

“I’ll wait for you with the others,” he left her alone in the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth, looking up at Sephiroth’s bare back as he turned to leave. Her mouth open in shock as she now saw two sets of red scratch marks that marred his skin; going down from his shoulder blades to his mid-back. They looked almost like bloody wings that rested against his pale skin and hid behind the flowing silver locks. 

 

“That looks painful,” she winced and he turned back towards her. “I’m sorry.”

 

“I’ll be sure to find a way to have you make up for it then,” he said, his eyes flashing. 

 

Lady inhaled, turning back towards the sink and setting her toothbrush aside. Leaning down, she splashed her face with water and looked up into the lighted mirror to see the droplets slide down her face. Sighing, she massaged her cheeks before pinching them and getting up to follow Sephiroth into the living room. 

 

As soon as she exited her room, she immediately smelled the smell of browning butter and a mix of berries being sautéed with white sugar. It gave her the strength to skip to the kitchen and gently tackle Angeal as she wrapped her arms around his neck to peek over his broad shoulders. 

 

“That smells so good,” she sniffed and sighed. “You need to teach me how to cook like you.” 

 

“Hmph, it’s nothing special,” Genesis grumbled as he took a pitcher of juice from the fridge. 

 

“Says the rich kid who probably had his servants cook for him,” Lady stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes. “Bet you can’t even cook eggs to save your life.”

 

He scoffed. “At least I don’t find chocobos remotely frightening. That’s the dumbest fear I’ve ever heard of.” 

 

“Asshole,” she said through gritted teeth. 

 

“Whatever,” he took down glasses from the cabinet next to her and walked towards the dining table to set them down. 

 

“I thought you were done already,” Lady turned back to Angeal, her arms still wrapped tightly around his neck as she was on her tippy-toes watching him cook. 

 

“Patience is normally a good thing,” he sighed. “Just finishing up the garnishes.” He spoke as he poured the browned butter and berry coulis over the crepes on the plates he set out. 

 

“Angeal.. can you put a little more on mine?” She whispered, lips close to his ear.

 

“You want me to play favorites?” He asked her, mock surprise in his eyes yet a bemused smile on his lips. 

 

“Pleeeassee. They won’t notice, just a bit.. c’mon!” She nuzzled her nose in his neck and he sighed, her mouth curling into a feline grin when he poured a little more on her plate. “Thank you, dear,” she giggled and gave him a kiss on his cheek. 

 

“You’re welcome, _honey_ ,” he chuckled, handing her the plates. “Set this on the table, will you?”

 

Lady nodded as she took them, two on each arm as she held plates in her hand as the other two rested in the crook of her elbow. Balancing them carefully, she set them down on the table in front of the respective seats. Taking the open seat next to Angeal, she waited for him to get settled before digging in. 

 

“Hey, so where was that place you’re going to?” Angeal asked her as he passed her a slice of butter on the sharp edge of his knife. 

 

“Uh, just somewhere out of town. It shouldn’t take me too long,” she mumbled, looking down at her plate and avoiding the firm stare that she _knew_ he was giving her. “I might need you guys to hold down the fort while I’m gone.”

 

“You want us to babysit?” Genesis wrinkled his nose. 

 

“If anyone needs to be babysat, it’s _you_ ,” Lady countered. “I’m just asking to make sure the Alstroemeria isn’t completely destroyed.” 

 

“Sounds simple enough,” Sephiroth said, taking a drink from his glass. “You won’t have to worry. Just be safe.”

 

“When are you going?” Angeal asked.

 

“Probably after breakfast,” she scooped a berry into her mouth and chewed. “You guys going to chill here or back at your apartment?”

 

“We can clean up and let you prepare,” Angeal said, his eyes softening when he looked at her. “Just eat up and make sure you have your strength.”

 

Lady nodded as she finished up her breakfast, enjoying the morning with the three of them as they all felt a synonymous feeling of light-heartedness and a serene peace that they haven’t felt in a long while. 

 

•••

 

Stepping out of the shower, Lady wrung out her hair and wrapped the towel around her body tightly. Walking over to her bed, she opened the suitcase that held her new armor. Taking them out and laying them down to display at the foot of her bed, she took a moment to admire them before slipping out of her towel to finally put them on. 

 

They fit like a glove, which she was pleasantly surprised at. The corset-like sleeveless halter top wrapped around her waist and around her neck; coming down just above her belly button; the back ended lower than the front just below her shoulder blades. It was crafted with black durable leather, yet the fabric itself was light as a feather and breathable; allowing for ease of movement. The pants were black, of course, and was held together with a belt that had Shinra’s famous logo stamped on the silver plate. Straps came up from the belt loop that went over her bared shoulders and crossed into an x as it went down her back to hold the pants fast and to make sure there weren’t any unfortunate slip-ups in battle. 

 

The black leather coat was trimmed with dark purple satin, under the light she could see opalescent sigils of magic embedded into it. She buttoned up the coat just at the three buttons in the middle, letting it flare out at her mid-thigh and so it showed the upper half of her top. Upturning the collar so that it could cover half of her face, almost tickling her cheeks as she adjusted the rest of her things. 

 

Looking in the mirror, she tied her damp hair into a loose braid and let it hang. Adjusting the fingerless leather gloves with steel plating at the knuckles as she turned her body to the side; letting herself see how everything looked on her. She couldn’t help the smile that creeped up on her face. _I look.. badass._

 

She almost missed looking like a soldier. Almost. 

 

Turning around to open the next case containing her weapon. Upon closer inspection under proper lighting, the edge of the blade was blackened from the glaring heat from the mako reactor; it came to a sharp point that seemed like even the air around the edge could cut through the most minuscule of molecules. Her finger traced along the dull side, the silver metal veined with glowing green mako- looking like a luminescent ravine going through it and imbuing the blade with power. Taking the sword out of the case, the scabbard was laid down right above it with straps attached to the end and front. 

 

Sheathing her sword in the scabbard, she ran her nails down the dark sapphire-hued scales that was engraved into it. Finally letting it slide down completely, she strapped the sword horizontally above her butt and turned it slightly at an angle for ease. 

 

Satisfied with everything, she picked up her duffle bag and her boots, walking to the balcony and closed the door behind her. Dropping the boots onto the floor, she swung the duffle bag behind her and slipped on the black boots, tucking in her pants in the boots as she tightened the straps around her shin. Tapping her toes against the tile to make sure her feet were scooted all the way in, she looked around her carefully. Swinging her leg over the edge of the balcony, she jumped down and landed on her tiptoes as the heels of her boots made a soft click against the stone floor. 

 

Letting out an exhale, she looked around and made sure no one was around before she got up from her squatting position. As she got up she froze when she heard a voice that made her stomach flip-flop. 

 

“Hey princess, where do you think _you’re_ going?”

 

Lady turned around and gulped, a lopsided smile on her face as she laughed nervously. “Hey Xiggy, you’re up early today! I’m just going for a walk.”

 

“Mhm, sure,” he nodded. “Now’s your cue, water boy!”

 

Before she could react, she was picked up off her feet and swung over someone’s shoulders as the duffle bag and sword swung down to her upper back. Her body wriggled and she heard someone whine under her, “Ow ow ow, please stop moving! It’s just me!” 

 

“Demyx?!” Lady tried to push herself up as he held her tightly by her waist. “Oh, you’re stronger than you look.”

 

“Come on, Lady. I’m not that weak,” he pouted, moving to follow Xigbar. 

 

“Where are we going? Hey!” She struggled against his steadfast grip, sighing in defeat as she let her body go limp. 

 

The three of them moved to the central courtyard and she looked up to see Saïx and Axel looking down at her. “Thought you can sneak off without telling us, huh?”

 

She scowled but kept her otherwise cool demeanor, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

 

“I’ll take it from here,” Saïx said to Demyx and she heard the blond sigh heavily before passing her onto him. 

 

“I can walk just fine, you know,” Lady frowned. 

 

“And risk having you run off? Not going to take that chance,” he said as he lifted her up with ease over his shoulder. Unphased at the new weight he had taken as well as the angry glare she was shooting him. 

 

“Infiltrating an imperial base, rather ballsy of you,” Axel bent forward and smiled at her as she looked at him, irritated. 

 

“How did you know about that?” She exclaimed and saw a furry tail hiding behind a column of the gazebo through her peripheral. “Cait Sith,” She hissed loudly. “You little ball of-!” 

 

“Eep, don’t be mad at me lass! We’re just worried about you, ya see?” He hopped out from behind the column and bounded over to her where she could see him and his cute little face.

 

“Last time I ever trust you to keep a secret,” she scoffed. “Unbelievable.”

 

Saïx raised his hand and a corridor of darkness appeared in front of them. 

 

_I never should have allowed them to use those corridors in here in the first place._

 

She pouted. “But what about the apartments-“

 

“It’ll be fine, stop whining,” Genesis walked up to them and held her chin up to face him. “We look forward to your return,” he winked. “That 1st Class uniform looks fantastic on you by the way.” 

 

Saïx started moving towards the portal with Axel by his side. Lady looked up and shouted, “Make sure the plants are watered, keep the barrier up… oh! And don’t let Roxas and Xion just eat ice crea-“ 

 

Lady was cut off with the corridor closing in front of her eyes with Cait Sith, Genesis, Demyx, and Xigbar all waving her off. Groaning, she turned her attention back to Saïx and Axel, “Where are you two taking me?”

 

No answer. They just kept on going about their business. 

 

“I hate you,” she kicked. “Can’t you put me down?” 

 

Saïx ‘s hand came up and slapped her ass and she squeaked in surprise, looking up at the blue haired man that spoke without turning his head towards her. “Behave yourself, or I’ll do that again.”

 

“Pain and pleasure is probably the same thing for you, huh? Masochist,” she retorted and just as he promised, there came another slap to her ass that was significantly harder. 

 

“Having fun there?” Axel looked at him and Saïx only looked forward, the side of his lips tugging into a smile.

 

“Maybe,” he replied. 

 

As they walked through the end of the path into a wall of overflowing light, she soon felt the natural warmth of the sun hit her back as the scenery changed from swirling greys and dark greens of the corridor to an open field next to a long stretch of road. Squinting, she could see the city skyline just over the horizon, as if it was a toy model on a large scale map- confirming their distance from it. 

 

“Heyyy guys,” Axel called as she was brought forward and she could only see the portal and the grass that was trampled under Saïx’s steps. 

 

“She’s all yours,” he said as he set her down and she stumbled back, slinging the duffle bag and turning to see who Axel was addressing. Her jaw dropped as she looked upon the four Insomnians sitting in a rather expensive looking sleek five-seater black convertible. The license plates had an insignia of a skull’s side profile with wings enveloping the scalp along with the letters and numbers ‘RHS-113’. 

 

 Prompto waved at her nervously from the interior which was composed mostly of luxurious dark leather, “Heyas!”

 

Lady turned back to Axel and Saïx with enraged eyes, mouth opened and ready to reprimand them when she could only see their red and blue hair disappear respectively in the corridor of darkness. “Have fun!” Was all she heard as the wisps of shadows dissipated and she was left alone. 

 

Turning back around, her eyes met Ignis’ as he tilted his head with his gloved hands resting on the wheel. “Well would you look at that, stranded in the middle of nowhere with no other mode of transportation. Might as well embark on this journey with us.”

 

A coy smile played on his lips, his nonverbal way of saying ‘checkmate’ and she remembered she said the exact same thing to the tactician over a can of Ebony. 

 

She gripped her duffel bag, adjusted her sword hilt and turned to walk down the road towards the open wilderness. 

 

“Hey, wha- where you going?!” Prompto called as Ignis started the car and brought it to a slow speed that matched hers as she speedwalked along the path. 

 

“Turn back around and go back to the apartments,” she said, not faltering in her momentum. 

 

“Come on, don’t be like this. You realize we know how to fight too,” Gladio leaned his arm over the car door.

 

Lady shook her head. “This is personal, I can’t have you guys do something that can potentially have you risk your lives.”

 

“And you can? Rather selfish if you ask me,” Gladio responded quickly and she stopped in her tracks. “Remember why we moved here in the first place?”

 

She looked at his deep amber eyes and quickly looked up to Noctis who sat with him in the back seat. “Yeah, I do.”

 

“Then you’ll know we have a duty to fulfill as much as you do and you should know about duty, right? Soldier girl?” 

 

She shut her eyes, putting her free hand on her hip as she turned on her heels and inhaled before exhaling quickly. Turning back towards them, she huffed, “Fine. At least I’ll be here to watch over you personally.” 

 

Gladio smiled and stepped out of the car, opening the door for her and giving her a small bow. “Welcome aboard the Regalia.” 

 

Taking his hand, he helped her in and she took a seat on the middle of the back seat right next to Noctis. He took her duffel bag and opened the trunk to place her bag in before closing it and getting back in the car to take his seat next to her- squeezing her in between the two with Ignis and Prompto at the front. 

 

“Betrayed by my own tenants,” Lady shook her head in disbelief, holding her sword tightly between her knees. “Never thought that day would come.” 

 

“Chin up, Lady. At least we get to take our road trip!” Prompto turned to face her in his seat, his knees on the chair as he balanced his elbows on the headrest. 

 

“This isn’t supposed to be a joyride, blondie,” Gladio scoffed, taking out a book from the side of his seat. “We’re headed towards enemy territory.” 

 

“Yeah but, we’re camping right? That’ll be fun right?” He pouted. “Is that a new outfit?” He pointed at Lady’s new threads.

 

“It’s my SOLDIER uniform, well, sort of. Doesn’t hurt to be prepared, right?” She smiled. 

 

“You look good, like an actual soldier,” Noctis nodded, earning him a soft jab with her elbow. 

 

“Do you have your phone?” She asked him.

 

He took out his phone out of his pants and showed it to her and she gave him a mischievous grin, “Ready to get your ass kicked?”

 

“You’re on, if I win you gotta give me your sword,” his thumb tapped on the app that opened up the mobile version of Final Kingdom. The familiar orchestral music played aloud and flashing lights as the bold logo appeared on his screen. 

 

“What will you give me then?” She frowned, mimicking his action as she pulled up the app. 

 

“My trusty fishing rod?”

 

“Pfft, my _specialized sword_ for your fishing rod? Wow, what a steal,” she rolled her eyes.

 

“What do you want then?”

 

“When you become king, I get to rule every Saturday and implement any new laws that I see fit.”

 

“Sure, whatever. If you win, I’ll hand you the entire kingdom.”

 

“You’re on.”

 

•••

 

“I can’t believe this,” Lady groaned, setting her phone screen down on her lap to avoid seeing the black screen with the red letters spelling out ‘game over, try again?’

 

“Since I feel bad, I’ll let you keep your sword,” Noctis grinned and she nudged him again.

 

“I wonder if the future queen of Lucis will find out that the next in line is such a giant _dweeb_?” She narrowed her eyes.

 

“Wow, what a sore loser,” he chuckled.

 

“I regret not just walking the whole way,” she sighed, directing her questions at the driver. “We won’t be long, right? It wasn’t that far away when I last checked.”

 

“The actual location is off road, we’ll have to find somewhere else to park and make the rest of the way on foot,” Ignis replied, his eyes attentive on the road. “We should find a place to rest till nightfall, it’ll make infiltration that much easier.”

 

“I’ve been told they made a device to inhibit the crystal’s powers. Isn’t that bad for you guys?” 

 

“Then we find the device and destroy it before anything else.

 

“By the way, we know why we’re going. But what’s your beef with the empire?” Prompto turned to ask her. 

 

“I’m looking for someone,” she answered. “I don’t know if he’ll be there, but here’s hoping.” 

 

“Mm, we’re headed for a fortress with a device that disables magic. I bet the person you’re looking for is there. They rarely make impenetrable walls with machines like just for laughs, it’s for keeping people from snooping around,” Gladio crossed his arms. 

 

“...Or for keeping something in,” Lady added, her eyes downturned as she dug her thumb into her palm. 

 

“Is it a monster?” Prompto gulped. 

 

She shook her head, remembering the pale face framed by hair dark as a moonless night. She remembered his eyes, red as the flames from the deepest pits of hell. 

 

“If it is, we’ll let it gobble you up first so we can make a clean getaway,” Noctis chided. 

 

“Not cool man,” Prompto squeaked. “You guys won’t do that to me, right? _Right_?”

 

“Do you have your bracelet, sunshine?” Lady asked him and he grinned, holding up his right hand and jangling the amber beads with the Chocobo feather that decorated his wrist. “Good, always keep that on.”

 

“What’s that?” Noctis cocked his head. “Lemme see.”

 

“No way, it’s mine!” The blond shook his head. “It’s my lucky charm.”

 

“If you want one, just ask,” Lady sighed. 

 

“If you make Noct one, I want one too,” Gladio nudged her. 

 

“Don’t forget about Iggy here!” Prompto poked the driver. 

 

“Do you want one Ignis?” She asked him and his eyes met hers briefly via the rear view mirror.

 

“I’d consider it an honor.” He said. 

 

“Just wait till we get back home then,” she stifled a yawn with her hand. “How much longer?”

 

“I reckon a couple more hours.”

 

“I want to take a nap,” Lady muttered under her breath, crossing her arms and legs as she let her sword rest against her. Her eyes shifted to the book that Gladiolus had open in his hand, the pages marked by a dull golden iris pressed between the papyrus. “Hey, is that the flower I gave you?”

 

“Yeah, you remembered?” He smiled. 

 

“Of course, I’m just shocked you still have it. You use it as a bookmark?”

 

“Yep, didn’t want to just throw it away.”

 

“What are you reading? Can I read with you?” She asked him and he moved his arm to rest behind her, allowing her to scoot in closer to view the words on the small book. 

 

As his thumb flipped through the pages, Lady felt her eyes become heavier as her head fell against his shoulders and she soon dozed off with the fresh wind rocking her to sleep. 

 

Prompto peeked over the headrest of his seat back at her, his mouth opening when he saw that she was fast asleep. He pouted and he looked up at Gladio who raised his eyebrows at him, mouthing the word ‘what?’

 

“Let me switch places with you,” Prompto whispered harshly. 

 

“Hell no, you think she’d want to sleep on your scrawny shoulders?” He whispered back. 

 

“My shoulders are completely soft, thank you very much!”

 

“If you both argue like that, you’ll wake our landlady up and then you’ll suffer her tired wrath,” Ignis chided them and they both shut their mouths. 

 

Noctis shook his head and balanced his head on his fist, closing his eyes as he allowed himself a nap as well. 

 

•••

 

The raven haired prince woke up to a new weight on his shoulder and he frowned, eyelashes batting before he turned towards his right to see Lady’s head resting on his shoulder. 

 

He felt the back of his neck heat up as he looked upon her sleeping face, unsure of what to do- to stay still, wake her up, or have someone else awaken her. He opted for the former and he stayed still as a statue, hoping his minor moment of shock didn’t disturb her rest. 

 

His eyes looked up to see Prompto look back at him with a sad pout. Noctis rolled his eyes and kept his breaths to a minimum, trying not to let his chest rise and fall too much. To distract himself he looked out into the open stretch of road and counted the amount of red cars that sped by them at alarming speeds. He took five minutes to do that activity but scowled when the roads became progressively more empty with less and less people on the roads and he came to the grand total of three red cars. Bored, he tried to find something else to do that didn’t require him moving. 

 

Looking at the sword she had tucked in between her legs, the indentation pushing back the tight material of her pants and he inhaled- tearing his eyes away from her legs as he looked back into the open road again. The fields slowly became filled with more and more trees that kept towering above the last one they drive past. 

 

“We’re almost at our destination Noct, mind waking her?” Ignis said and Noctis nodded. 

 

Taking his left arm, he took her shoulders and nudged her gently. “Hey, get up.”

 

Lady frowned, her eyes still shut as she rolled her head on his shoulder. Her hands reaching up to rub her eyes with her fingers as she placed a hand on his outer leg- making him inhale again, as she pushed herself off of him. 

 

“We here?” She sleepily asked, her eyes still not completely open. 

 

“Not yet- hey did you get enough sleep last night?” Prompto looked at her.

 

“Uhh,” she rubbed the back of her neck, ducking her face. “Not really.”

 

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to rest when we set up camp,” said Gladio and she nodded. 

 

Ignis stopped past a rest stop, moving to shift the gear in reverse, his right arm crossing over to the back of Prompto’s seat as he turned to look backwards. With expert precision, he drove the car into a spot in one swift move of his wrist on the wheel. Waiting to see if he would check if he was aligned perfectly in the middle, her eyes widened a bit when all four of them got out of the car. Noctis got out, looking back quickly to see if she would exit on his side and shut the door with a quiet sigh when he saw that Gladio held her by the hand as he helped her out. 

 

“Campsite should be ‘bout forty yards from here,” Gladio said as he got out the camping gear from the trunk and Lady grabbed her duffel bag, moving her sword to have it hang diagonally at her rear. “Prom, Noct, help me carry this stuff.”

 

“Here,” Lady swung her bag over her shoulder and reached in the trunk to grab two bags tucked all the way in the back. “I can help too.”

 

“You really gonna let the woman do all the work?” Gladio tutted in annoyance, looking at Noctis and Prompto scramble to try and take the bags from her. 

 

She sidestepped and shook her head, “Just grab those chairs and the sleeping bags.” With that, she turned to follow Ignis up the path that lead into the forest. The sand-blond haired man’s silhouette was soon devoured by the dense shadow of the trees and she saw him light up a flashlight, attaching it to his chest pocket. Reaching into his jacket, he turned the light on before clipping it onto her coat. She nodded her thanks. 

 

“It’s rather dim in this thicket, best be prepared,” Ignis said as he pushed up his glasses and waited with her for the rest of the group to catch up. 

 

“You been camping before, Lady?” Prompto bounded up next to her, holding a chair by his waist and one over his shoulder. 

 

“Yeah, back when I worked for Shinra. Field missions always required us to find our own means to sleep,” she told him as they all walked down the forest path, carefully as to not trip over a stray tree root. “Most of the time, I had to sleep it out rough with a bunch of other guys who didn’t know how to be quiet.”

 

“Were you friends with any of them?”

 

“Some, not all. It was hard getting along with those who thought I belonged behind the receptionist's desk instead of being out on the front lines,’ her eyes hardened. “The look on their faces when I got nominated for 1st Class was the best feeling ever. Not a whole lot of women in SOLDIER.”

 

She looked over to Prompto who looked unsure what to say next, she gave him a sympathetic smile, “Sorry enough about me, what about you guys? There a lot of women in the Glaives?”

 

“Cor and Titus don’t care about gender, if you’re skilled enough with a blade and disciplined then they’ll consider you for the Kingsglaive,” Gladio explained, walking ahead of Prompto. “Those lucky enough to be anointed into the Glaives can share the king’s power and use weapons like us.” 

 

“Hoo boy, really?” Lady looked at him with wonder, tilting her head. “Hey Gladio, how’d you get that scar down your eye?”

 

“This old thing?” He raised an eyebrow, smirking in amusement. “Got it while protecting that squirt over there from a drunk guy in the Crown City,” he jerked his head towards Noct who caught up to them, carrying the sleeping bags. 

 

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Why didn’t you just punch the guy?” Noctis groaned.

 

“Because even if the dude was a drunken asshole, it’s not my style to go around hurting citizens of the Crown City.”

 

“But he left you with a wicked scar,” Prompto moved himself in between Gladio and Lady. 

 

“It does look cool on you,” she admitted.

 

“Thanks, beautiful,” he winked at her. 

 

“May I ask, if you had a chance to, would you really have wanted to move to the Crown City instead of Midgar?” Ignis asked and she turned to look at him then turned towards the front, pondering over her words. 

 

“Maybe. If I had to make that choice again.” _But._ She looked up at the beams of sunlight that poured in through gaps in the leaves that otherwise shadowed the forest floor. She blinked and saw Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis leaning against the trunk of a tree. All three of them smiling at something Genesis said before she blinked and the vision faded. “But at least now I get the chance to meet all of you who stay at the Alstroemeria and we get to go on cool adventures.”

 

“If you went to high school with us, I’m pretty sure you’d be one of the popular girls,” Prompto said.

 

“Me? Hah! I was always the quiet kid that minded her own business,” she laughed.

 

“So was Noct, pretty sure you two would’ve hit it off well. Maybe get together and play some Free Castle or something like that,” Gladio huffed.

 

“It’s Final Kingdom,” Noctis and Lady both corrected him and she shot him a smile which he returned the gesture.

 

“See?” Gladio shook his head, smiling. 

 

“I think I see the campsite,” Ignis stepped in front of her and he squinted slightly, pulling the map out of his pocket that was folded neatly into a square that only showed their current location to confirm. “Right over there.”

 

“Ugh, finally!” Prompto exclaimed as he sprinted past them and towards the clearing. The circle of stone was raised slightly above the mossy meadows and shallow rivers surrounding it, tiny pink flowers dotted the ground along with the additional clovers that sprouted amongst the rock floor. There was a stone cliff that rose up from the north side of the stone pavilion, looking up she could see a mountain range just pas its peak and above the treeline. The trees and stone walls encased the campsite in an almost perfect circle, the only opening in its thick trunks were the ones with dirt roads leaving the campsite- the other being an opening in the stone wall that lead somewhere else entirely. 

 

Hopping across the stones sticking out of the river, Prompto jumped onto the stone circle and collapsed. “I’m so tireeeddd!”

 

“Get off your ass and help us set up,” Gladio gave him a light kick to his legs as he began pitching up the tent. 

 

Noctis and Ignis followed suit, carefully as to not land in the water. Lady followed last, balancing her items in her hand as she reached the edge of the circle. Ignis stopped, turning to take the bags out of her hands and setting them aside. His hand reached down to offer help and she took it; gripping as she was pulled onto the circle; startled at how easily he lifted her up. 

 

“I could sleep right here,” Noctis sighed, collapsing in an unfolded chair. 

 

“You can remain awake long enough to eat,” Ignis tutted, kneeling down to check the integrity of the portable grill. 

 

“What’s on the menu tonight?” Prompto sat up, his ears perking at the mention of food. 

 

“Whatever we have available,” Ignis said without looking back. 

 

“Which is…?”

 

“You have eyes, utilize them.”

 

Lady squatted next to Gladio, her hands on her knees as she looked at the tent he set up. “Need some help?”

 

“Nah, got everything covered,” he replied.

 

She looked at the interior, it was certainly roomy. But.. would there be space to fit her in? She tried visualizing the bodies lining up in various positions but she sighed when she realized there would be no other sleeping arrangements available besides the fact that she’ll be squeezed in with someone. The question was who? 

 

Getting up, she looked into the cave-like entrance in the rock wall. Her fingers ran against it and she rubbed them together. Wet, as if she was touching condensation from the side of a glass of ice water. Looking at the river surrounding the campsite, she noted that it ran south from them. 

 

“What’s up? Find anything?” Noctis walked up from behind. 

 

She pointed down the cave and turned to him, “Up for some exploration before dinner?” He made a face and she sighed, “Pretend like it’s us on quest and we’ll get some sweet loot.” 

 

“Yeah but in video games it’s almost always guaranteed. You never know in these types of places.”

 

“Fair enough, I’ll go in alone then.” She turned from him and walked into the entrance, her flashlight bobbing with her steps.

 

She heard footsteps following her in shortly. “H-hey wait! Don’t be stupid, I’m coming with you.”

 

“If you’re sure, your highness,” she grinned. “Watch your step.”

 

The cave’s walls had stalagmites formed at the top, droplets of water escaping their stone confines and raining down on their heads as they made their way. It got even colder the further they walked, goosebumps began to form on her forearms as her breath started coming out in cool wisps of mist. Freezing, she put an arm out in front of Noctis to stop him in his steps. 

 

“What’s wrong?” He said and she put a finger to his lips, asking for complete silence. 

 

Taking her finger from in front of him, she turned her head towards the other end of the cave and held it up to her ear. 

 

“Hear that?” She whispered.

 

“What?”

 

“Running water, just listen and close your eyes.”

 

Noctis did so and closed his eyes, mimicking her action of putting his hand beside her ear to listen. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and nodded, “Sounds like a waterfall.”

 

“That’s exciting, let’s hurry and find out then,” she held out her left hand and he watched as a ball of flame hovered above her palm. She made a fist and flicked her wrist, sending the fiery sphere flying down the path and watched carefully as it briefly illuminated the floor and finally disappeared towards another opening. 

 

Grabbing Noctis’ hand, she grinned at him, “It’s all clear, let’s go!” With that she ran with him at full speed towards the source of the noise. He sputtered when he looked up and a fat droplet of water hit him on his lip, causing his face to twist into one of extreme displeasure. Lady glanced back at him and erupted with laughter, inevitably making his own mouth form into a smile as they ran. 

 

Reaching the end, they both squinted as their world became brighter and stopped them in their tracks. Breathing in the fresh air as an audible gasp escaped her lips. They both looked around in amazement at their surroundings, a large cylindrical stone wall encased them in with tree roots intertwined in the rock. At the center was a sizable pond, the surface was a light blue but the further she looked in- the deeper in hue it got, revealing its true depths. Crashing into the pond was indeed a waterfall that kept the pond churning and the river that jutted out from its sides disappeared under the rock wall. 

 

“It’s beautiful,” she gasped. 

 

Noctis nodded, the chill he felt surrounding his body wasn’t present in his hand. Looking down, he saw that he was still holding her hand and he looked up at her, swallowing. 

 

She looked back at him with and excited smile, “Guess we found our treasure- hey, what’s wrong?” She followed his eyes to what he was looking at and saw her fingers intertwined with his. “Oh, sorry.” 

 

Her hand quickly left his, Noctis felt the chill quickly immigrate towards his now empty hand and he let out a dejected sigh. 

 

“Look, Noctis. You can fish here!” She pointed at the ponds and he peered over. His eyes lighting up when he saw fish with luminescent scales and bright markings swimming below the churning surface. 

 

“Maybe we can catch some for dinner,” he held out his hand, summoning his fishing rod.

 

“Is fishing the only thing that matters to you?” She smiled and she laughed at his face before he could respond. “I’m kidding! Should I leave you to it then?”

 

“I mean, you can stay here. Y’know. If you want,” he rubbed the back of his head as he began casting his line. 

 

“Of course,” she said, finding a spot on a rock beside him. Its surface smoothed over by water and she brought her legs to a criss-cross position, pulling out her phone. 

 

-Lady has entered the chat- 

 

Lady: You guys haven’t burnt down anything yet right? 

 

Axel: Of course not :P 

 

Lady: I like how you were the first to respond. Very suspicious. Don’t think I forgot how my own tenants betrayed me, how tragic. 

 

Saïx: We did it for your sake. 

 

Zexion: And for our sanity. 

 

Xion: We can’t wait till you come back :)! 

 

Zack: Wait did you go somewhere?

 

Lady: -attachment sent- 

 

It was a picture of the waterfall with Noctis’ head cropped off right at his neck. 

 

Zack: That looks fun! Are you guys camping? 

 

Lady: Sort of? We’re not on a vacation lol. I’m here for a reason.

 

-Prompto has entered the chat- 

 

Prompto: Where r u guys?! 

 

Lady: In the cave, just follow the path, we’re at the end.

 

Prompto: -attachment sent- 

 

It was a picture of the mouth of the cave they entered. 

 

Prompto: This one?! It’s so dark! 

 

Lady: You’ll be fine. You have a flashlight and your bracelet glows in the dark.

 

Axel: Lol. Wimp. 

 

Lady: Axel, don’t be rude! 

 

Axel: Sorry!... Not >:P 

 

Prompto: I’m going in. Ughhh wish me luck. 

 

-Prompto has left the chat- 

 

Lady: Are you guys eating okay? 

 

Axel: Yah 

 

Saïx: No. There’s only ice cream stocked in our fridge. 

 

Lady: FFS… Xion can you enter my room? There’s munny stashed in a jar on a shelf. Use that to buy you guys some DECENT FOOD AND NOT ICE CREAM. 

 

Xion: Okay! Thank you <3 

 

Axel: But we’re fine! 

 

Lady: Not another word. Or I swear I’ll come back right now.

 

Axel: Fiiinneeeee. What are you, our mother? 

 

Lady: I might as well be. Make sure the others are fed too, please.

 

-Lady has left the chat- 

 

Just as she put her phone down, she looked up at the sound of echoing footsteps approaching them with haste. Lady raised an eyebrow as Prompto emerged from the shadows, wheezing as he bent over and put his hands on his knees.

 

“To-too dark. And creepy. And slimy,” he panted. Stumbling over and collapsing on the rock she sat on.

 

“Hey sunshine,” she looked at him, smiling. 

 

“Hey,” he grinned lazily, his chest returning back to their normal respiratory functions. 

 

“Mind keeping it down? You’re scaring away the fish,” Noctis sighed. 

 

“They’ll get scared just by looking at your gloomy face, highness,” she smirked and he shot her a look. 

 

“How ‘bout I just use you as bait so you can attract them with your endless charm?” He snorted. 

 

“More so than you, prince charmless,” she fired back and she saw a hint of a smile on his face.

 

Prompto looked from Noctis to Lady and he poked her, motioning for her to let him whisper in her ear. “See what I mean? Never seen Noct so comfortable with a girl. He’s usually always so off putting,” he told her.

 

“At least the little prince likes me,” she whispered back, looking up. Letting out a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes.

 

“What’s wrong?” Prompto asked her. 

 

“Nothing, just enjoying my time here with you guys. I really like it here,” she said. 

 

“I do too.” Noctis told them as he reeled in his rod, a triumphant smile on his face when a dark grey fish dangled at the end of his hook.

 

“Lovely, that’ll be enough to feed one of us at least,” Lady teased. 

 

“There’s more comin’, just you wait,” Noctis dumped the fish into a bucket that appeared at his feet.

 

“There you guys are,” Gladio said as he and Ignis emerged from the cave. “Was wondering where you went.”

 

“This is scenic,” Ignis looked around him. “Who knew we’d come across something so beautiful?”

 

“We should take a picture!” Prompto jumped up, taking his camera out of his pocket and setting it on a stacked pile of rocks. He stuck his tongue out as he adjusted the settings.

 

Noctis looked back, throwing away the rod and Lady watched as it disappeared in an explosion of blue light.

 

“Lady should go in the middle!” Prompto urged her to move as he looked through the camera's viewfinder. 

 

She looked and stood between Ignis and Gladio, Noctis knelt down in front and Prompto ran to squat down in front of her as well. He threw up a peace sign and Noctis had that smug half-smile on his face while Gladio wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she brought her arms to hug his and Ignis’ backs. Smiling, she waited for the camera to flash and once it did she dropped her arms and watched Prompto fetch the camera. 

 

Looking at it, he beamed up at them and brought it up to show them. “This is _such_ a good picture. I amaze myself sometimes.”

 

Lady looked and a soft smile appeared on her lips when she saw. It was indeed a beautiful picture. The smiles on all of their faces were genuine and reflected the peace they were experiencing at the moment.

 

“I want a copy of that!” She told him.

 

“Will do,” Prompto gave her a thumbs up. 

 

“Shall we eat? Dinner’s ready,” Ignis motioned for them to follow and they all trekked back to the campsite as Noctis carried his bucket holding his only catch. 

 

Sitting down around the campfire, Lady warmed her hands and rubbed them together. Receiving a plate from the chef, she looked at the creamy rice with crispy pan-seared fish resting atop it along with asparagus dotting the dish. 

 

She sat next to Noctis and watched him as he picked the asparagus from his rice and set it to the side before digging in to eat. 

 

“What’s this? Risotto?” Noctis asked Ignis and the latter nodded, peeking over at his plate and sighing when he saw the neglected vegetables. 

 

Lady scooped up a spoonful into her mouth, setting a map in front of her as she looked over the terrain and ate. 

 

“This is really good Ignis, Angeal’s got competition,” a small blush formed on her cheeks and Lady hoped they would see it as a flush formed by the warmth of the campfire. “Wait, don’t tell him that.”

 

“Your secret is safe with me,” Ignis closed his eyes as he took a sip of his drink. “But thank you.”

 

“So, after this why don’t we do some reconnaissance?” Gladio faced the group. 

 

“Do you still want to go tonight?” Prompto looked at the dark brunette with worried eyes. 

 

“Might as well or we can do it tomorrow. They won’t expect us coming. We hit ‘em hard and hit ‘em fast.”

 

“And hope they have the person you’re seeking,” Ignis looked towards Lady and she nodded. She followed the embers of the flames as it floated up into the sky and towards the mountains. Squinting, she saw a flash of red combust against the mountainside and shortly after black electricity crackle against the dark grey slate. A low rumble echoed through the terrain and she dropped her plate when a high-pitched scream pierced her ears and she quickly brought her hands up to cover them. She lurched over and her forehead touched the cool stone floor, trying to stifle the noise as she made a pained whimper. Gritting her teeth as the noise racked her brain, bouncing around in her head before she saw flashes of red on her closed eyelids.

 

The noise soon disappeared and she slowly removed her hands from her ears, looking at her gloves and exhaled when she saw that they were stained with fresh glistening blood. Her fingers reached up to where she felt the warmth drip down her neck from her ear. 

 

“Are you okay?!” Prompto rushed to her side, taking a towel and dabbing at the blood carefully as if he was hurting her. 

 

“You guys didn’t hear that?” Lady looked at the four of them, bewildered. 

 

“Hear.. what?” Noctis knelt beside her, eyebrows knitted in confusion. 

 

“That noise- it was like an animal screaming,” she shut her eyes. “Am I the only one who heard that?” 

 

“I’m afraid so,” Ignis handed Prompto a wet cloth to wipe away the blood that stained her leather gloves. 

 

_I was the only one affected? No one else? If that sound can cripple me… can it affect someone else that’s like me?_

 

Taking the wet cloth from Prompto, she dabbed at her hands to wipe away the calcified iron on her fingers with urgency. 

 

_He’s there. I can feel it. Vincent’s there._

 

She looked up at Ignis and Gladio with fierce determination in her eyes. “We’re leaving tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely can’t come up with any puns and that upsets me. 
> 
> Was gonna say something about Noctis and being ‘fishy’, but that’s just dumb.


	32. XXXII

A bad habit was forming of hers in which Lady wasn’t getting enough sleep these past few days. She stayed up, denying any form of rest as she only sat criss-cross in front of the dying embers of the campfire. Listening to the gentle snores of Prompto as he had his bedroll laid out next to her to keep her company, but he dozed off minutes after his head touched the woolen pillow. 

 

She looked at the analog clock displaying the time on her phone. It had already been four hours and the sun was quickly setting in the horizon, disappearing beneath the forests top layer and dying the leaves a richer shade of emerald green.  

 

“Hey,” came a soft voice and she looked up just as Noctis took a seat next to her. “You good?”

 

“Peachy,” she responded, wringing out her gloves in her hand. Hoping he would take her half-assed answer and sighed when he looked unconvinced. “Nervous, I guess. Wondering what we’ll find in there.”

 

“Besides your friend? A whole lotta imperials.”

 

“I wouldn’t classify him as a friend, I don’t even know him. “

 

“Yet you know him well enough to risk sneaking into a base full of guys who are supposed to be our enemies?”

 

“Hmph, touché.”

 

They both sat in silence for a while, looking up at the sky together. 

 

“Noctis..” she said softly. “If anything happens to me-“

 

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said firmly and she looked at him with surprise. “That’s a promise, so don’t talk like that.” He glanced at her and she saw the proud elegance of his deep sapphire eyes. 

 

She stifled a laugh. 

 

“H-hey, what’s so funny?” He almost pouted, breaking any regality he had prior. 

 

“You sounded like an actual prince for a moment.”

 

“I _am_ a prince.”

 

“Don’t pout,” she grinned. “I think it’s cute.”

 

Noctis turned his head away from her, she saw his fingers twitch and tighten up. Before she could continue her beratement, she heard rustling behind her and she saw Gladio emerge from the tent. 

 

“It’s a good time to head out, don’t know how long we’ll be there so might as well start now,” he announced to the both of them before focusing on Lady. “You sure you okay? You didn’t get any rest.”

 

“I’ll be fine, I don’t intend on taking up the whole night up there,” she gave him a reassuring smile. 

 

“Hm, alright. Let’s pack up and move out,” he walked over to the chairs and started folding them. “Someone wake up sleeping blondie over there.”

 

Lady leaned over to take Prompto’s shoulder and shook him gently. Her face hovered six inches from his, close enough to see each freckle gracing his face. 

 

“Sunshine..” she nudged him and he shook his head, mumbling something incoherent. “Hey.. wake up, we’re going.”

 

Noctis got up and knelt down beside Prompto, reaching down and pinching his right cheek hard. 

 

Prompto woke with a jolt and sat up as Lady leaned back, barely missing being head butted by him as he held his abused cheek. 

 

“Noct was that you? The hell was that for?!” He frowned. 

 

“Payback for all those times you woke _me_ up. C’mon we’re ‘bout to leave,” Noctis shrugged as he got up to stomp out the remaining glowing coals of the campfire. 

 

Prompto sighed, rolling onto his back and bringing his knees in to launch himself up. Folding up his bedroll, he followed Gladio as him and Noctis walked back to the car. 

 

Lady looked up as Ignis walked to the edge of the stone pavilion and looked up at the path to the mountain. He turned his head back at her, “We’ll need to formulate a plan of attack.”

 

She nodded, getting up to stand next to him as he began to speak, “First, we’ll need to disable the device that inhibits any of our powers. It would be a mistake to walk into enemy territory without any means to defend ourselves.”

 

“Should we do this in groups? The five of us together will attract too much attention,” she said.

 

“Prompto can help me disable the machines, the boy has a knack for tinkering.”

 

“I’ll go find Vincent then.”

 

“Is that the name of the man you seek?” He looked at her, his hazel green eyes deeper in color under the darkening sky. 

 

“Vincent Valentine.. yes.”

 

“Then, Noctis and Gladio should go with you.”

 

“But,” she shook her head. “What about you two?”

 

“I am quite..” he took a moment to push up his glasses and run his gloved fingers through his spiked up hair. His jawline angled sharply as he scanned the mountaintops. “Experienced,” he finished. “So have faith.”

 

“Heeeyyy guys!” Prompto emerged from the thicketed path. 

 

“Shut up! You want to announce to everyone that we’re here?!” Gladio wrapped his arm around Prompto’s neck as the blond shook his head. “Iggy, did you already come up with a plan?”

 

Ignis nodded in reply, waiting for the three of them to near them to reveal his concocted idea. 

 

He turned to the blond first. “Prompto, you’re with me. We’ll all need to make sure to do some surveillance of the area before going in. But then you’ll come with me to disable any devices the empire has that cripples us.”

 

Then to Noctis and Gladio. “You two will go with our landlady and help her find who she’s looking for.” 

 

Gladio crossed his arms, “So will this be a search _and_ destroy? Having an imperial base so close to home makes me uncomfortable.”

 

“Might as well, right? We’re here,” Noctis added. 

 

“Well.. let’s make sure we find Vincent first. But won’t it be obvious it’s your guys’ handiwork?” She asked. “That’ll just instigate any relations between Lucis and Niflheim.”

 

“There won’t be much left if the whole place is blown to pieces,” Gladio’s eyes flashed. “‘Sides, the empire isn’t exactly known to have plenty of friends.”

 

“Fair enough,” she said. 

 

“Any more questions?” Ignis eyed each member of the group individually, waiting for them to speak up. “If not, then forever hold your peace.”

 

“Let’s roll out then,” Noctis motioned to the group as he took the lead and they all followed him up the mountain path. 

 

•••

 

Lady was on her stomach, head barely peeking over the rock that covered her body. She looked down at the expanse of the base, exhaling when it looked bigger than she expected it to be. The walls seemed to be made of concrete with it’s dark grey confines looming under the shadow of the shallow crater that they rested in. When she blinked, she swore she could see the walls shimmer and shake before forming back into a solid mass again- as if the whole thing was made of holograms. They were all on their stomachs looking over the base, formulating a way in. 

 

Noctis squinted, the dark making anything hardly visible besides the glowing red of the empire’s dire devices. 

 

“Can’t see much from up here,” Gladio clicked his tongue. 

 

“Flashlights would just announce our presence, seems we’ll be going in blind,” said Ignis. 

 

“If I were a prisoner.. where would they keep me?” Lady wondered aloud. 

 

“Probably somewhere down under, right? Maybe a bunker?” Prompto tilted his head, eyes hoping his answer was viable. 

 

“Good thinking sunshine, looks like I’ll be looking for a lift or stairs,” she hummed, smiling at him. 

 

“Look at that over there,” Ignis pointed at a spheric device that emanated red waves and crackled with black electricity that was darker than the surrounding night. 

 

“Looks important,” Noctis added. “That means we should absolutely destroy it.”

 

“Disable them first,” Lady frowned. “Wait until I find Vincent and get him out.” 

 

Prompto gasped. “I just realized, where would that guy even sit? There’s only five seats in the Regalia.”

 

A silence fell about them as Lady closed her eyes with regret and Gladio cursed quietly.

 

“Ah hell, you’re right. We don’t even know how we can take him back.” 

 

“Um, you can stuff me in the trunk or something,” Lady offered her suggestion meekly. 

 

“What? No!” Noctis looked at her with bewilderment. “You wanna be squished in the trunk for _hours_?”

 

“Not like we have much of a choice,” she hissed. “Or I can sit on someone’s lap but I _doubt_ anyone would want that.” 

 

Another bout of silence fell about the group as they all looked at each other with side eyes. 

 

“You know what never mind, let’s discuss this _after_.” She shook her head.

 

“Uh-m, agreed,” Noctis cleared his throat. “Let’s get this done first. Everyone know what they’re doing?”

 

“Yeah,” they all nodded. 

 

“Then let’s carry on and hope nothing goes awry,” Ignis sighed. 

 

•••

 

Lady felt her sword bump against her lower thigh with every step she took, stopping at a corner and to view around it carefully. She held up a closed fist in the air as Gladio and Noct stopped in their tracks. Squinting, she saw the flickering electric lights move with the shadows of a passing patrol. 

 

Once they disappeared, she lowered her fist and turned to the two. Holding up an open palm, she summoned a small flame that danced in her hand but quickly died out. She scowled. 

 

“Magic’s not gonna be of any use till Iggy and Prom disable any machines they have,” Gladio said in a hushed tone. 

 

“I know,” she whispered back. “I just wanted to check. What about you guys?”

 

Noctis held up his hand and just as her flame did, the blue light of the crystal’s powers flickered in his hand before dying out. 

 

“This is bad, we should tell dad about this after we’re done here,” Noctis frowned. 

 

“Let’s move,” Gladio motioned for them to follow as they crossed over to another dimly lit hallway. Their ears were attentive and listening in for any heavy footsteps against the metallic floor. 

 

They stopped near a hallway with multiple sliding doors, standing in the middle of a crossroads of four other paths that confounded them. They all looked identical, even with their markings and lights- it addled their judgement. 

 

From the other end of the hall, she heard two sets of footsteps echo loudly round a corner and headed straight for them. Gladio pulled Noctis back behind the corner, pressing their backs against the wall as Lady mimicked their actions on the one opposite from them. 

 

She looked at Gladio and held up two fingers, jerking her head in the direction of the noise and he nodded. His thumb was brought up and he made a quick slicing motion at his neck then pointed back at her. 

 

Her finger pointed at him and she mouthed the words ‘you and me?’

 

He nodded, moving in front of Noctis as they both waited for the footsteps to come near. 

 

The closer the soldiers came, the more she could pick up on their shared conversation. She absorbed the information as much as she could, if any at all. 

 

“Did you see the mess yesterday?” One said in a hushed tone. “First real mission they send me to and it’s already gone to shit.”

 

“Yeah, good thing the poor bastard was weakened otherwise we would’ve been fucked.” The other replied, voice muffled by the medieval helmet they wore. “They almost brought down the mountain yesterday putting him down again.” 

 

“Why are we carrying him around? Why’s he so important?”

 

“I dunno, I’m just following orders. Stopped by the other day to watch him in his cell and the guy just stared.. unblinking, it creeped me out. He looked like he wanted to strangle me.” 

 

“I’d be mad too if I almost escaped and was brought back here just to get chained up again,” the person speaking released a chuckle. 

 

Their voices were closer and Gladio looked at her and they both pressed tightly against the wall. Just as soon as the guards’ bodies appeared, they both emerged from the shadows and jumped the two. Gladio’s arm wrapping around the one on the left while Lady had hers around the one on the right. 

 

Jerking her head towards one of the sliding doors, they both entered and tossed the two soldiers in; as Lady unsheathed her sword and held the edge up against the throat of one while Gladio strangled the other into silence. The door slid back close and left the three of them with two of the Niflheim soldiers. 

 

“How did you get in-?!” The one facing her blade shouted but was silenced as she moved the blunt edge of her blade upwards, knocking off the helmet and revealing the one underneath. Her will wavered a bit, looking down at the boy who looked barely over eighteen as his brown eyes widened in terror. _He’s still so young._

 

Gladio shoved the other soldier alongside his comrade, taking the short sword from the soldier’s side and aiming it in a similar fashion to Lady. 

 

She traced the blade’s blunt side over the jugular of the unmasked soldier. “If any of you speak louder than a whisper, I’ll cut your neck so that your last moments are spent choking on your own blood.” Her stomach dropped at the unease she caused herself by her harsh words. It tasted foul in her mouth. 

 

“Wa-wait, what do you want? We’ll tell you anything!” The one with a mask raised his hands up in surrender.

 

“Hmph, Niflheim doesn’t foster much loyalty in their ranks,” said Gladio. 

 

The unmasked boy with short brown hair looked up at Lady and then down at the silver belt on her hips, the one donning the Shinra logo. He raised his hands where she could see them as he spoke with a shaky tone, “You’re.. you’re SOLDIER, aren’t you? First?”

 

“So you know who I work for and what I represent,” she said, her eyes hardening as she felt the familiar feeling of mercilessness settle in her. “Good, then you also know I don’t want my time wasted. Where are you keeping Vincent Valentine?”

 

“He’s..” the boy began to speak and the one next to him shook his head vehemently. 

 

“We can’t! We’ll get killed!”

 

“And if you don’t talk, _she’ll_ kill _you_.” Gladio pushed the tip of the blade closer against his helmet and the soldier inhaled shakily. 

 

“Will..” The boy swallowed before speaking further. “Will you let us go if I tell you?”

 

“Perhaps,” Lady turned the blade to the sharper side as she held it steadfast. “Depends on the value of your information.”

 

The boy looked at his comrade with nervous eyes before looking back up at her, “We’re holding him down at a specialized containment unit. It used to be less guarded.. but since he tried escaping last night, it caused a whole lotta ruckus and we’re keeping him tranquilized with machines and even more are stationed to watch him.” He swallowed hard before continuing, “We were supposed to pick up guard shifts from the two down there right now, until.. well..”

 

Lady glanced at Gladio and he nodded. She turned back to the boy and spoke, “You value your lives, right?”

 

They both nodded. 

 

Taking the helmet from the ground, she put it back on the boy and sheathed her sword. “Take us there and proceed as normally, one misstep and I won’t hesitate to cut you down. Understood?”

 

They both stiffened and nodded, “Y-yes, ma’am!”

 

Noctis turned to exit the room and gave them a thumbs up to make sure the coast was clear. One soldier stopped and cleared his throat, “Wait.. you said you were with SOLDIER and Shinra..”

 

Lady turned, her face still yet her mouth downturned in irritation. “What of it?”

 

“Well.. I thought we were working with Shinra, so why would they send one of their own to attack us-“

 

“Come again?” She growled as she approached the one who spoke. 

 

“N-nothing, we were just told someone at Shinra wanted Vincent delivered to- to- to their new headquarters.“ his words faltered as Lady’s scowl grew even more in displeasure. 

 

Gladio and Noctis exchanged looks as Lady took a step forward every time the man took a step backwards.

 

 “Is that all you know?” She hissed. 

 

“Yes! That’s all I know I swear! They don’t tell us grunts anything, it’s just stuff we hear from the top!” 

 

Lady let out an exhale through her nose as she backed away slowly, jerking her head towards the door. “Lead us to Vincent. _Now_.”

 

•••

 

“Arin, Hollgir, you two are late,” a soldier greeted the two, turning his head to the respective persons as they saluted each other. 

 

“We got.. delayed. Sorry.”

 

“Whatever, I’m going to sleep now. This dude was giving me the creeps. Make sure the gas keeps flowing.” The first soldier waved to them as another followed and the others took their spot. One took off his helmet, revealing the brown-haired boy and he motioned towards the darkness. Lady and the others emerged, looking around them at the so called ‘specialized’ prison.

 

 It only contained one cell in the middle of the circular metallic room filled with large pipes running through the walls that had surges of red electricity running through it. The only source of light was the excruciatingly bright spotlights that highlighted the center; a glass confinement cell with large pipes that filled it with a dark gas that covered the bottom half of the floor. Strangely.. it looked familiar. 

 

In the middle, Lady could see crimson sticking out through the black clouds. It covered a figure who was knelt down and hunched over, black wisps of smoke gliding over the body and flicked up before laying back down across the floor. 

 

 _Vincent._  

 

Ahead of her, she could see Gladio and Noctis inspect the machines that grouped around the prison cell. 

 

Lady stopped the two guards. “What are these machines?” 

 

The one without his helmet spoke. _Arin, I think?_ “This keeps his cell pumped up with a gas that keeps him weakened. There used to be less.. but since last night they’ve been overloading him with it. Honestly, he looks pretty beat up.” 

 

“I dunno,” the helmeted one said. _Hollgir._ “He still looks like he could rip through our throats if he wanted to.”

 

“Tell me how to turn it off..” She stopped, looking at both of them long enough to get a good read on their emotions. “And I’ll let you go.”

 

They both glanced at each other with unsure faces before Arin spoke up, “That’s the thing. We know how to keep the gas going but not so much deactivating it. That kinda stuff is meant for the higher-ups. None of us is supposed to tamper with it.”

 

Gladio approached from behind with Noctis next to him. “Show us where you increase the dose.”

 

They both led them to a switchboard five meters away from the glass, pointing at the wheel, “It only goes right.”

 

Lady looked to her side, seeing Vincent’s head down as his back slowly came up and down. Dancing on the fine line between death and life. She turned back to Arin and Hollgir and took Arin’s hand, moving the sleeve of his chain mail to press her thumb against his wrist. 

 

Arin looked bewildered, unsure of what to do as he looked over at his comrade who just shrugged and shook his head. Lady stared at the thumb resting against the blue vein of his pallid wrist, eyes flashing and glancing up at him. Finally, she let go and repeated the same process with the other. Satisfied she let go of Hollgir’s wrist and spoke, “Thanks for the help, you should leave.”

 

“Just like that?” Hollgir finally took of his helmet, revealing blonde curls. “How do we know you won’t kill us?”

 

“Martiere is waiting for you, no? It’d be a bad idea to keep him waiting,” Lady said to him before turning back to Arin. “And you, Paolma would be disappointed if you didn’t take her out to the yellow-leafed tree on the hill, right?”

 

Their eyes widened and Arin sputtered out his response, “How do.. you know about Paolma?”

 

A purple light flashed in her eyes before dying down, burying itself within her natural colored irises. 

 

“We’ve plans to destroy this compound and leave no traces. If anything, you two will be announced killed in action and forgotten- forgive me, but it already seems like you didn’t want to be here anyways.”

 

Arin and Hollgir looked at each other, both sighing and turning to look at her, Gladio, and Noctis. 

 

“Thank you, let’s go Hollgir,” Arin grabbed onto his friend’s arm and they both quickly exited, leaving the three alone.

 

“Is that a good idea?” Noctis squinted at the two guards as they retreated. 

 

“I’m sure,” Lady muttered before meeting his sapphire gaze. “If not, then I’ll take full responsibility.” 

 

“Back to the matter at hand. If the crank to fill the gas is right there, maybe the other one is hidden?” Noctis wondered to the machine, inspecting it as his eyes looked to follow the wires.

 

Lady closed her eyes and shook her head. “I think whoever supervises this machine goes…” she walked over to a closed panel on the wall. Sliding her finger down the side, she loosened it and revealed a switchboard with buttons for various unknown functions. 

 

“How did you know that was there?” Gladio muttered, walking behind her. 

 

“I.. saw,” she answered, unsure of how else she could explain it. 

 

“What do you mean you _saw_?” Noctis prodded her, left eyebrow raised in confusion.

 

“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later,” she said as she began going through the multiple switches. Her eyes zigzagging from the wires that streamed electricity and small buttons that signaled the status. “I think it’s this one..?” 

 

Extending a finger towards a black button, hesitating a quick second before finally taking the dive and pressed it. Watching as the button below lit up a soft green, she turned back and watched as the glass doors of the cell released steam before sliding open slowly. The gas inside began to slowly die out and she could finally see him in his entirety. 

 

Her body moved on its own, running towards the open cell; her skin feeling the freezing temperature that dropped as soon as she reached its threshold. Passing the glass doors, she slowed to a walk- her breath slow and steady but her pulse running at a faster rate. She knelt down in front of him, hand reaching out slowly to touch his shoulder and urge him. An overwhelming urge to reach him. She couldn’t pinpoint the reason why adrenaline was flowing fast inside her. 

 

“Vincent?” She whispered, feeling drawn in. **“Chaos.”**

 

At the call of his name, crimson eyes shot up and glared at her. She was taken aback at how _red_ they were, almost like the color would be apt to burn her if she stared any longer. They were more vivid up close versus her vision in the dark coffin at Nibelheim. 

 

His left arm rose quickly and grabbed her hand as it came closer to him, his face unmoving as the claws of his gauntlet dug into her skin.

 

“Another trick of the empire’s?” Came his voice, deep and gravelly and sent shivers down her spine. 

 

She shook her head, holding her ground against his overbearing gaze. “No, I-“ 

 

Just as she tried to explain to him, the white overhead lights that illuminated the cell turned red and the glass doors slammed shut. She looked up and around frantically, pulling herself from Vincent’s grip as she ran to the wall where Noctis and Gladio both approached. 

 

“What happened?!” She yelled, banging her fist on the glass. Her eyes looking up at the vents and scowling when she saw black gas beginning to seep in. 

 

The lights in the whole room began flashing red as an automated voice echoed throughout. 

 

_“Intruders detected in main facility. Dispatch immediately.”_

 

“Shit, think that’s our cue to get the hell out of here,” Noctis scowled. 

 

“Ya think?” Gladio shook his head, holding out hand and watching as nothing appeared. “Lady, you’re gonna have to bust that thing from the inside.”

 

She nodded, taking out her sword and readying the blade. As her arm raised to swing down on the glass doors, black smog creeped up her legs as if it were a swarm of bugs. It soon reached her face and she tried her best to hold her breath, but it proved futile as she felt the thick gas penetrate through her mouth and nostrils. She bent over, coughing; the gas feeling like millions of tiny ants running down her esophagus as she leaned on the glass to steady herself. 

 

“Lady!” Noctis banged on the glass and she pushed herself off. Staggering towards the door again, she willed herself to move against her body’s wishes to collapse onto the ground. 

 

Raising the sword again, she used both of her hands and sliced at it diagonally. The following incision on the glass cracked a bit at the seams. Scowling, she readied her arm and tried again. This time being more successful as the glass started making web-like patterns around the point where she struck. 

 

Her victory was short-lived as the lights flashed red once more and another automated voice came on. 

 

_“Cell compromised. Initiating contingency failsafe.”_

 

Panels opened up at the top to reveal speakers. She looked around her with widened eyes. It was then that Vincent’s voice snapped her back to action. 

 

“Hurry and get us out of here!” He growled, looking up at the speakers with narrowed eyes and back at her. 

 

She nodded, her palm on the hilt of the blade as she pushed it on the glass. As she pushed the blade to penetrate the glass, the familiar screeching sound filled the glass prison. Her hands came off the hilt of her sword and up to her ears, doubling over she gritted her teeth as the piercing sound began to rack her brain. The intensity was ten-fold, as the symphony of screams bounced around the glass and every time it picked up on decibels- it felt as she was being sucker punched. 

 

Looking over, she saw Vincent hunched over. His hands over his ears as his face twisted in pain, blood dripping from his ears and nose. _So it affects him too.._

 

Falling to her knees, she felt as if the sounds began to hurt her physically. In tandem with the black gas filling the cell steadily, she felt every part of her body being violated with pain. She felt warm blood drip down from her nose as well as the liquid running down her ears. Looking up she saw Noctis bang on the glass with a fist, his body being distorted as her vision began to blur and fade at the edges. As she blinked to try and stave off the blur in her eyes, she saw two flashes of brilliant blue light and the sound of glass shattering. 

 

She was pulled up by her waist with her arm swung around a shoulder as she was helped up and far from the cell. As she stopped walking, she collapsed again where she was caught in an embrace. Looking up, her vision slowly came to and she saw Noctis look down at her with worry. His arms wrapped around her waist tightly as he held her close to him. 

 

“You okay?” He asked, eyes filled with concern. 

 

Her hands rested on his chest as she allowed herself to breathe in the semi-fresh air before speaking. “I.. I think?”  She said, slightly dazed.

 

“Come on!” Gladio barked, holding Vincent up with an arm as he approached them. With his free hand, he placed her sword back in its scabbard. “We gotta go!”

 

“R-right,” Lady murmured, pulling away from Noctis as she urged him to move. “Hurry!”

 

Noctis looked to Gladio who held up a weakened Vincent and nodding. The four of them moved towards the exit and came out back in the maze of metallic hallways. 

 

“You remember the way?” Gladio asked.

 

“Yeah,” Noctis nodded as they ran down the hall. “I hope.”

 

He stopped at crossways, looking at the walls for markings before choosing a hall and running down- hoping for a way out. 

 

Lady lagged behind, the pain dulled but throbbing within her still. She stopped, leaning against the wall as her breath exited her lungs in dry and painful heaves. 

 

The three of them stopped and looked back at her. She shut her eyes and tried pushing herself off the wall, “Sorry. Lemme just..” She bit down on her bottom lip until she tasted iron touch her tastebuds. Getting up and approaching them, she gave them a weak nod to urge them to continue. 

 

Noctis walked towards her and took her hand firmly in his, fingers intertwining with his in a similar fashion to how she held his when they ran through the cave together. 

 

“I told you I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said, holding her firmly as he pulled her with him. Lady followed as they twisted and turned in the maze with Gladio and Vincent following closely behind. The hallway turned up into a ramp and they ran up, the sounds of explosions getting louder as they approached the surface. As the group was greeted with the open night air, flashes of light filled the air as well as the odor of molten metal and gunpowder.

 

“Is that.. Prompto?” Lady squinted, looking at the source of the explosions.

 

“Never took him for a pyrotechnic,” Noctis gave a low whistle. 

 

“That’s concerning,” Gladiolus grimaced.

 

“I think your friends need help,” Vincent muttered, looking at the imperial guards approaching Ignis and Prompto with their weapons hot. 

 

“Are you okay to fight?” Noctis asked her. 

 

“I’m fine, worry about yourself out there,” she gave him a wry smile, the warmth in her hand growing more evident. Her fingers loosened and she let go of his hand to reach for her sword. “Ready if you guys are.”

 

“How about you?” Gladiolus released Vincent and the man looked at them. 

 

“Just get me a gun,” he said, the lower part of his face concealed by the collar of his cape. 

 

Nodding, they followed Noctis as the prince drew his sword and threw it at an unsuspecting imperial. Lady watched as he dematerialized into light and reappeared where his sword struck the iron armor of the imperial. Gladio and Vincent ran up as Noctis tossed a discarded gun towards Vincent. 

 

“That good enough for ya?” Noctis asked, taking his sword around and swinging it down at another who ran towards him. 

 

Vincent checked the rounds, cocking it and aimed it. Shooting an imperial soldier straight in the center of his head as he raised the barrel towards the sky, his eyes scanning for more enemies. “It’ll have to do.”

 

“Gladio!” Noctis called and his shield answered, taking his greatsword and swinging it over his head as Noctis ducked out of the way. The sword blowing back a wave of guards that rushed towards them, the sheer force cracking their chest plates as they were sent flying backwards. 

 

“Nice one!” Noctis raised his fist and Gladio raised his to fist-bump each other before parting ways; making short work of anyone who crossed their paths that bore the empire’s insignia. 

 

Lady placed a hand on the hilt of her sword, eyeing a group that was running towards her. Eager to not let the boys show her up, she gathered mana in her fist and released a fireball into the crowd. Watching as they scattered in the ensuing flames, she unsheathed her blade and swung it horizontally towards the ones closest to her; the chainmail breaking at their individual links as their blood began to stain the iron red. As a rifle was being raised at her, she ducked her head and brought the hilt of the sword up to the barrel- knocking it aside. Spinning on her left heel, she brought her right foot up and slammed the shin against the guard’s head and knocked him down to the ground. 

 

Looking up to make sure everyone was okay, she was relieved to find everyone else was doing just as fine. Towards her far right, she saw a dancing cape of crimson that moved against the night sky with unbelievable dexterity. Bullets flew from Vincent’s rifle that he acquired, tossing it aside as soon as the cartridges clicked empty and knocking down another guard just to take their rifle to use again. 

 

Prompto and Noctis worked together like a dream, as soon as Prompto fell backwards as a result of one of his explosions- Noctis would be right behind him and pushed him back up before running into battle again. The two tag teamed their enemies, if one wasn’t being blasted in the face with a spray of bullets- they would be hit by a barrage of Insomnian steel. 

 

Watching Ignis fight was almost like watching a performer with the way the man plunged his lance into a chest of an enemy and launching himself backwards, landing gracefully on his feet with feline-like reflexes. And as for Gladio? Gladio was just a powerhouse. Yet for his size, he moved with purpose and grace- each swing of his greatsword threatening to amputate and each block of his shield promised that nothing could penetrate his defense. 

 

It was the first time seeing the four of them fight- and with Vincent in the mix. She was just witnessing art. 

 

“Over there! Use the tranquils on him!” 

 

The shouting made her snap her head towards the direction of the noise and she saw two imperials load their guns with a glass bullet filled with black liquid; the same ones she saw in her vision. The two of them raised their rifles, eyes leveled with the scope as they aimed it towards Vincent. 

 

“Vincent, watch out!” Lady shouted over to the man and he looked at her before his attention was brought to the imperials.

 

The imperial soldier fired a bullet and Vincent side-stepped, frowning when the bullet barely grazed his arm. A fine wisp of black smoke rose from the wound and disappeared as quickly as it formed. 

 

He raised his rifle against them, firing shots at one before running and throwing the other with alarming strength- knocking them out. It would have almost been comical if it wasn’t for the dire situation. 

 

Below her feet she began to feel tremors that released a groan from the metal walls. Looking around her in confusion, she then Prompto yell. “Guys, we gotta go. Like _now_!”

 

“What did you do?!” Noctis turned to him. 

 

“You said blow this place up, right? There’s hella bombs that’s ‘bout to set off and we’ll be toast unless we bounce!” He squeaked. 

 

“That’s our cue then,” Lady called out to them, looking at the lifeless bodies that surrounded them all. “Let’s hurry!”

 

As she turned, she could see more imperials rise from the bottom bunker and stormed out onto the open courtyard. “There! Stop them!” They yelled out as they came towards her.

 

“How many soldiers does the empire need, holy shit,” Gladio snarled, his sword resting on his broad shoulders. Vincent appeared next to them, his movements silenced as he anticipated the coming fight. 

 

Lady raised her arm, her body temperature dropping to that of a corpse before a coating of frost covered her fingertips. Closing her fist, she brought it up and a solid block of ice arose from the ground- barring their path and effectively stopping them. 

 

“That won’t hold them for long, let’s go!” 

 

She sheathed her sword and turned towards the group as the five of them made a break for it. She didn’t turn around even after she heard their screams and the sound of concrete breaking through. Her feet only carried her further as she ran alongside Ignis and towards the narrow path that led them back up to the mountain cliff. 

 

The sounds of their feet stomping on the concrete became louder under the natural gravel of the mountain and it seemed there were more tremors every time her boots touched the ground. Gunshots were heard behind them along with various orders that were soon smothered under the sounds of explosions going off below the surface. Debris began flying and crashing against the sides of the mountain, bringing down some boulders that threatened to crush them. 

 

“Just how many bombs did you plant?” Gladio barked, pushing Noctis out of the way of a projectile. 

 

“Uhh, not sure! Lost count after twenty-two..” Prompto gave a nervous laugh as he jumped over a runaway rock. 

 

“What?!”

 

“I just wanted to be sure!” 

 

“If we don’t get killed here Prompto, I’ll kill you myself.”

 

“You don’t mean that.. right?!”

 

“Can we _please_ focus on running away?” Noctis yelled over the rumbling gravel. 

 

They stopped when they finally reached the top, Noctis stopped- his arms flailing as he tried to maintain his balance as his boots touched the edge. “That’s a long way down..” he turned to Ignis, “Is it a good idea to climb down still?”

 

Ignis looked down at the path they took up, the path was steep and rather unstable. The trip up required effort and that was without the shaking ground and flying boulders. “I don’t like our chances but we’ve no other way,” he stated. 

 

“Isn’t there like a pond or something we can all jump down into instead?” Prompto groaned, jittery as he looked down. “I don’t think we can make it if we go down that way!”

 

Lady looked up to Prompto, eyes lighting up as his words filled her with a bizarre idea. “Yeah.. let’s jump!”

 

“You have a death wish?” Gladio crossed his arms. 

 

“We can all sit here and debate over the best way down or we can get off our asses, just trust me!” She pointed over the edge. “I can soften our landing.”

 

“Should we hold hands or something?” Prompto shivered, his eyes widening as the heavy realization of just how high up from the ground they were. Lady nodded as she took his hand, holding it firmly. She waited as Noctis took her other hand, his other was taken by Ignis and then lastly Gladio. Prompto looked up at Vincent and tentatively held his hand out. 

 

“I am not holding your hand,” Vincent looked down at the blond with stern eyes. 

 

Prompto turned to look to Lady and back at Vincent, not wanting to deny either request. “But-“

 

“Hold his fucking hand already, we don’t have time to argue!” Lady hissed, annoyed.

 

Vincent looked up, mimicking her expression with his brows furrowing under his scarlet bandana. He let out a sigh and finally gripped Prompto’s open hand. 

 

“Hold on tight!” She ordered them, running towards the edge and feeling their hesitancy as they neared the edge. Just as their feet left the cliff, another explosion went off behind them and splinters of granite rained down from the sky. She also heard a piercing scream, but it wasn’t the sound from earlier- it in fact came from the frightened blond holding onto her as the group descended down towards the forest floor. 

 

Focusing in on the mana that began to surge from her body and down into a visible swirl of white winds, it slowly began to expand to accommodate for the size of the group. Just as the forest leaves were inches below them, the winds blew through the top layer and scattered the foliage. Her hair blew up as their fall was cushioned by her magic, leaving them all looking slightly wind-blown and dazed.. save for Vincent. The man seemed to only know one facial expression. 

 

“Woohoo! We’re safe!” Prompto pumped his fist in the air. 

 

“I wouldn’t celebrate just yet,” Ignis adjusted his glasses, looking up at the mountain as explosions continued to go off. Bullets lit up the night sky, all aimed at a black mass that formed over the compound. 

 

“What is that?” Lady murmured, squinting. 

 

As if it answered her question, the black mass let out a bellow that shook the earth. The mountain was weak enough as it is, but the sound waves that was released- it ruined the integrity even more as it loosened shards off. The stones shaped like massive daggers slipped off and fell towards where they stood. 

 

It gave them little time to react as Ignis dove for Noctis, keeping his head down as Gladio pushed Prompto to move out of the way. Standing in front of Vincent, she raised her hand and pushed herself to form the barrier around them. The octagonal shapes forming the shield shimmered as it was impacted, the rocks breaking against it as she staggered under the weight. The broken rubble formed a cloud of dust around the barrier and after she made sure they were in the clear, she put her arms back down. 

 

“Everyone okay?” She called out and she heard weathered replies coming from behind the dust. 

 

Turning to check on the only man who didn’t answer, she looked down to see Vincent kneeling; his hand holding the arm where the bullet grazed him earlier. Kneeling down, she moved his hand firmly to see that the cut grew larger and began to fester. The veins around it were no longer blue but grew darker in color, appearing to be a blackened web right under the surface of his skin. His breathing grew labored and his eyes began to close, struggling to keep his consciousness. 

 

“Stay awake for me,” she spoke to him as she held her hand over the wound. Focusing on casting cure while her fingers ran over the cut. The black webs then shot out and formed a needle that then pricked her finger. Flinching, she drew her hand back and frowned. _What.. the hell._

 

Vincent’s eyes looked at her, watching her as if she was an anomaly he had yet to figure out. “Just who are you?” 

 

Before she could reply, Gladio called out to them, “Hey we should go before that thing up there decides to come after us!”

 

“Right!” Lady called back and she offered a hand to help Vincent. He took it and she pulled him up, pointing towards the Insomnian’s retreating figure. 

 

Lady and Vincent both headed for the forest’s exit. Dodging debris and tree roots as they soon saw the break in the tree line that signaled their destination. 

 

“Almost there!” She said and looked behind her once more as Vincent stopped by a tree, shouldering the trunk as he held his wounded arm. 

 

Running towards him, she put his arm around her shoulder and helped him back up. Both of them limping along towards the group who turned around to see why they lagged behind. 

 

In the distance she could see the Regalia and breathed a sigh of relief. _Just get to the car and we’re home free._

 

Gladio and Ignis ran up towards them and he switched places with Lady. “Come on, I’ll carry you there if I have to.”

 

“Please don’t,” Vincent grumbled as he limped along faster with Gladio pulling him. 

 

Another screech was heard and Lady looked up as the black mass from earlier was now closer. Behind the thing was a large plume of smoke that smothered the moon’s light. It’s black wings spanned out as it’s eyes glowed red with hostility. 

 

She turned to the boys and barked orders at them, “Get to the Regalia! I’ll hold it off!”

 

Nodding, the three of them ran towards the car as Lady unsheathed her sword. The large winged monster squawked as it dove down, the size getting much more massive as it approached. Lady looked at the wingspan, noting that it was measured at about fifty meters in length. The clawed feet glistened as it made ready to grab her; taking her sword, she swung it up at the beast. Looking at her sword, she furrowed her brows when the blood staining it was black as night.

 

The beast let out a pained screech and flew up into the air, preparing to make another dive for her. This time she readied electricity in her fist, the purple lightning cackling and tickling the inside of her palm as she launched it upwards. Lady watched as the electricity wrapped around the monster, shocking every part of its body before dying down. Red eyes stared back at her, even more furious than before. 

 

_Looks like it’ll only get more serious here on out._

 

“Lady!! Get in!!” 

 

She turned around to see Prompto waving from the driver’s seat of the Regalia with Noctis riding shotgun. Gladio and Ignis sat in the back with Vincent in the middle, receiving medical attention from the bespectacled man. Sheathing her sword, she made a break for it. Running down the hill as she felt the rushing winds on her back from the wings of the monstrosity chasing her. 

 

Adrenaline made her feet pick up the pace as she neared the Regalia. _Twenty meters.. fifteen.. ten… jump!_ She catapulted into the passenger seat, landing atop Noctis who let out a groan. 

 

“Drive!” Lady yelled, looking up at the flying beast and releasing another bolt of lightning at it.

 

“But you don’t have a seatbelt!” Prompto whined.

 

“Dammit Prompto, just drive!” Gladio barked and Prompto swallowed, his foot stepping heavily onto the gas pedal and sending the passengers back into their seats. 

 

The screeching of the tires against the pavement matched with the high-pitched screams of the black bird that followed them. Wings beating heavily as it came closer to the car. Lady pushed herself up, scowling when she saw that it would not give up chase so easily. Raising her hand up and gathering heat in her palm, she readied a fireball. Right when she flexed her hand to release it, the car jerked right and Lady was slammed against the car door; her hand going back and releasing the explosive spell just feet away from them. 

 

“Be more careful!” Noctis pulled her back upright. 

 

“I didn’t do that on purpose!” Lady scoffed. 

 

“I think it best not to use volatile elements,” Ignis spoke to her as he was busy bandaging up Vincent’s arm which looked worse than prior. 

 

Looking towards Prompto who had both hands on the wheel, biting his lower lip as his upper body was leaned towards. “Sunshine, do you think I can use your gun?”

 

“Uh, y-yeah!” He said, holding his hand out and summoning his gun that appeared under a flash of light. As he began to grip it, the hand on the wheel jerked again and the gun clattered down to the side of his seat. “Aw crap, here let me just-“ As his eyes turned down and away from the road, Lady reached over and dove onto his lap. 

 

“Just keep your eyes on the road, _please_!” She said, looking up at him from his lap while she pointed at the wheel. “I’ll get it.”

 

Her right hand dug down for the gun while her left touched his upper thigh, trying to balance herself across the front row. Prompto gulped and let out a whimper as she wiggled herself up more when she felt the cold steel of the gun at her fingertips. The Regalia swerved once more and she was edged forward a little, her head bumping against the car door. 

 

“Don’t be such a virgin, Prompto!” Gladio barked. “Ugh, we never should have let him drive.” 

 

“I can’t believe I was rescued,” Vincent muttered. “Just to die like this.”

 

“Hey! I can drive just fine! Right, Noct.. Noct?” Prompto looked over to his best friend who gripped his seat until his knuckles were stark white.

 

“Eyes on the road, Argentum,” Ignis said, eyes looking at him from the rear view and Prompto nodded, doing so obediently. 

 

“Got it!” Lady arose from his lap and cocked it, aiming it at the bird. Letting out rounds, the bullets hit its wings but it seemed as it bounced off leaving the thing unaffected. The unsteadiness of the car made her grip onto the headrest of the seat, her knees planted firmly on either side of Noctis’s legs. “This isn’t making a dent, do you have anything with more of a punch?”

 

Prompto nodded, taking the gun from her hands and watched as the handgun disappeared. Reappearing as a rifle that he held up for her. Taking it, she held the grip with her left hand and her right hand on the other handle with her finger on the trigger. Letting loose, the recoil of the gun made her knees squeeze firmly under Noctis. 

 

She looked down at him, his face hovering right before her chest. She missed the darkening of his cheeks as she spoke to him, “Can you hold me still?” Reaching to take his hand, she placed it on her hip and he slowly raised his other hand to repeat the action. Satisfied, she aimed for the head and watched as the caliber of the bullets left visible wounds that began to slow it down as it let out a pained howl. It’s red eyes glowing embers against its black mass, unrelenting in its chase for prey. _Guns were never my style._  

 

“You’re wasting ammunition,” Vincent looked at her. “You’re just pissing it off.” 

 

“Why don’t you do it then?” She scowled. 

 

Vincent didn’t reply, instead taking the rifle from her and twisting his body to aim it towards the monster. After a sharp inhale, he pulled the trigger and Lady watched with awe as the bullets repeatedly hit a single spot on the monster’s head. Stopping, Vincent released another bullet and she watched as the bullet flared mid-air. Turning into a large ball of orange and red energy that was ripe to burst- hitting the monster. It let out another pained howl before it’s body bubbled up and exploded, black feathers disappearing into dust as the rest of it disintegrated. Leaving them with the stillness of the night with nothing but the open road keeping them company. 

 

Vincent handed back the rifle and sat back in his seat, eyeing her as he did. Lady swore she could _feel_ him smile under the folds of his collar. Her eyes narrowed at him before making herself comfortable in Noctis’ lap. Her back leaned against the car door as her knees were brought up to rest on the seat, arms crossed as she stared up at the starry night. Completely oblivious to how bashful the crown prince looked as he remained rigid and still. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Did I “Noct” this chapter out of the ballpark?


	33. XXXIII

The night was still relatively young when they pulled the Regalia over to the side of the road; the moon floated in the middle of the sky, signaling midnight. Setting up a fire, the warmth was being shared by the five of them. Lady wrapped a bandage around the cut on Vincent’s arm which diminished after she applied a salve. The tranquilizer distributed by the bullet- or whatever it was that hit his system was pushed out quickly which came as a surprise. Metabolic rates allowed a human body to flush out toxins after a minimum of eight hours.. if not _days._

 

Granted, if the human in subject was _normal_. This seemed to be one of those unique cases. 

 

She stole a glance at Vincent and swallowed when she saw that he was already looking down at her. His blood crimson eyes watching her fingers move quickly, tying up the bandage with practiced experience. 

 

“So it’s been that long?” He asked her. 

 

“Yeah, about twenty-five to thirty years..” she muttered as she packed up the medical supplies. _How is it that you didn’t age?_ She wanted to ask him, but saved that question for another day. The information she told him was overwhelming enough. 

 

“And Shinra-“

 

“Still being meddlesome and tampering with the natural order of things.”

 

“Where are we?”

 

“Nowhere near Midgar and nowhere near Nibelheim.”

 

“And you expect me to go with you willingly?” 

 

The four other Insomnians were sitting, watching the two of them go back and forth like a couple feuding- and they were unfortunate enough to get caught up in it. 

 

“I’m not _forcing_ you anywhere,” she slammed the metal lid of the first aid kit down a little too harshly. She saw Prompto flinch in the corner of her eye. “I just.. I want answers.”

 

“And you think I have them?” Vincent glared at her. The coldness of his eyes threatened to snuff out their already weak flames of their fire. 

 

“Yes? No- maybe? I don’t know,” Lady shook her head.

 

“Where is Nibelheim from here,” a demand more so than a question. 

 

“Couple thousand miles northwest, why-“ she looked up just to see him get up and walk away from the campfire.

 

“Vincent!” She yelled, pushing herself up. No good. He didn’t even turn to look at her. 

 

Placing hands on her hips, she stared up at the starry sky and inhaled deeply. _Dear Astrals give me the strength to not just knock him out now._ Balling up her fists, she followed him; her strides were lengthy and she caught up to him quickly, grabbing onto his cape and pulling him back. 

 

“So you’re just going to go crawl back in your coffin in that mansion? After all that effort to save you?!” Her eyes flashed and an unsettling feeling in her stomach began to boil. 

 

“I thought you weren’t going to force me anywhere,” he calmly responded. And this pissed her off even more. His constant nonchalant state. _About everything._ Sure she was used to the stoic types: Saïx, Zexion, Terra, Ignis, Lazard, Sephiroth, Angeal, and even Xemnas- but Xemnas didn’t even irk her this much. 

 

“But-“ she stopped. He was right, she did say that. “But at least hear me out first!”

 

“What’s there to hear? It seems to me you don’t even know what rabbit hole you fell down. You’re running in circles and I don’t care to be caught up in it.” Vincent finished his sentence, grabbing his cape from her clutches in one fell swoop and continued on his trek. 

 

Lady looked at him, absolutely flabbergasted. She turned towards the camp just in time to see Prompto and Noctis looking at her then turn their heads away quickly. Ignis and Gladio just looked concerned. Shaking her head, she stomped over to Vincent. Following and trying this again. 

 

“They implanted me with Jenova cells, the research results used to produce _you_ was used for me! They-“

 

Vincent stopped in his tracks and turned on his heels, his eyes training on her. “They put Jenova cells in you?”

 

“I-“ she stuttered. She wasn’t even sure what she did, but all evidence thus far has pointed to that possibility. “Yes..”

 

“The calamity of the skies.. heaven’s dark harbinger,” he said with a low voice. “Did they do that while you were still a fetus?”

 

“No.. about four years ago..” she watched his reactions, his eyes looking down at the ground beside them as if the tiny pebbles and dry dust had answers. Then it clicked. “Are you thinking about Lucrecia’s son? Sephiroth?”

 

At the sound of doctor Crescent’s name, Vincent’s eyes moved to her quickly. Eyes flashing with a mix of dull pain and a type of dark thirst that she didn’t quite pinpoint. 

 

“What do you know about Lucrecia?” 

 

“She.. after you died, she used your body in an experiment involving a life form called ‘Chaos’. Hojo used her experimental thesis to form what he called Project SIREN.. I was his test subject.”

 

“Hojo..” Vincent snarled, eyes flashing and for a split second she saw them glow red. He blinked and the glow disappeared. “What of Lucrecia’s son?”

 

“Sephiroth? He’s fine. Um. He’s back at my apartments.”

 

“You live with him?”

 

“Er no, I’m a landlady,” she grinned up at him sheepishly. “Him and-“ she turned to point up at the four Insomnians. “-those four up there are my tenants.”

 

“Doesn’t seem like it to me. Don’t know of any landladies who carry weapons and fight like that,” he raised a barely visible eyebrow, as it disappeared under the folds of his bandana. 

 

She sighed, “These days I’m part-time landlady, part-time soldier, and full-time babysitter.”

 

“Do you have a lot of children?”

 

Her lips tightened into a polite smile, thinking about the ones running around her apartment in search of their next victim to a round of bullying. The ones who purportedly had ‘no hearts’. And the ones who wielded legendary weapons forged of light that banished darkness, but would accidentally tripped into her flowerbeds on more than one occasion as well as just being unbelievably gullible and bumped heads with the ex-Organization members whenever the chance arose. Also the ones who visited from the Shinra building, always bringing in mischievous gadgets of different kinds that she now banned. “Something like that.”

 

Vincent paused, unblinking as he gave her his response. “I’ll go then. To see Lucrecia’s son and make sure he’s okay.”

 

Lady couldn’t help but let out a light snort, “Sephiroth is more than capable to handle himself, trust me. He’s the reason SOLDIER was even formed. His feats are legendary, if not a tad embellished.”

 

“Does he.. look like her?” His tone changed to a more somber one.

 

Her eyes softened as she nodded, “Yes. He does. Did you know doctor Crescent well?”

 

“I do.. did,” he corrected himself, looking down at his hands. “So you’re the one who did this to me, Lucrecia. Made me into this _thing_.” His hands closed into a tight fist. “I’ll go. And then I’ll decide my course of action from there.”

 

Lady gave him a legitimate smile, the first one she’s given him since they met. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to see what I can dig up for you in exchange. About your _condition._ ”

 

“What if I can’t provide you with any information you want?”

 

“Our rescue effort wasn’t wasted either way,” she grinned. “We’re in the same boat, you and I.”

 

She heard him snort, assuming that was the closest thing he had to a laugh. “Heh, we’ll see about that. Can you accommodate me at your.. apartments?”

 

“It’s called the Alstroemeria and it’s a whole lot better than your dinky coffin.”

 

“Alstroemeria, in the language of flowers- that stands for companionship,” he said. 

 

“Yes.. how did you know that?” 

 

“I read occasionally,” he said plainly as he walked past her and back towards the campfire. “Hurry up.”

 

Lady jogged to match his pace and they returned back to camp, taking their seats from before. 

 

“So uh, everything okay?” Gladio asked.

 

She only nodded, side-eyeing Vincent to see him look back at her blankly. She rolled her eyes and sighed. “We spending the rest of the night here or driving back?”

 

“What do you think, Noct?” Ignis asked the prince. 

 

“I’m tired,” Noctis said with a straight face. “Let’s find a hotel or something.”

 

Gladio looked at Ignis and back at him. “What’s wrong with camping?”

 

“Everything,” Noctis replied. “I want a bed.”

 

“Is everyone in agreement then?” Ignis turned to face everyone. 

 

“Yeah, I want to take a bath,” Prompto pinched his arm that had a layer of dust caking it. “And sleep on an actual bed.”

 

Ignis looked at Lady last, waiting for her opinion. She shrugged, “If you’re all tired, we might as well find somewhere to bunker down.”

 

“Let’s go then,” Gladio stood up, kicking dust into the fire and they all followed him back to the Regalia. As Prompto walked towards the driver’s seat, Ignis put an arm up to block his path. The blond pouted, drooping his head and took the seat next to Vincent in the back. Gladio crossed his arms and legs as he moved to give Vincent space. Noctis adjusted in his spot and looked up at Lady who hesitated, she looked to the rest of the already filled seats. 

 

Her brows furrowed. “Can’t I just go in the trunk?” 

 

Noctis shook his head, “Nope.” He patted his lap. 

 

Gladio smirked. “Lady, you can sit in my la-“ 

 

Noctis took her hand and tugged her onto his lap, “There’s just more space up here, Gladio. Don’t worry about it.” 

 

Lady shut her eyes, mumbling something as she adjusted herself on him. Noctis inhaled sharply as he felt her butt rub against his crotch briefly. She muttered a quick apology as she closed the door and nodded to Ignis to start driving. The Regalia let out a light purr as the headlights illuminated the road. 

 

“How long, Iggy?” Prompto leaned forward. 

 

“I spotted a motel not that far from here when we drove yesterday,” Ignis replied.

 

“It’s really dark out here,” he cried. 

 

Lady looked at Prompto, their eyes meeting. She held up her right arm for him to see, fingers encircling around her wrist with a smile. He looked down at his right hand, his face becoming more relaxed when the honey amber beads of his bracelet gave off a light glow that shone against his pale skin. It was strung up above the bandana he had wrapped tightly around his wrist. Lady noticed that he never left his apartment without some type of bracelet covering that specific spot. 

 

Prompto sat back in his seat, fingering the Chocobo feather encased in translucent golden calcite. The warmth filling his hands as he played with it for the rest of the ride. 

 

•••

 

Noctis heard the doors of the Regalia open and close with them shuffling out. He didn’t open his eyes, he felt too comfortable to even move. 

 

“Uh.. should we wake them?” 

 

“No, let them sleep. We have to see about renting a room anyways.”

 

“Alright, leave ‘em be for now.”

 

Noctis uttered a silent prayer of thanks as he let himself relax into his seat, his elbow resting on the door handle with his cheek on his fist. He felt something warm on his lap begin to stir and a feminine moan. Noctis frowned, his eyes slowly opening as his blurred vision slowly came into view. He looked down at Lady who was resting on his lap. Her whole body was tucked under the glove compartment with only her arms and head laid on his knees, her cheek nuzzling against his pants. She blinked and looked up at him, her own eyes still heavy with sleep. When did she get down there? He didn’t even feel her move.

 

“Noct..” she murmured his name. And that simple act made him swallow, inhaling and holding his breath in his throat. “Where are the others?”

 

“Uh, probably getting us a room. Want to catch up with them?” 

 

She looked over to the driver’s seat and around the car to confirm his answer. Nodding, she looked up at him satisfied. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, I-“

 

“You don’t like me on your lap?” A coy smile played on her lips.

 

“It’s not that, um,” he was losing his words just as he was losing his courage. Her eyes glinted in the dark. Noctis looked up at the roof of the car, now cursing the fact that it wasn’t rolled back as it usually was. The air inside the Regalia seemed to grow hotter. 

 

Her head got up, hands sliding up his thighs slowly. Her nails dragging along the black fabric as he watched her rise ever so slightly. 

 

“Your face is red, your highness. Are you sick?” She whispered, the back of her hand cool on his face as she came closer. He could now see the way her eyelashes fluttered everytime she blinked and he could only shake his head. 

 

Noctis’ eyes looked down at her parted lips, then back up at her. She caught that. He cursed again. 

 

“See something you like?” She asked him, smirking. 

 

“Maybe,” he choked out. 

 

“Do you want something Noct?” She tilted his head. He didn’t reply and she tutted. “You’re going to be king aren’t you? It’s only right you have the confidence to ask for what you desire..” her fingers walked up his shirt and traced his collarbone. “Or rather.. just take it.”

 

Noctis took her hint gladly, his hands moving to grip her cheeks as he brought her face to his. Mouth crashing against hers as he wasted no time on tasting every bit of her sweet lips. He felt as if he were a man denied water and found his thirst quenched everytime their tongues met each other. It felt so good. Did he want this? How did this even happen? 

 

Lady moaned as his hands traveled down and gripped her ass through those tight leather pants that she wore. His eyes always strayed to them before infiltrating the base but he always tore away before she could turn around. Her body felt so good in his hands and he gripped everywhere he could. _Fuck yeah_ he wanted this. He wanted _her_. 

 

She bit his lip and he groaned at the sudden contact, returning the favor with her as he forcibly grinded her hips against his crotch. The friction against his lap made him sigh as they continued to kiss. 

 

He couldn’t help the erection that pushed against his pants and she smiled when she felt it in between her legs. She pulled away, “Is this exciting for you, my prince?” 

 

“Hell yeah it is,” he pushed the back of her head towards him and tasted her lips once more. “I want,” he said between kisses. “-my own room with you.” 

 

“Oh?” He felt her smile against him. “Why is that?”

 

“So I can do this with you all night,” his hand grabbed her ass and grinded her against him. 

 

“I thought we came here to rest?” 

 

“Fuck rest, just come here.”

 

He felt bold enough to let his hands travel up her front coat and unbutton the middle, letting it slide down her arms and reveal her bare shoulders. Tossing it to the back, he gulped as his hands dared to touch her breasts and fondle them. Each whimper that escaped her only proved to embolden him as she reached down to palm his hardened member. She unbuttoned his pants and pulled it down just so she could see his boxers- a spot wet with the precum he had leaking out due to his excitement. 

 

By this he admits the simple and gods’ honest truth: he’s never done this before. 

 

Sure there were girls in high school that were interested in him, but he never gave more than one or two of them a second glance that only lasted a fraction of a minute. Getting into a relationship in school while barely mature? He wouldn’t be able to show his face in public. He’s also.. tried masturbating but failed horribly. It was just too embarrassing- not to mention the fact he swore he could feel the forebears of Lucis- the Kings and Queens of Old frowning down upon him. The fact still remains.. he was a virgin.

 

But he wouldn’t let her know that.

 

“What if they come back?” Lady asked him, her eyes filled with delicious lust that drove him insane. 

 

“I’ll drive the Regalia myself and find somewhere to fuck-!” Noctis panted as her finger dove under his boxers and traced along his cock. 

 

She grinned, watching him squirm under her touch, sliding back down on the floor in front of him. Spreading his knees, she untucked his dick from his pants and let the head hit the tip of her tongue. This sensation alone made Noctis grit his teeth while she slowly pumped him with one hand while her tongue ran circles against the tip. Licking the leaking precum, she watched his reactions slowly before retracting her hand and placing both of them on his thighs. She made sure to maintain his eye contact as she leaned forward and swallowed him whole. 

 

The head of his cock hit the back of her throat and he threw his head back against the seat, biting down a moan that wanted to rip from his throat. It was warm, wet, _pleasant_. It couldn’t get any better than this.. oh, but it did. 

 

He looked down at her, his hands petting her hair as let her tongue envelop the underside and give it a rough lick. Her head raised and came back down, repeating the motion- she then wrapped her hand around his length and matched her rhythm as she sucked. 

 

Noctis let out a shaky sigh, relishing on the moments when his cock would hit the walls of her throat as it slid over her tongue. He just kept looking at her and the image displayed in front of him was honestly enough to send him over the edge. Her mouth wrapped around him with her eyes half-lidded in lust. Whenever she pulled away to breathe, the saliva trail glistened as it attached itself to her bottom lip towards his cock. The wet string connecting them both symbolizing her promise to thoroughly pleasure him. 

 

Exhaling, she took him in one swallow and bobbed her head. Everytime she came up, her tongue would swirl around his head like he was an exquisite popsicle. Wet noises filled the confines of the Regalia and Noctis noticed the windows became much more foggier than before. 

 

As her head came up and down with her hands stroking him into her mouth, he let out a low groan while he gripped the sides of her head and brought her all the way down just as he felt his release come. And oh boy was it a glorious feeling. 

 

He felt his cum shoot out and spill onto her tongue, he shivered when he felt her swallow it all. The tongue licking up the remnants and polishing it clean. Coming up with a pop of her lips against his still hardened cock, she smiled at him and he saw the bit of his seed dribbling down the side of her mouth. 

 

“How was that, your highness?” She asked, licking her lips. 

 

“It was amazing,” he sighed, eyeing her. “That was the best blowjob I’ve ever gotten.” It was the only blowjob he ever got, actually. 

 

“You’re still hard,” she traced a finger against his inner thigh. “What to do about that, I wonder?”

 

“I got an idea,” his eyes flashed and he pulled her up, hand reaching down to the side to recline the seat until it almost reached the back row. Rolling her over on her stomach, he fumbled for her belt clumsily and peeled the pants down to reveal her bare ass to him. He licked his lips as he positioned himself over her, twirling her underwear with his finger and moving it to the side to feel her slit. He felt her shiver as he ran his forefinger against her and prodded her labia. His touch was unsure but he let her moans guide him on where he caressed. “You’re so wet,” he mumbled, looking at how slick his finger was under the dim light. 

 

“You don’t say,” she laughed, backing her ass up against him and giggled when he gasped. His dick felt the wetness of her folds and he wanted to feel it again. “Wait, you just came.”

 

He froze. “And?” 

 

“You might get me pregnant, you know that right?” She looked back at him. 

 

Noctis paused, swallowing and her serious face cracked when her lips curled into a smile. Twisting her body, she reached to caress his face and brought it closer to hers to land a small peck on his nose. Her eyes glimmered, “Will you take responsibility?”

 

“You’re damn right I will,” he kissed her and bit down on her lip, moving his face down to kiss her jawline. “I’ll take care of everything you need.”

 

She smiled and arched herself into him, the prince closed his eyes and leaned into her. His hand positioning his cock at her entrance and with a sharp inhale, he pushed himself in. As soon as his tip entered her, he almost rolled his eyes back in pleasure. It felt like the warmest hug he’s ever received- and the best. He couldn’t help pushing it in roughly, eager to feel more of this new sensation. Under him, Lady gripped the seat and let out a strangled gasp. 

 

“Noct-! Noct, that’s too rough!” She mewled. 

 

Sliding himself out, he slammed it back in and he felt his mouth salivate with euphoria. “I can’t..” _thrust_ “..help..” _thrust_ “..it..” _thrust_. 

 

He fucked her into the seat and he felt the heavy black car shake slightly with the force of his movements. Their slick juices dripping down onto the luxurious leather as she moaned out his name. The windows were fogged up now, obscuring the outside to them and any chances of seeing the other guys return. But he didn’t care. Even if they opened the door and saw them both, he wouldn’t stop fucking her. It felt too damn good and he didn’t want this night to end. 

 

Sweat stuck his dark hair to his forehead like plaster, it dripped down the tip of his nose and onto her slick asscheeks. He felt pressure rising from the base of his dick and worked its way slowly to an explosion. As his orgasm escaped him and he tried pulling out, he shivered and pushed his tip against her other hole- pushing it in and finding a new euphoric sensation when it squeezed him tightly. He came inside her asshole and he leaned forward shaking, his arms and legs feeling as if he just ran a triathlon. As his high rode up into a crescendo; his whole life flashed behind his eyes and he saw her in a white dress- twirling in front of a mirror as he watched her with a smile. The image made his euphoria rise even more. 

 

Lady let out a pleasured whimper that was muffled by the seat, she panted and twisted to face him. Her face flushed red as she shyly looked up at him. “Noctis..” she whispered his name, a plea. 

 

“Noctis.. Noctis..

 

Noctis.. oi.. Noctis! Wake up!” 

 

Noctis woke with a start and looked up at Lady who leaned against the car door, standing outside. Her left eyebrow was raised and she spoke, “Geez, you could sleep through a storm. You know how long it took me to wake you up?” 

 

“Wha-“ he frowned, dumbfounded. “Was that a dream?”

 

“What did you dream about?”

 

He shook his head, “What happened, where are the others?”

 

Lady sighed, “We arrived and we left to go rent a room, I went to check if they sold cell phones for Vincent. You were sleeping so we just left you in the car, didn’t know if you wanted to be woken up or not.” 

 

Noctis leaned his head back against the car seat, his lips turned into a tight line as he shut his eyes. “Shit.”

 

She leaned down, sitting on the threshold of the door. Looking up at him, she frowned, “You okay? Was it a bad dream? You’re sweating.”

 

“Nah,” he shook his head, covering his eyes with his hands. “Best dream I’ve ever had.”

 

•••

 

“Royal flush, I get the big bed tonight!” Gladio slammed his cards down on the small coffee table. 

 

Prompto and Noctis looked at their decks and groaned, opting to give up versus prolong their losses any further. 

 

“Damn it!” Prompto groaned, holding his face in his hands. “Not fair! You always get the big bed anyways!”

 

“Suck it, losers.” Gladio grinned, looking over to Noctis. “Huh, thought you would get more of a reaction with losing.”

 

“Huh?” Noctis looked at him, shaking his head. “I don’t care which bed I get.”

 

Ignis crossed his legs and leaned his arms on them, “What’s on your mind Noct? You seem detached.”

 

“Nothing,” he told them, taking the cards and shuffling them into a pile. “Just a long night.”

 

The bathroom door opened and Lady stepped out, a bathrobe wrapped tightly around her as she dried her hair with a towel. “Hey, did we get the sleeping arrangements figured out?”

 

“Two on the big bed and three on the small bed, someone can take the couch if they want,” Gladio jerked his chin towards the dark green couch in the corner where Vincent sat with his arms crossed, observing.

 

“Cool,” she replied, throwing the towel over her shoulder. “Just to make it clear. I’m fine with sleeping in the Regalia.”

 

“And leave you out there in the night? Perish the thought,” said Ignis.

 

“We left Noct out there though,” she grinned. 

 

“Yeah but we don’t care ‘bout him as much,” Gladio winked at her and she let out a chortle.

 

Lady walked towards the couch, looking down at the device he was playing with in his hands. “Hey is that my phone?”

 

He looked up at her, “You said to get familiar with it, right?”

 

“Yes, I did but not without-“ she groaned, sitting down next to him and watching his thumb scroll through her apps. “No.. no.. do _not_ click- ugh. You don’t take direction very well, do you?”

 

“Heh,” he looked down at the phone in his hands, snatching it away when she tried to reach for it. 

 

Prompto pouted, turning back around and letting out a huge yawn. Ignis looked at him “Lights out?”

 

Ignis turned to Lady, “Where do you want to sleep?”

 

“Doesn’t matter,” she replied. “Wherever makes it more comfortable for everyone else.”

 

“The shorter people-“ Gladio pointed at her, “-can all sleep on the smaller bed. Me and Iggy can share the bigger bed.” He looked at Vincent, “I’m guessing you don’t mind the couch?”

 

“Not at all,” Vincent fluffed a pillow and put it down against one of the armrests. Lady walked over to where Noctis and Prompto moved the pillows on the bed. 

 

“Where do you two want to sleep? Do you wanna be in the middle sunshine?” She asked them.

 

“Uh.. I have claustrophobia so I kinda like sleeping on the edge,”  Prompto grinned at her sheepishly. 

 

She turned to Noctis, and he shrugged, “You should be in the middle.”

 

Lady shook her head in disbelief, taking the high road and laying down in the middle. Making sure her bathrobe was tied around her tightly as she laid on her stomach. Everyone else was changed into clothes fit for sleeping, hers were in the trunk of the car but right now she was far too tired to get up and get them. No sooner than the moment her head hit the pillow, she knocked out. 

 

“Did she fall asleep already?” Prompto crooked his head to look at her. “Wow, she really is. Almost as sleepy as you, Noct!”

 

“Probably worn out after today,” Noctis took his position to the right of her, stacking two pillows together before laying down. 

 

“Angeal does say she sleeps a lot,” Gladio chuckled, moving the sheets on his bed. 

 

“They seem close, those SOLDIER guys and her,” said Prompto. 

 

“It always made me curious why an electric company would need their own private army,” Ignis removed his glasses and set it on the nightstand. “Don’t forget, that woman is just as combat seasoned as the other three.”

 

Noctis looked at Lady’s sleeping face, her eyes resting peacefully as she breathed in and out. With an innocent face like that, he thought, he wouldn’t even begin to guess she was a veteran. 

 

Prompto looked at her, his facing falling slightly. “Yeah, when she stands next to those other three though..” he paused. “Yet she doesn’t seem out of place. The way she carries herself, you know she belongs.”

 

“Don’t count yourself out Prompto, you’re right where you belong. With all of us.” Ignis stated firmly.

 

Prompto only nodded and put his chin on his pillow, turning slightly so he could see the rise and fall of Lady’s chest. 

 

“So.. SOLDIER and the Turks are two different things?” Gladio looked at Vincent. 

 

Vincent nodded, “The Turks are a special division to act as bodyguards for the heads of Shinra. I was one of them.”

 

“Do you know anything about the SOLDIER program?” 

 

“No. That was.. ahead of my time. From what she told me, they just seemed to be infused with mako to be made into enhanced warriors. It seems that Shinra never lost their ability to want more than they could have.” 

 

“So, the Turks are like the Crownsguard then?” Prompto sat up on his elbows. 

 

Vincent let out a scoff, “I assume your king is much more benevolent than the president of Shinra could ever be.”

 

“He is,” Noctis piped in the conversation. “It kinda leaves a lot for me to take up on.”

 

“You’ll be fine, keep your head up,” Gladio looked at the raven haired prince.

 

“It’s strange though, magic is not really what Shinra is known for yet she channels it without much effort,” said Vincent, looking at Lady. “Although it’s not uncommon for materia to be used. How long has she been in SOLDIER? And is Lady actually her name?”

 

“From what Genesis and Angeal told us, ‘bout four years. She joined in young and climbed the ranks to 1st Class in two years,” Gladio responded. “I think she got recommended by the director of SOLDIER and one of the scientists. Lady is just a nickname we all call her.” 

 

“Actually it took me three years to get to 1st Class and Angeal was the one who recommended me. Also my name is...” Lady spoke her full name without opening her eyes. “Are you guys going to turn off the light yet?”

 

The four men looked at her with mild surprise, her body remaining still. 

 

“Lady, you heard all of that?” Prompto harshly whispered to her.

 

“I woke up when I heard you guys talk about Shinra, guess I’m just conditioned,” she rolled onto her back. “Good night for real this time.”

 

They all adjusted in their positions and Ignis reached to switch off the lamp, coating the room with darkness. Lady moved onto her side, hand tucked under her pillow as she did so. Noctis opened his eyes and watched her sleeping face once more, he couldn’t get the image of her lips wrapped around him out of his head. He swallowed when he saw her eyes flutter open and look up at him. 

 

She gave him a small smile and mouthed the words, ‘you okay’?

 

He nodded, ‘just tired’ he mouthed back. 

 

She raised an amused brow, she didn’t quite catch what he said and he just shook his head. He motioned her to bring her ear closer and whispered in her ear, “Can’t sleep right now.” 

 

Lady leaned back and pulled out her phone, pointing at the app with an 8-bit castle displayed in it’s four by four square. She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask: ‘want to play Final Kingdom?’

 

Noctis smiled and reached for his phone from the charger on the nightstand, he pressed on the app and they both rolled onto their stomachs. Their shoulders touched as they waited to enter the online lobby to enter a raid together. Lady raised her legs at the knee and bumped into Noctis when she saw his character pop up on her screen. He was a level seventy-nine black knight and she was a level sixty-eight white mage. Together, they created an unstoppable team that breezed through generic waves of entry-level goblins. 

 

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Low on health, heal me.”

 

She leaned into him, her head on his shoulder when she whispered back, “Already got you, cast a shield too. Don’t get killed on me now, highness.”

 

“And leave you against the horde?” He was so close to her. “Never.”

 

As their little sprites approached the last floor of the demon lord’s castle, the demon king himself appeared in a ring of fire and they both looked at each other with excitement before they began their tag team of attacking the boss. Noctis charged his attack while he was powered up by Lady’s buffs she casted. His sword sliced through the demon as balls of white light attacked alongside him. Soon enough, the demon king fell to his knees- defeated by the two best heroes in the land. 

 

Lady’s eyes widened when she saw a weapon rise from the demon king’s ashes, the weapon illuminating  as she excitedly looked at it. It was a rare five star weapon that could provide some awesome benefits to the wielder. She sighed and leaned in to Noctis again, “You can have it, you did most of the work.”

 

Noctis’ head turned towards her and he could smell the shampoo from her hair. It had a generic floral scent and smelled rather cheap, issued from the motel. But on her- he found he liked the way it smelled. “You kiddin’? I wouldn’t be alive for that last boss fight if it wasn’t for you. You keep it.”

 

“Really?” She looked up at him, eyes shimmering with excitement over the prospect of a new weapon. 

 

“Yeah,” he smiled down at her as she turned back to her phone and claimed the weapon. Watching while she customized her cute little mage with the new weapon and seeing her stats increase with the new equipment. She grinned as she tapped her phone screen to try it out. 

 

Her head leaned on his shoulder, strands of her hair tickling his arm. “We should get some sleep.” 

 

She nodded, turning off her phone and handing it to Noctis. In turn, he put both of their phones on the nightstand beside their bed and on the chargers. He turned back and waited for Lady to settle in, her head resting on her hand as she closed her eyes. He laid down, facing her and observed every part of her facial features. The first time he ever saw her was that party he and Prompto went to on a whim. He was on the verge of throwing up when she appeared in front of him, giving Prompto instructions on what to do to help his coming hangover. In his drunken and blurred vision, he could still see her face illuminated by the party lights strung up in the courtyard. He never thought the face would become one that he grew so fond of…

 

•••

 

“Lady, mind keeping them company? We’ll see about finding some breakfast,” Ignis shrugged on his jacket, he and Gladio left the room to find food. Leaving her alone with Noctis, Prompto, and Vincent. 

 

Lady rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms far above her head. Looking down to the side, Prompto rolled in close to where she slept- along with Noctis who’s arm breached where she was sleeping. Both of them closing in on her and she shook her head, irritated that she had to constantly move to accommodate the both of them. 

 

Getting up, she walked to the bathroom to freshen up. Brushing her teeth and massaging her face with warm water, she tried to minimize the noise she emitted. Changing back into her 1st Class armor, she tossed the bathrobe in the hamper and walked back out to sit on the bed again. 

 

Prompto’s eyes fluttered open when she shifted, cornflower blue eyes looking up at her. She smiled and leaned in to wipe the side of his cheek that had hardened drool on it. 

 

“Morning, Prompto,” she whispered, ruffling his hair. 

 

He got up, rubbing his eyes and then his left hand automatically went to his right; his eyes widening when he no longer felt the bracelet around his wrist. “It’s gone!” He gasped, he looked around him. “Where-“

 

Lady shushed him and motioned for him to sit up and he did so obediently. There, in the indentation of body in the mattress, laid his bracelet. She retrieved it and gestured for Prompto to give her his hand. He did so and she held his hand softly, adjusting the bandana on his hand that loosened while he slept. Frowning, her brows furrowed when she saw black marks against his skin. Before he could stop her, she moved the bandana down to see a barcode tattooed onto his skin with a serial number atop it and two black rhombuses on either side. She looked up at Prompto with concern, “Sunshine what is this?”

 

Prompto gulped, looking to see if Noctis was still sleeping. He averted his eyes from her, too ashamed to look at her. “It’s.. um..” he looked to check if Vincent was awake. “Please don’t tell anyone.” 

 

“I promise,” she wrapped her pinkie around his, now holding his hand with both of hers. 

 

He nodded and exhaled shakily, “I.. I had this thing for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a kid,” he frowned. “I don’t know what it is or, or what it’s for. But..” 

 

He looked like he was about to burst into tears, his eyes watering. “Please don’t tell the guys, I- I- I don’t want them to know. I already feel out of place without having this weird brand on me. Please-“

 

Lady shushed him, pulling him into her for a tight embrace. She ruffled his hair and held him close, as soon as she heard him stop sniffling- she leaned back and took his branded arm. Tying the bandana around to conceal it but not before she placed a tender kiss along the black marks. She then slipped the bracelet around his wrist and looked up at him with a smile. 

 

“Your secret’s safe with me,” she massaged his hand. “Whatever it is, it can’t change the wonderful young man you are today, okay? Remember that.”

 

He nodded, relishing the feeling of her hands warming up his. “Thanks, Lady. Sorry. Don’t wanna seem like a wimp crying in front of you.”

 

“You’re not a wimp, I can make a list on all the wonderful things I know about you,” she grinned. “For one, you got a fantastic smile and your freckles are so adorable.”

 

“Really?” He scratched the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks warm. 

 

“Yeah, no one else in the Alstroemeria has freckles like you. Makes you one of a kind.”

 

“Huh.. guess you’re right. That makes me feel a bit better to be honest.”

 

Lady leaned back, looking between Noctis and Vincent. “So, who do you want to wake up?”

 

He made a face and pointed at Noct, “I rather take my chances with this guy rather than him.”

 

“Fair enough,” she slipped off the bed and went to the couch. Kneeling down in front of the couch, she reached to touch his shoulder. Hesitating, she finally let her fingertips rest on him and shook him gently. His eyes opened immediately and looked at her. “Good morning, sleep well?”

 

“I can’t complain,” he sat up, bringing his knee in and resting an arm on it. “I had a chance to think about what happened while staying with the Empire.”

 

“And?”

 

“Do you know of someone named ‘Adagium’?”

 

“Uh.. no, never heard of that name before.”

 

“There’s something else,” Vincent looked down. “Another name they called him by. He would sometimes come by to check on my status. I remember hearing his voice but never saw his face.”

 

Lady waited with bated breath, “Well? What’s the name?”

 

“Ardyn. That’s all I know.” 

 

•••

 

Lady sat back against the car door, arms crossed as they drove with the top down. Her hair flew back in the wind and whipped Noctis’ lip. “My bad,” she took her hair and moved it to the other side.

 

“That was the third time your hair hit me,” he said.

 

“You were keeping track? Impressive you can count that high,” she grinned.

 

“Whatever,” he poked her side and she moved, stifling a laugh. 

 

Her head leaned over the door, enjoying the breeze. She kept her conversation with Vincent hush hush, asking him to do the same. Turning her head, she looked up and saw the skyline of the city come into view. If she squinted enough, she could see Shinra tower over some of the buildings in front of it. Somehow, the name Ardyn echoed in her brain- warranting her anxiety to focus on it. Looking over to the city again, she spotted dark clouds begin to cover up the sun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so ‘Ar-done’ with this. Hope ur day is going much more fantastic than mine 🤪


	34. XXXIV

“Lady!” Roxas and Xion both ran towards her and up into her receiving arms. “We missed you!”

 

“Heya keyblade kiddos,” she grinned, ruffling their hair. “It’s only been two days, my goodness. I wasn’t gone _that_ long.”

 

“It felt longer than that,” Xion pouted. “It’s different here without you. I feel like the others are meaner without you around.”

 

“If anyone’s bullying you Xion, you just let me know,” Lady put a hand on her shoulder with a firm stare. “Don’t hesitate, ‘kay?”

 

She nodded and held onto the edge of Lady’s coat as they walked back to the central courtyard. 

 

“LADY!”

 

She didn’t get a chance to turn around before she was tackled- no, _blindsided_ by a flash of bright red. An arm wrapped around her shoulder to balance her back up and she looked to see who her attacker was. 

 

“Reno, why the hell are you here?”

 

The red headed Turk pouted, “I’m not allowed to see you? Just stopped by after work with Zack to hang out with Axel.”

 

“The idea of you two together make me uncomfortable. That’s just asking for chaos,” she made a face.

 

“Chaos is fun,” he winked, his arm around her shoulders as they spun around to see Vincent walk towards them. “Who’s this broody fella?”

 

“Vincent Valentine,” she gestured to the crimson cloaked man then gestured back at the one beside her. “This is Reno. A Turk.”

 

Vincent gave Reno a once-over, “They lowered their standards for recruiting Turks, I see.”

 

“Wha- hey what do you mean by that!” Reno brandished his guard stick and pointed it up at him. 

 

“Well, he’s a Turk too,” she explained. “Uh. _Was_.” 

 

Behind Vincent, Noctis strolled into the courtyard with the other three close behind him. Lady looked down at the two holding onto her coat and gave them a pat on their shoulders, “Can you two please excuse us?”

 

“Will you come by later?” Roxas asked her and he smiled when she nodded. Both him and Xion left Lady with Reno, Vincent, and the Lucians. 

 

“You guys got what you needed?” Reno asked them and Noctis nodded.

 

“More or less,” Ignis answered, placing a hand on his hip and addressing Gladio. “We should report our findings to the marshal. He might find what we found to be troubling.” 

 

“Right,” Gladio nodded and he began walking back to their apartment. “Prom, Noct, you comin’?” 

 

“Yeah,” Prompto followed and stopped to see if Noctis was following him. 

 

The prince motioned him to continue walking, “Go on ahead. I’ll catch up later.” 

 

“Where is Sephiroth?” Vincent looked at her. 

 

“He should be here? I can check,” she told him. Just as she said that, she heard a door opening and closing from near where her apartment was. 

 

Reno looked over her shoulder and gave a low whistle, “Here comes the man of the hour.”

 

Sephiroth descended down the stairs, eyes fixated on Lady as he approached the group. She gave him a warm smile and he immediately gravitated towards her. His arm touching hers as they stood side-by-side. His green-blue eyes looking over at Vincent’s crimson irises; between the two of them, their eyes clashed like fire and water. 

 

She cleared her throat and gestured to the crimson cloaked man, “This is Vincent Valentine, Seph. He’s here to, well, um-“ she stopped and looked to Vincent for a cue on what to say. 

 

“Sephiroth Crescent, I wish to speak with you alone,” he finished for her. 

 

At the corner of her eye, she saw Sephiroth’s back straightened up even more at the mention of his mother’s surname. He hasn’t heard his name in its entirety, due to the fact that he lived his life without any type of additive to his first name. His stare hardened but he nodded, “Very well.” 

 

They both walked off in the direction of the beach, leaving Lady with just Reno and Noctis. Turning to the red headed Turk, Lady asked him a question, “How much trouble would you be if I were to sneak in to see Rufus?”

 

“Uh, lots. That’s kind of my job to protect my boss y’know,” he tilted his head, squinting his eyes. “You’re not planning anything bad right?”

 

“No!” Lady scoffed. “I just want to ask him a question.”

 

“Mhm, sure. Will there be any violence involved?”

 

“Nah.. I think. As long as he doesn’t do anything.”

 

Reno stared at her, patting his guard stick along his shoulder and waiting with an expectant expression. 

 

“Look, just a question. That’s all. I promise I won’t do anything, you believe me right?”

 

He groaned. “Ugh, don’t give me that look. You might as well do it when I’m not on the clock so _I’m_ not the one who gets flagged.”

 

She grinned, “You’re the best. Is he usually in his office or..?”

 

“Every morning from eight to seven in the afternoon. That’s on weekdays, on weekends he sleeps in his room till twelve and stays up till maybe three a.m.”

 

“Sounds like you Noct,” she winked at the prince and he made a face. 

 

“I don’t sleep in that much,” he retorted.

 

She gave him a knowing look, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, “Yes you do.” Turning back to Reno, she resumed her questioning, “Which floor?”

 

“The top, duh,” he stuck his tongue out at her. 

 

“Wonderful,” she sighed. “Thanks, Reno. I owe ya.” She regretted her words when she saw a smirk curl on his lips and she furrowed her brows. “Don’t make that face, please.”

 

“Mhm, I’m going to go get Zack and we’re gonna head home,” he waved to her while making his way up the stairs.

 

“You know you guys are welcome to room in here versus there,” she called out to him and Reno stopped in his tracks.

 

He used his guard stick to tap along his chin as he looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “Hmm I dunno if Tseng would even let me, but I think Zack could and he would be super happy.” With one last grin, he gave her a quick salute and continued on.

 

Lady turned to Noctis and sighed. He looked at the ground before looking up at her and opening his mouth the same time as her to speak.

 

 “Guess I better go check on Roxas and Xion-“

 

“Did you wanna hang out- oh.”

 

She gave him a sympathetic smile, “You want to hang out?”

 

“No no, it’s fine. I’m sure those two miss you a lot. I think I already took enough of your time.”

 

“Noct,” she crossed her arms. “I can call you Noct, right?”

 

“You’ve been calling me that these past months and _now_ you ask for permission?” He chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. “Of course you can.” Normally that moniker was reserved for his closest, she wasn’t an exception. 

 

“I’ll always have time for you, Noct.” 

 

Noctis turned his face from her, hiding the goofy smile on his lips at her words. Clearing his throat, he straightened up to face her, nodding. “Cool. Well, I’ll catch ya later?”

 

“Catch ya later,” she waved, walking up to Roxas and Axel’s apartment.

 

Knocking on the door, she heard a voice say ‘come in’ before turning the handle to find that it was unlocked. Poking her head in, she sidestepped through the crack in the door and entered. Closing the door behind her, she bent over and unlaced her boots to kick off at the front.

 

“Hey, Lady!” 

 

She looked up to see Sora wave to her from the couch, seated in between Roxas and Riku. Looking to the side, she looked over at Terra who sat on a love seat by himself with Xion seated on a chair that she pulled up. 

 

“Heyas,” she greeted them, walking towards the open seat near Terra. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

 

“Go ahead,” he gestured and she adjusted herself on the couch.

 

“That’s your 1st Class uniform, right?” Roxas gave a low whistle. “It looks nice on you!”

 

“Can I see your sword?” Xion looked at her and Lady, took the sword from her back. Handing it handle first towards her.

 

“Careful,” Lady tutted. “This isn’t like your keyblade, this thing is pretty sharp.”

 

Xion nodded, holding the scabbard with one hand and carefully sliding the blade up until she saw the glint of its steel. Inhaling, Xion took it out and looked in awe at its craftsmanship. Her small finger tracing along the vein of glowing mako imbued in its side. “It’s so pretty,” she breathed. 

 

“It looks like Sephiroth’s,” Roxas said.

 

Lady scoffed, looking at him with utter disbelief, “How dare y- mine is _way_ better!”

 

Roxas raised his hands up and Lady shook her head, tucking in a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Besides that, I actually had a question for you guys.”

 

“Fire away,” said Riku.

 

“The Heartless.” 

 

“We already told you everything we knew, what more do you want to know?”

 

“Is it possible..” she paused, her finger tapping against her arm as she crossed them. “No nevermind, it sounds stupid.”

 

“What is it?” Terra encouraged her.

 

She exhaled and turned her head to look at him, “Is it possible to have them infused with something else? Like.. Heartless conjoined with something to create something entirely new.”

 

Terra and Riku shared a look. “I would hope not. It doesn’t sound like anything we’ve seen before.” 

 

“Mm, alright,” Lady leaned forward on her knees, eyes glazing over as she thought back to the monsters that attacked the stadium during the Struggle contest. And to the giant bird that followed her and the Lucians- she didn’t see anything like them before. And both of them shared similar monstrous qualities. The thing that stuck out to her were the fiery orbs that were their eyes. 

 

“Why are you asking?” 

 

Her eyes snapped up to Terra and she smiled, “Nothing. Just naturally curious, heh.” She turned her attention to Sora, “Been seeing you three here more often lately, what’s up with that?”

 

“Just hangin’ out with these two,” he pointed at Roxas and Xion. “But also just making sure you’re okay.”

 

“Why would you need to check on me?” she raised an eyebrow.

 

“You might need some security or something..” Sora’s sentence tapered off. 

 

“Sora, I am the security,” she deadpanned. 

 

Sora, Riku, and Terra shared a look and Roxas groaned. “They’re worried about the other guys, from the Organization.”

 

“Oh them? They’re fine, they’re completely harmless,” she grinned. “Most trouble they cause is when they annoy each other.”

 

“Yeah but,” Sora stood up. “Xemnas might want them back or something. I dunno.” 

 

“Their numbers are reduced to half, I would assume he’d want to bolster their ranks again,” Riku added. 

 

Lady stifled an amused laugh, “Xemnas? Hoo boy, you guys didn’t hear?”

 

“Lady totally whooped his ass,” Roxas laughed. “You should’ve been there, it was great.”

 

“What?!” Sora’s blue eyes widened. “Wait what do you mean?”

 

“Not now,” Lady hushed Roxas before he could continue. “It’s embarrassing to hear about.”

 

“Ask Reno later for the security footage if you wanted to see it,” Roxas hurriedly whispered to Sora before he sat down. 

 

“Is he.. dead?” Terra asked. 

 

Lady tightened her fist, looking down at the glass table in front of them and the reflections of the ones surrounding her looked at her expectantly. “No.. I- I spared him.”

 

Terra’s eyes narrowed. “And the others too?”

 

She gave him a heavy nod, averting her face from him. 

 

“You might regret that,” he finished after a three beats of silence. 

 

Her eyes turned to share the heated glare he gave her, “If the Organization wants to finish business, then I wholeheartedly invite them to come back so that we can.” 

 

Lady stood up and Xion held up her sword for her to take. Slipping on her boots without tying it, she left the room and closing the door softly behind her. 

 

Roxas glared at Terra, “Way to go, idiot.”

 

Xion mimicked Roxas’ upset expression when she looked at the brunette Keyblade wielder. “Go apologize. You don’t know what she’s done for us.”

 

Terra shut his eyes and gave a resigned sigh, getting up to follow Lady out of the apartment. Exiting, he looked left and right to look for her black-clad figure. Spotting her squatting down in the garden to inspect a flowerbed, her fingers tenderly lifted a petal from a growing baby-blue hydrangea. Hopping down the stairs two steps at a time, his pace slowed when he approached her. 

 

“What do you want,” she spoke without looking away from her flowerbed. 

 

“How did you know?”

 

“Those shoes of yours make a distinct noise against stone,” she scoffed. “Come here to give me a lecture on how I should ‘destroy all darkness’ and all that?”

 

“No..” he put a hand over his chest, inhaling and letting out his breath. Hoping it would alleviate the heaviness in his chest. It didn’t. “I wanted to apologize. I didn’t know the full story and I gave you an answer based on my ignorance. I’m sorry.”

 

Lady stood up, twisting on her heels and approaching him until she was a couple inches away from his chest. “You wanna know something?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “You.. look like him.”

 

“What?” He frowned, watching as she brought her hand up to take a strand of his bangs and pulling it straight down to his cheek. 

 

“You look a lot like him,” she repeated, imagining the piece of hair in between her fingers were a shade of pure silver. Replacing the color of light blue of his irises into a deep amber and she stepped back. Blinking, she swore she was staring at him. At Xemnas. “Is it a coincidence?” She murmured to herself, looking up at the image that soon dissipated back into Terra. “How is that possible?”

 

“I-“ Terra blinked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“No I imagine you don’t,” her eyes hardened. 

 

“Why did you spare him? Don’t you know what he’s capable of?”

 

“Because,” Lady shut her eyes. “I don’t know what happened between you guys and the Organization.” She opened her eyes and he saw them shimmer with resolve. “Why should they be condemned for wanting something as base as a heart? They have emotions, I’ve seen it.”

 

Terra shook his head, “That’s impossible, their emotions are based on memories from their past lives.”

 

“I _saw_ despair in their eyes,” she fired back. “Right before Xemnas disappeared I saw his eyes. And that was enough to tell me that they must have something inside them and that alone should warrant some type of sympathy.”

 

“You can’t have sympathy for beings of darkness,” he scowled, his apologetic mood changing quickly. “They won’t have any for you.”

 

“Who told you that?” She countered, crossing her arms. 

 

“My master.”

 

“Is your master omniscient?” 

 

“Yes-“

 

“Wrong,” she cut him off. “Only the wise know that there is more to learn and not everything is just light and darkness. As with all things, there must be balance.” 

 

“And you think your way is right? Who are you to challenge him when you’re barely wise yourself. Your misjudgements could cost you.”

 

“I never said it was right,” she hissed. “I’ve made mistakes and I will continue to make mistakes but _I will learn_. If the mercy I’ve shown Xemnas and the rest of the Organization is a slip-up that will come back to me later, then so be it. I’ll learn and adapt as I always have.”

 

Terra squared his shoulders. Breathing in and out, he stared down at the woman in front of him who only returned his steadfast gaze. Lady sighed and uncrossed her arms, her eyes softening. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

 

“For what?” Terra felt his latent anger slowly disappear under the noise of her melancholic voice. 

 

“I don’t want to argue with you.”

 

“...Me neither.”

 

Then, Lady let out a small chuckle which caught him off guard. 

 

“What’s so funny?” He asked her.

 

“Why is it everytime we see each other, we always seem to fight. Remember the first time we met?”

 

Terra recalled when he came at her, Keyblade in hand as she snatched away Sora’s to block his incoming attack. A rather unpleasant first impression, but he couldn’t help but smile at how silly it is now. “Yeah. Gotta say, you know how to wield a Keyblade well.”

 

“Not really,” she shook her head. “Those things feel weird in my hand, like I should be beating someone with it instead of slicing. How do you manage?”

 

“Years of practice,” he finally grinned. “I can show you one day if you want.”

 

“Is that an invite for a sparring session?” 

 

“If you’re looking it at that way, sure.”

 

“I look forward to showing you how a true swordswoman fights,” she winked at him.

 

“Hey, come on now,” he chuckled. “You haven’t seen how I really fight yet.”

 

“Can’t wait for it, don’t disappoint me.”

 

“I don’t think I will,” the corner of his lip upturned into a small smirk. 

 

At the corner of her eye, she saw Sephiroth walking towards them. Terra looked up at the silver-haired man and turned back to Lady, “I’ll see you around then.. yeah?”

 

“Don’t be a stranger, Terra,” she gave him a light bump on his shoulder and he smiled before backing away to walk back to Roxas’ apartment. 

 

“Sephiroth,” she greeted him, he was now feet away. Closing in on her quickly as he had a pontificating look about his face. He was silent as he wrapped an arm on the small of her back to push her forward gently. Together, they walked towards her apartment and she didn’t bother to address him again until she unlocked the door- opening it for the both of them. Lady kicked off her boots once more and took her sword from the holster on her back, holding it in her hand. She turned to look at him to speak when she was suddenly cut off by Sephiroth pushing her against the door by her shoulders. 

 

She felt his lips kissing her gently and she allowed herself to go at his own pace. Sensual and slow, he closed his eyes and focused on the sensation of her tongue on his. His hand slithered down, taking the sword from her hand and tossing it to the side. She heard it clatter against the wooden floor, her now free hand worked its way up to caress his cheek. Trying to pull away from him, he only pushed her body further towards him. “Don’t pull away,” he murmured softly against her before diving in and licking her bottom lip. 

 

Allowing it, she pushed back against him and he did his absolute best to have their bodies at the closest proximities possible. At last he pulled away, if only by a couple inches as he look at her- his eyes filled with emotions that she had yet to decipher. 

 

“What’s wrong? What happened?” She asked. 

 

“Nothing bad,” he replied. “I just.. it was interesting hearing about my mother.”

 

“And how do you feel?”

 

“It was enlightening,” he closed his eyes for a moment and she led him towards the couch to sit down. Her hands covering his as he continued to speak. “My mother was an accomplished scientist and he told me of all her feats.. I was her greatest achievement.” 

 

Lady reached up to stroke a piece of his hair, brushing it away from his cheek. “I think if she saw the man you grew up into she would be amazed.”

 

“Do you really think so?”

 

“If I had a son like you, I would be so proud,” she murmured as she massaged his hand. “You’re intelligent, handsome but most importantly,” she stopped and gave him a kiss on the tip of his nose. “You’re a compassionate and amazing man.”

 

“Hmph,” he closed his eyes, a rare small smile gracing his lips. “Thank you.”

 

He took her face and brought it closer till their foreheads touched. His nose nudging hers until his lips found their target. It felt different this time around. Usually his kisses were guided and aimed to make the experience for both of them to be pure elation.. but this was nothing like that. Of course it still felt good, but this time he was kissing her as if to try and experience her all over again. Tasting and testing her as a regular man would and not as an elite soldier whose quest was to dominate her with pleasure. Nevertheless, she enjoyed his touch on her skin. 

 

“Will you be sleeping here tonight?” He asked, stopping his gentle touches to await her answer. 

 

“Of course,” she chuckled. “It _is_ my apartment.”

 

“I might want to stay here tonight.”

 

She let out a scandalized gasp, “You expect me to show favoritism while Angeal and Genesis sleep in their own beds?”

 

“Probably,” he chuckled. “If they have a problem with it, we can discuss it like adults.”

 

“As long as you let me sleep soundly and not try anything.”

 

“Now where would be the fun in that?” He leaned in to kiss her and she pulled away with a cheeky grin. 

 

“Just can’t get enough, can you?”

 

“Never,” he mumbled, grabbing her by the waist with both hands; he lifted her into his lap and she laughed when his fingers drummed against her hips. 

 

As their lips touched again, there came a knock at her door and they both stopped. Looking towards her door with visible irritation. Lady shut her eyes, touching her forehead to his shoulder and letting out a frustrated groan. Sliding off of his lap, she walked to the door and opened it a little too hastily.

 

There standing at her entrance was Vincent, with his hand raised mid-air to knock before she took the door away from him. 

 

“Can I help you, sir?” She gave him her best professional smile. Courtesy of days working at a potions and materia shop in the slums of Midgar’s sector 7. Prior to joining up in the SOLDIER program. But that was a story for another day. 

 

“You said you’d help me get accommodated,” was all he said, lowering his hand down slowly. His eyes glanced up and looked at Sephiroth who was still seated on her couch. “Did I interrupt anything?”

 

“My train of thought,” her eyebrow quirked off and motioned him inside. “I guess I have open rooms but none of them have furniture.. are you okay sleeping on a couch?”

 

“You’re asking me that after spending nearly three decades in a coffin?” He stopped at the front to remove his.. shoes. 

 

“Right, sorry. Forgot you enjoy acting like a vampire. Would you like a glass of red wine too, Mr. Valentine?” 

 

“If you have any, that would be nice.”

 

“Unbelievable,” she muttered as she shook her head, yet she still found herself walking to her kitchen to fetch a wine glass and look for her stash of libations. Opening the cabinet, she inspected it. Empty. “How the hell..” 

 

Then it clicked. _Oh._ The wine, _those three,_ and one long night emptied out her stash quickly. And she was powerless to stop it. 

 

“Umm. Do you just want water?” She called to him and he shrugged.

 

Bringing him his refreshment, she sat on the couch besides Sephiroth. He was seated on the couch across as he stared at the liquid in the glass before him.

 

“Did you forget to drink water too?” She teased.

 

“Hmph,” He unbuttoned his cape, taking it off and letting it slip down his shoulders as he took the glass and drank it all in one go. Setting the glass down, the three of them exchanged silent glances. 

 

“Well.” She smacked her lips. “Umm. So should I get you a blanket.. or..” He nodded and she sighed. “First off, you need to shower and change out of those clothes.”

 

“Why?” He raised his right eyebrow slightly. 

 

“Because.” She crossed her arms. 

 

“Because?”

 

“‘Cause I said so.”

 

“That’s not a valid reason.” 

 

“Yes it is. The landlady’s rules are final.”

 

Vincent’s eyes briefly looked to Sephiroth who only gave him a small nod. His shoulders dropped as his face was masked with the telltale signs of defeat. He acquiesced to her demands. 

 

“What can I change into?”

 

“I’ll find clothes, just hurry up. I want to shower too.”

 

•••

 

Lady held a folded up t-shirt to her chest along with some plaid pajamas she bought at the corner store. She sat squatted down against the wall, her coat already folded neatly back into it’s suitcase. Glancing up at the clock, she groaned when she saw thirty minutes had already passed. 

 

“Vincent?” She called. The only response was the sound of a shampoo bottle or something akin to it dropping onto the tile of the floor. 

 

_The man is hopeless._

 

“Hey, how do you turn this off?” She heard him call from inside the shower. 

 

_You’ve gotta be kidding me._

 

She massaged her eyes. “The same way I turned it on!” 

 

Silence.. and then. “I wasn’t paying attention. Sorry.” 

 

_Unbelievable!_

 

“I’m coming in,” she announced before entering the bathroom, her eyes looking down at tile while she walked. Her hand reaching up to slide the shower door to the left. Water began to hit her hand as she felt along the wall to find the knob. 

 

“Why are you looking away like that?”

 

“Hmm,” she huffed. “I dunno, you tell me.”

 

“Where’s Sephiroth?”

 

Her eyes rolled up. “Back in his room, you scared him away.”

 

Finally. Her hand wrapped around the handle and turned it to the left and the soft roar of the shower died down to soft droplets that hit the handle below.

 

“Where are my clothes?” He asked.

 

“I’m washing them.”

 

“Where are the ones I’m supposed to wear then?”

 

“Over here,” she patted down the clothes on the shelf near the shower then excused herself, closing the door behind her. 

 

Coming back into her room, she leaned against the doorframe and sighed. _This is more trouble than I bargained for._ Clapping her cheeks with her hands, she shook her head. _No no, be nice. Be patient. Just give him a chance._

 

She felt the door shove her body forward and the door scraped at her ankles. “Woah!” She gasped as she began to fall forward. A hand slithered around her arm and she was pulled back with incredible speed. Looking back, she saw Vincent with his hand around her elbow. His black hair heavy with water and sticking straight down. There were still water droplets on his eyelashes and she could still see steam in the bathroom behind him. 

 

“Be more careful.” He gave her an unimpressed raise of his eyebrow.

 

“Sure, whatever.” She took her hand back and sighed. “Can I shower now?” 

 

He didn’t get to respond before she took her clothes and pushed past him. He stopped the door from closing with his hand, “What do I do now?”

 

“Oh for Astrals’ sake, do whatever- make yourself comfortable I don’t know!” She pried his fingers from the door and shut it. Sighing she, stripped and carefully folded her SOLDIER fatigues. She set the silver handle to the left until she saw steam leave the showerhead. Stepping in, she closed her eyes and let the hot water run down her exhausted flesh. The menial act of shampooing her hair and soaping her body was an act of the most divine manner. 

 

Sometimes the simple pleasure of a hot shower is often overlooked. Especially since the last shower she took back at the motel was enough to freeze the skin off her skin. She was thankful Noctis and Prompto’s bodies emanate warmth like two mini suns. 

 

Washing the last of the suds off her body, she stepped out of the shower and donned on a baggy shirt and cotton shorts. Tucking in the front, she exited the bathroom letting the steam roll out as she left the door ajar. 

 

Her eyes widened as she took in the sight in front of her. Rather- the person in front of her. Laying down in her bed with his hair strewn about the white sheets. Like black paint swirled around on a blank canvas. 

 

“What are you doing?” She asked. A rhetorical question. She could clearly see what he was doing. 

 

“You said make myself comfortable, no?”

 

She rolled her eyes so far up her head she thought she could see the galaxy in the depths of her brain. “I did but-“ 

 

 _Not on my bed!!!_  

 

“Fine. Whatever. Sleep here I don’t care.” 

 

“Wait,” he sat up as she turned, a slight smile on her face. Awaiting an apology of some sort. “I’m hungry.”

 

Her face fell in disbelief. This man, _this man-child._ She walked over to where he sat and bent down so her hands were on her knees as she knelt down where she could be eye-level with him. “What are you hungry for, Vince?”

 

He frowned, immediately realizing the change of pitch in her voice. “I’m not a child.”

 

“Then don’t act like one. What do you wanna eat?”

 

“Whatever you have available, I’m not picky.”

 

“I sincerely doubt that,” she scoffed, getting up to walk towards the kitchen. The sheets of her bed shuffled and heard his footsteps follow her; soft and silent as a predatory cat.

 

Pointing at the dining table for him to take a seat at, she placed a pan on the stove. Turning the dial as the flat-top stove began to form red rings to indicate their increasing temperature. Opening her fridge, she sighed when she saw a note with Genesis’ handwriting attached to her almost empty bottle of creamer. ‘I’ll replace it when it’s empty. -G’ it read. 

 

“Yeah right, Loveless asshole,” she muttered under her breath as she rummaged around for the packet of meat in the drawers along with an array of vegetables. Setting them aside, she pulled out a cutting board and let cold water run over the vegetables. Shaking them dry before placing them on the board and began to cut them- Julienne style.

 

Greens, reds, and yellows cut into almost perfect strips were tossed together in a bowl. Seasoning them with sea salt and pepper. She turned to get the butter from the fridge and when she turned back around, she jumped when she was inches away from Vincent’s chest. 

 

“Do you _mind_?!” She pushed past him to cut a piece of butter and place it into the heated pan.

 

“I’m just watching,” he said, matter-of-factly. He leered at the chopped vegetables like they were alien creatures. “You did a sloppy job. The other man Ignis chopped them in a more uniform matter.”

 

Lady gripped the knife in her hand, flipping it so that it was upright in her hand as she shot him the most heated glare she could muster. 

 

“Do you want to eat? Or _die_?” She seethed. 

 

“You can try to kill me, you’ll be disappointed,” he crossed his arms.

 

“I’m already disappointed,” she sighed, her upper body leaning away as she poured the meat into the pan. Melting into the butter as she tossed it around.

 

“What are you making?” He asked, looking over her shoulder. 

 

“Stir-fry, its all I have right now since I didn’t have a chance to go to the store and restock.” She rounded up the vegetables and beef into a round and seasoned it generously. Truth be told, she learned these tricks from watching Ignis and Angeal cook. But she would never admit that to them. 

 

They stood there together with her cooking and him just watching. Everytime she turned her head slightly, she would see his crimson eyes turn up to look at her and she would turn back to focus on her cooking.

 

“Can you at least grab a plate from the cabinet up there?” She jerked her chin at the top right cabinet and he opened it to take down two square white plates. “Thanks, go ahead and sit down I’ll bring it over.”

 

For once, he silently followed her orders as he went to take a seat at the table. Pouring the food onto the plates, she paused and arranged one of the green beans into a small smiley face with two pieces of beef serving as the eyes. Putting a fork on the side, she walked over and set the plate in front of him. 

 

He looked down at his plate and back up at her. “Is this.. smiling at me?”

 

“Yeah, something you should try to do more,” she chuckled to herself as she dug into her meat. 

 

He followed suit, holding his fork and stabbing the vegetable along with a piece of meat before putting them in his mouth. She watched him chew, hoping she would see his eyes light up, a smile, _anything._

 

She sighed when he kept on eating, fork paused as he raised an eyebrow. “What?”

 

“Do you like it?” She bit on her bottom lip, anticipating his answer. 

 

“It’s edible,” he shrugged. 

 

_Ah. Fucking ass-_

 

“But.. it is pretty good.”

 

_Aw.. finally! A compliment, he’s not so bad!_

 

“But maybe it’s because I haven’t sat down and enjoyed a meal in decades so maybe my palate has gone awry.”

 

_Nah, I hate this dude._

 

Her face must’ve been hilarious because it elicited the faintest of smiles from him as he turned his face down to finish his plate. Stabbing the right eye of the smiley face, he chewed on it before cutting the green bean mouth in half- completely denigrating the happy face on his plate. 

 

“Thank you for the meal,” he nodded at her. 

 

“You’re welcome,” she mumbled, standing up to take his plate and stacked it atop hers as she left to wash it. 

 

Patting down her wet hands on her shirt, she walked to a linen closet and pick out a blanket and extra pillow to place on the couch. Turning to leave him to get adjusted, she heard him clear his throat. She turned her head, raising her eyebrows and waiting to hear what he had to say. 

 

“Goodnight..” he paused, then continued to say her real name. 

 

“You can just call me Lady,” her face softened into a half-hearted smile. 

 

“You’re not fond of your birth name?”

 

“It’s not that,” she looked up at the ceiling. “It’s complicated.”

 

Silence. She was about to leave the conversation at that cut-off when he spoke again. “Your name is beautiful. But I’ll call you what you wish.”

 

She gave him one last smile before she closed the door to her room, looking at the empty bed and wishing Sephiroth stayed with her tonight. 

 

•••

 

It didn’t take her long to fall asleep. But unfortunately it didn’t take her long to wake back up. A veil of sweat covering her forehead as she placed her hand over her thumping heart. It felt like a percussion drum beating in the cavity of her chest. Closing her eyes, she could still envision the searing golden orbs that were burned into the memory of her now fading dream. 

 

“Chaos,” she choked out. Remembering the echoing voice that kept repeating the name in her hazy vision. Getting up, she walked to her bathroom to splash her face with water. Looking up, she saw the clear signs of sleep depravity bless her face in the form of bags. Letting her hands play with the cold stream of water from the faucet, she shut her fists when she saw them began to tremble. “Stop that,” she scolded herself, opening and shutting her fists. 

 

Sitting back down, she sighed when her own bed began to feel foreign to her. Getting up once more, she walked over to her vanity drawer and pulled out a spare key. Placing on her slippers, she quietly exited her apartment and opened the one next to hers with said key. Poking her head in first, she saw someone sleeping on the couch in the living room. Inching it open, she tiptoed in and saw Zack’s sleeping face half-buried under the three blankets he piled on top of his body. He snoozed and snores peacefully as she quietly made her way down the hall of doors until she reached the farthest one on the right. 

 

Opening it, she saw Sephiroth facing upwards with a hand under his head. Looking around, she wanted to pat her back for offering to design his interior. It was neutral with splashes of color that she insisted on. A dark grey oak writing desk with a matching bookshelf along filled with books he found interesting or ones that she snuck in with her own personal anecdotes.

 

Besides those two pieces of furniture and a nightstand beside his bed- there was naught much else in the room. Simplicity. That’s what he requested and she delivered. 

 

Climbing onto the bed, she winced when the bed moved under the sudden weight she applied. At the movement, she looked up just as his eyes fluttered open and immediately looked at the source of his disturbance. His sharp eyes softening when he saw it was just her. 

 

He moved his arm for her and she crawled up towards him. Putting her head down on his chest, she willed herself to shut her eyes again- letting the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest lull her to sleep. 

 

This time she slept. She still saw the glowing golden eyes from afar under a mist of grey through a stream of blackened mako. But this time, she heard something unfurl behind her. Looking up, she saw the outline of a single black-feathered wing reaching towards the endless sky along with strands of flowing silver hair that displayed themselves proudly against the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vincent doesn’t know how to ‘shoot’ his ‘shot’. 
> 
> (Because he uses a gun, y’know.)


	35. XXXV

Sleep had eluded her once again. At this rate it was getting pretty annoying, her soul wailed for rest but her body denied its pleas. Back and forth would her sanity wane while the hours grew long when she tossed and turned. Having had enough, she rose from Sephiroth’s side and went for a walk. Her feet taking her wherever they pleased in an attempt to wear herself out. Her body glided from his room, outside of the Alstroemeria and into the waxing dawn.

 

Out there, she found solace. Buried underneath a hoodie that was two sizes too large, her nose twitched when the drawstrings would accidentally bounce up into her nose every time she walked. It proved a small reprieve against the morning chill that abused her legs. She was still wearing the cotton shorts she slept in- or rather, the ones she wore while she tossed and turned. 

 

The city of Elera was quiet at this hour and only the sound of small birds kept her company on her walk. Sitting down on a bench, she brought her knees up and thought about her dreams.

 

Eyes of molten gold leering at her from the darkness.. and the wing behind her with silver hair flowing from the shadowed figure.

 

“A one-winged angel,” she muttered, imagining the wind that blew on her face being the winds that came from the heavy wing from her dreams. And then her mind wondered about the other dark figure, remembering the name that kept ricocheting around her mind. “And.. Chaos? Or Vincent?” _Did those hollow and cold eyes really belong to him?_

 

Putting her face in her hands, she massaged her temples. The visions she had were getting worse, never had they been so vivid and physically affected her body like it did today. Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth all had wings before- when she saw them after her discovery in Nibelheim. Albeit just an illusion, it seemed foreboding enough to give her pause. The question was if it was a sign for things to come.. she hoped not.

 

Wrapping her arms around herself, she hoped she didn’t look like a stray. Thankful that the fresh environment devoid of her beloved tenants didn’t cloud her mind so she could think properly. Cool winds mixed with the snuggly warmth of her hoodie evoked a sense of peace and she felt her eyelids grow heavy. 

 

“It’d be pretty dangerous to sleep out here, y’know?”

 

Her eyes shot open and her senses went into high alert as she looked up at the one who addressed her. Calming down once she stared into familiar dark blue eyes, the scent of ground up coffee beans should’ve been the thing that gave him away. 

 

“Helios,” she breathed. “I mean- Eli, sorry.”

 

The barista gave her a sympathetic smile and took a seat beside her; scents of vanilla mixed in with cinnamon grew stronger as he did.

 

“What are you doing out here?” He asked. 

 

“Wanted to clear my head,” she answered. “What about you? It’s pretty early.”

 

Eli looked at his watch that was face up on his inner wrist and gave her a half-hearted smile. “Morning shifts, I hate ‘em. Usually takes me a while to clean up if the closing crew was lazy the night before.”

 

“Oh,” she said, feeling sympathetic to his plight. Working in shops were tedious. “I can help clean up if you want?”

 

His eyes widened and he let out an amused laugh. “You’re not on our payroll though.”

 

“Pay me with coffee.”

 

The side of his lip turned up as he searched her face while he pondered on his answer. “Mmm, yeah. Looks like you didn’t get any good sleep last night, missy.” Standing up, he held his hand out for her. “Come on then, rookie. I’ll show you how to run a coffee shop.”

 

•••

 

Zack put his face in his arms and groaned. “Not fair, I’ve been getting your guys’ workload ever since Director Lazard’s been telling everyone you’re not required for jobs as much.” 

 

Angeal leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair as he put the newspaper down on the table. The force of it making the top of his coffee form small ripples. “Sorry Zack, it’s just complicated right now.”

 

“What’s so complicated? Why can’t you guys just come back to work?” The puppy pouted. 

 

Angeal and Genesis shared a look- one of concern and knowing. The mentor looked back at his apprentice and gave him an apologetic smile. “It’s a long story. We’ll tell you some other day.”

 

The obvious truth of it was that he didn’t want to tell Zack at all. He came into Shinra as a boy who wanted nothing more than to be a hero. It nearly destroyed Angeal’s resolve when the truth came to him. Something that incapacitated whatever honor he had left for SOLDIER. But in an almost twisted way, at least he didn’t suffer from this reality alone. He had three others who shared a similar sentence, others who could relate. That alone gave him small comfort and it was enough.. for now.

 

Looking at Zack’s eyes still filled with eagerness to become world-renowned- he couldn’t bring himself to tell Zack the Puppy. He would be crushed. Everything he worked for: the prestigious uniform, the honor to be in league with others in the elite 1st Class.. it would all dissolve. Ignorance was truly a gift. 

 

Genesis sipped his coffee, looking at his phone while he tried to ignore Zack’s appetensic look. The attention completely focused on the auburn-haired man when it didn’t work on Angeal.

 

They all heard a door open and Zack’s attention turned to Sephiroth who walked down the hall towards them. His eyes searching the open rooms as he passed by them when he finally stopped at the table where they sat. 

 

“Good morning- Crescent, now, was it?” Genesis raised his mug at him. “Missing something?”

 

Sephiroth nodded, “My mother’s name, yes.” He took a seat besides Angeal and crossed his arms. “I thought Lady was here.. or maybe I was dreaming.”

 

“She was?” Angeal quirked an eyebrow. “I didn’t hear anyone come in last night.”

 

“Me neither,” Zack shrugged. “I was out here so I would’ve heard something first hand.”

 

Sephiroth looked down at his hands. He thought it impossible that it was merely a dream- he remembered her soft skin against his hands and the way she left her signature scent on him that was still distinguishable even after he awoke. Closing his eyes, he pondered. Maybe she will be back soon, wherever she went.

 

•••

 

“How did you like your coffee again?”

 

“Bitter with a bit of sweetness,” she replied just as he set the mug down in front of her. 

 

“Okay, I think I got it right. Was just making sure,” he smiled. “I should’ve already got your order down, my bad.”

 

“It’s okay,” she took a sip of the robust drink. “I don’t expect you to remember how I like my coffee.”

 

“No, I just want to,” he gave her a small wink. “It’ll take me a while but forgive my horrible memory.”

 

“I’ll try my best to,” she hid her smile behind the rim of her cup. She felt she had this conversation with him before. 

 

“So.. you gonna rest up now right? I would assume that’s what you would do after picking up your friend right?” 

 

She wanted to laugh at his loose interpretation of her story of how she retrieved Vincent- although it was her choice to omit some pretty important details and reduced her story down to ‘a quick drive to pick a friend up from a bad living situation.’ 

 

“Yeah.. but I can’t just sleep all day. I have some work to do tonight,” she sighed. 

 

“Then take a nap,” his expression grew serious. “Don’t overwork yourself, it could be seriously bad for you in the long run.”

 

“Huh, speak for yourself. You probably work overtime here,” she shot back with a grin. 

 

Eli threw his hands in the air, “Guilty as charged. Can’t help it, Elera is an expensive city to live in. How else am I gonna make a living?”

 

“Fair enough,” she twisted the mug so that the handle was faced towards the right. “Thank you for the amazing coffee, as always.”

 

“And thank _you_ for helping out with opening,” he flashed a brilliant smile. Probably rehearsed, she thought. His toothy white pearls added to his overall beauty. She couldn’t blame the line of girls that came in just for a shot to see the handsome blue-haired barista.

 

“I’ll take my leave then.” She got up and Eli did the same. She looked up at him confused. “What is it?”

 

“I clock out around five. I’ll stop by at your place with some drinks and pastries if you want?”

 

“You don’t have to, that’s too much work for you-“

 

“I insist,” he cut her off. “Come on, it’s the least I can do. Plus the stuff we bake goes to waste at the end of the day if it’s not sold.”

 

“You make a fine case,” she tilted her head. “At least save me some of those tarts then.” Pointing to the ones displayed on a promotional poster by a bed of blueberries. “I’ll send you the address later.” 

 

Eli bowed his head, opening the front door for her and put his hand over his chest as she walked out. Once out, she turned towards him as he leaned his arm against the glass door. A slanted smile on his face as he shooed her away with a wink. Lady gave him a smile and left, strangely feeling more rested than when she entered.

 

•••

 

Lazard set his glasses down to massage his eyes, head resting on his arms. He let out a heavy sigh, silently cursing all of the work he always seemed to have constantly piled up on his desk. Once he let out his quiet frustration he blinked a couple times and sat up. Upon his vision returning when he put his glasses back on, he nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw Lady sitting comfortably on his desk.

 

“How long have you been there?” He coughed. 

 

“Since yesterday, haven’t you noticed?” She grinned.

 

The director recomposed himself and cleared his throat, “I trust that your mission was a success?”

 

“Yep,” she replied, playing with one of his pens between her fingers. 

 

He tapped his forefinger against his hand, expecting a full mission report when he stopped. He forgot who he was talking to. “So I’m assuming you have Vincent back at the Alstroemeria.”

 

“Yeah, he’s.. he’s okay. I have a question.”

 

“Shoot,” he leaned back in his chair. 

 

“Is Shinra working with the Niflheim Empire?”

 

Lazard shot her a confused look, “No, I can say that with confidence. You were there when we got attacked, right? If so, it would be a weird alliance to have our allies ambush us constantly.”

 

Lady took a minute to search his face. Looking for any anomalies within the straight-laced director’s expression. No. There were no changes. Either he was telling the truth or he was an incredibly practiced liar. She assumed it was the former, seeing as how he risked secrecy to help her in the first place.

 

“Did you find something out?” He got straight to the point. 

 

“One of the guards I interrogated- he said they worked with someone in Shinra.”

 

Lazard’s brows furrowed, “Impossible. Rufus never agreed to make any deals with them. Neither did the previous president.”

 

It was Lady’s turn to look agitated. _Then who would have the gall to work with the Empire under Rufus’ nose??_ She looked at the open files on his desk, those under the 1st Class tab. Sephiroth.. Angeal.. Genesis.. Zack.. only Angeal and Genesis were put under a separate folder that listed their current physician: Professor Hollander. Sephiroth’s was separate, his under Professor Hojo.

 

Her eyes widened, the thought of the Empire’s twisted mannequin soldiers and the ones she saw at the stadium. A cruel and abhorrent hybrid of Heartless and human. Only one scientist she knew of would be capable of such unethical practice. 

 

“Lazard.. is Hojo..” she cut herself off, not sure if she wanted to make that accusation known. 

 

He raised an eyebrow. “Is Hojo what?” Before she could continue her sentence for him, she saw his eyes slightly widen. “You think he’s the one behind it.”

 

She nodded, “Who else would do such a thing. You know he doesn’t care who’s president. Nothing would stop him from his research. And I recall him saying he wanted to work with another scientist somewhere in Radiant Garden- he was interested in the Heartless they produced.”

 

“Heartless?”

 

“Uh, they’re little creature things that seek out hearts or something.”

 

“I know what they are,” he chuckled. “Just never worried about them since they’re a rare occurrence. I used to have a correspondent who knew about them. Truth be told, I’m not too fond on working with Keyblade wielders.”

 

“Why?” She tilted her head to the side. 

 

“Their methods aren’t very.. organized, to be quite frank. And just the way they go about things, like misguided children.”

 

_You’re not wrong there._

 

He rested his elbows on his desk, “I’ll look into the matter for you. But if you wish to see into it yourself..”

 

She looked at him expectantly. 

 

“There’s been reports of citizens of Elera going missing on the outskirts. We already sent a group of 2nd Class to investigate but.. they went missing too. I had no other choice but to assign Zack and Angeal to go..” he cut himself off, looking at her to take the hint.

 

“When?”

 

“Tonight.”

 

_Mmm, work. Ugh._

 

“Where’s the rendezvous?”

 

“I left the file with Angeal actually.”

 

“Great, does he know?” Lady shut her eyes, already imagining the argument they would have if she would try to ask for it nicely from him. “He won’t just hand it over.”

 

“I imagine you’ll have ways to convince him,” Lazard smiled. 

 

•••

 

Demyx sat in the courtyard with his sitar resting across his lap. His fingers plucked the taut strings as he stared out towards the sky with growing boredom. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure entering from the front and he felt his moods rise just as his instrument melted into water that evaporated immediately before hitting the floor. 

 

“Lady!” He waved at her and she waved back grinning. He let his hand fall to his side, not wanting to wait any longer to talk to her so got up quickly to meet her halfway.

 

“Demyx, how’s it going?” She greeted him.

 

“Eh, got kicked out again for playing my music too loud,” he shrugged, pulling at the strand of blonde hair that fell over his eyes. “When Axel blasts his music no one complains, but when _I_ do it..” he put his fingers up to make air quotations. “‘I’m disturbing the peace.’”

 

“My my, shall I have a word with them for you?”

 

“Nah.. don’t want the guys to get any more bothered than they already are.” He sighed, rolling his head back around before he spoke again. “Uh hey, I wanted to show you something if you weren’t too busy.” 

 

“Oh? What is it?” She smiled.

 

“It’s a secret, I can’t ruin the surprise,” he placed a finger over his lips and gave her a wink. 

 

“I would love to see!” 

 

Demyx wanted to tell her more of the details involved with his surprise, but his timid voice was overpowered by two more that emerged from the direction of the beach. 

 

“Heyyy, Lady! Haven’t seen you in forever!” Axel walked past Demyx and stood beside Lady with his arm wrapping around her shoulder. “You wanna hang out with us today?” He pointed at the other man who walked past. 

 

Xigbar flashed her a grin as he balanced his elbow on Demyx’s shoulder. “I’m starting to get jealous of all the attention everyone else is getting.” 

 

“Sorry guys, I’ve just been really busy,” she raised her hands up in surrender and laughed when Axel tickled her waist. “Hey, stop that!”

 

“Come on, hang out with us today,” the redhead pouted and Lady giggled.

 

“It’s crazy how Reno looks like you, y’know? You sure you guys weren’t separated at birth?”

 

“What are you talking about? _He_ looks like _me_!” Axel frowned, jutting his thumb at me. “I’m one of a kind.”

 

“Sure thing, bud. Whatever helps you sleep better at night,” Xigbar rolled his eye and Axel shot him a glare. Ignoring him, Xigbar turned to Demyx, “Soo what were you two talking about?”

 

“Awfully nosy, Xiggy,” Demyx furrowed his brow. 

 

“It’s my job to know everything,” he winked back. 

 

“For what end, dude, do you have your own agenda or something?” The blond fired back. 

 

“‘Course not, water boy, I’m just naturally curious!”

 

Their conversation was interrupted by Lady’s phone ringing and she immediately reached in her pocket to answer. “Hey!” She spoke into the receiver, “Just come in, you won’t get zapped I promise.” She put her phone back in her pocket and let out a sigh. 

 

“Who was that?” Axel looked down at her, his arm still wrapped around her shoulder.

 

“Somebody,” she elbowed him lightly, making eye contact with all three of them. “You three be on your best behavior, okay?”

 

“Why?” The three of them looked at her confused.

 

To answer their question, Lady turned just as she heard footsteps come from the front. Her lips turning up into a smile as Eli walked in with a box in hand. 

 

“Hey there,” he flashed her a smile as he raised his other hand with a sealed cup held in it. “Ah, sorry was this a bad time?”

 

Lady shrugged off Axel’s arm and greeted Eli with a hug, taking the cup off coffee from him and inhaling the aroma. “Nah you’re okay, Eli this is-“ she pointed at the three gathered with her and introduced them respectively, “-Axel, Demyx, and Xigbar.”

 

“Nice to meet you!” Eli held his hand out to shake theirs and only when the three of them received a warning glare from Lady did they do so unwillingly. The barista looked up around the apartments, giving a low whistle, “You weren’t lying when you said this place was really nice.”

 

“‘Course it is,” Demyx piped up. “Lady has great taste.”

 

“Yeah,” Eli looked down at the woman nearby as she looked up at him from the rim of the coffee cup- her eyelashes batting as he spoke. “She does, doesn’t she?”

 

Axel looked at Xigbar with his eyes narrowed and he shared the same look as they both turned to look at Demyx who looked at them with a defeated pout. 

 

“Hey,” she licked the remains of coffee off her upper lip. “Why don’t you rent out a room here-“

 

“Aren’t we full though?” Axel cut her off, looking at Eli dead in the eyes. “We’ve got plenty people here.”

 

Lady looked at him with a confused frown, “What are you talking about? We have lots of rooms available.”

 

The silence that followed was unbearably heavy with agonizing awkwardness; it was cut off when Eli cleared his throat. “I should be headed home anyways, working a double shift tomorrow.” He gave Lady another smile as he handed her the box of pastries. 

 

“I-,” she looked up at him. “I can walk you out?”

 

“Don’t worry about me,” he winked. “I’ll see you some other day, yeah? Let me know how you like those tarts.”

 

“Okay,” she nodded, holding the box closer against her chest. “I’ll text you.”

 

“I look forward to it,” he saluted her with two fingers and excused himself, his low ponytail whooshing as his body turned towards the exit. Lady waited when he exited the gates, he threw his dark green apron over his shoulder as he turned the corner. Moving to look at the three of them, her eyes were hardened as she gave them a fierce scowl.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you? He’s just being nice!” She growled

 

“Yeah, when guys try to ‘be nice’ it’s usually because they have an ulterior motive,” Axel scoffed, but his eyes were turned down to avoid her heated glare. 

 

“Oh and are you speaking from experience?” She rolled her eyes. “That behavior was unnecessary, you three acted like children.”

 

Xigbar massaged the back of his neck and released a heavy sigh, “Look, we’re sorry. We’ll make it up to you.”

 

Demyx looked at her with widened eyes, hopeful that she would say yes. Even if her attention was divided by the three of them, he at least could spend time with her.

 

“Not interested,” she frowned. “I’ve got work to do anyways.” Turning sharply on her heels, she marched up to her apartment and left behind the three of them.

 

Axel slapped his forehead and shook his head, “Shit.”

 

“You can say that again,” Xigbar muttered, tugging the sleeve of Demyx’s distressed band tee to signal him to follow. “Come on, no use looking like sad bums out here.”

 

“Yeah,” Axel shut his eyes. “Might as well be sad bums inside.”

 

Demyx trudged alongside them, looking at Lady’s apartment behind his shoulder and gave a heavy sigh. Trying to think of the best way to show her his planned surprise.

 

•••

 

Angeal dragged a cloth down his sword, watching the steel glint everytime the polish would graze over its edge. Setting it down where it leaned against the foot of his bed, he adjusted his fatigues while he looked around for his mission file. Frowning when it was nowhere to be found. Taking his sword, he exited his room and looked out to Genesis who was stretched out on the couch with a book covering his face. Angeal shook his head, at least somebody was enjoying their extended vacation.

 

Walking over to where he was seated at the dining table, he picked up the newspaper he was reading earlier and looked under. Nope, wasn’t there either.

 

“Looking for something?” Genesis spoke, plucking the book off of his face and peeked at him over the top of the couch cushions. 

 

“Mission report.. I swore I left it here,” he pointed at the dining table. “Have you seen it?”

 

“Nope,” his friend replied. “Haven’t the faintest.. why do you even insist on helping them out?”

 

“I’m not doing it for Shinra,” Angeal huffed. “I don’t want to leave Zack hanging on this mission alone.”

 

“Your puppy can handle himself, he’s not 2nd Class anymore.”

 

“Doesn’t matter, it sounded dangerous and I’m not leaving him hanging.”

 

“Suit yourself,” Genesis shrugged and leaned back on the pillows again, brushing his hair from his face as he went back to nap. 

 

Angeal went back into his room to retrace his steps to look for the missing papers. On his desk maybe? Or.. did he leave it somewhere else. No- he prided himself in being organized. Not a thing in his room was ever out of place. He grew up poor and without much possessions, but at least he knew how to keep things clean. As he entered his room, his eyes immediately looked up to the open window with the wind dancing through the light blue curtains. He frowned. Was that thing open before..?

 

Turning to close the door behind him, he felt hands wrap around his head and close around his eyes. A familiar and feminine scent filled his nose- the smell of flowers and coffee that he knew all too well. His vision was blocked but he could tell whose hands they belonged to. 

 

“What are you doing?” He muttered. He didn’t even bother asking her how she got in.

 

“You’re relieved from duty, soldier,” was all she said before leaning in closer to his ear to whisper sweet words. Her lips brushing along his lobe as he soon felt every fiber of his being becoming heavy with drowsiness. “Sleep well.”

 

The last thing Angeal remembered was his body being pulled gently onto his inviting bed where a warm blanket soon covered him. He tried his best fighting against the overwhelming fatigue that struck him but was powerless as he soon gave in. He heard her hum a gentle song as her lips left a lingering kiss along the side of his mouth. Then- he felt as he was being carried off to slumber on lofty wings that brushed against him softly.

 

•••

 

“So much for always being on time,” Zack pushed himself off the decrepit concrete wall, looking around his surroundings for signs of his assigned help. With no other choice but to wait, he began swinging his arms as he started his fifth round of squats. “Come onnnn Angeal, where are you? This place is pretty creepy.”

 

As his knees bent once more, he heard a twig snap in the thicketed forest nearby. He stopped mid-squat as his head turned towards the direction of the sound. Straightening up, his hand immediately wrapped around the sword he had holstered on his back. Squinting at the darkness, he looked for any signs of movement that would reveal the origin of the noise. He was light on his feet as he inched closer to the edge of the forest, thinking the twists and brambles of the wood almost looked like faces if he looked hard enough. 

 

Zack’s fingers danced on the grip of his sword, ready to take it out in case of an oncoming attack. He was already briefed on the strange attacks that have been responsible for a group of 2nd Class to go missing. He inhaled sharply, letting his ears do the seeing for him in the low-lit area. He was glad to have company for such an eerie area although he would never admit it. Soon, his shoulders relaxed as he backed away from the forest slowly. “Must’ve been an animal or something..” he muttered to himself, hoping that saying it aloud would make him believe in it more.. it didn’t.

 

A gust of wind creeped up on his arm and then a voice came from behind him, “What’s got you on edge?”

 

The fine hairs on his arm bristled and he jumped back, twisting around and unsheathing his sword to aim it forward. When he finally saw who addressed him, he let out a relieved sigh. “Geez, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

 

Lady grinned at him, “Sorry! It’s been so fun scaring everyone today, I can’t help it.”

 

Zack put his sword back, feeling its metal pull itself onto the magnetic holster that was strapped on his fatigues. “Where’s Angeal? We were supposed to start at twenty-two hundred hours.”

 

“My bad,” she shrugged. “Had to take care of stuff first.”

 

He tilted his head to the side so that his bangs hovered just over his eyes. “Wait so..” he paused to walk a full circle around her, looking at her get-up. “You’re my partner for this mission? Shinra sent _you_?”

 

“Don’t look so disappointed,” she scoffed. “I’m just as competent as those other three.”

 

“No no,” he shook his head, grinning at her and she could see his imaginary tail wagging as he talked. “I’m not disappointed at all, in fact- I’m pretty stoked! Who knew I get to team up with the legendary ex-SOLDIER Lady herself!”

 

“Far from legendary,” she chuckled. “I didn’t even get my own fan club like you guys.”

 

“I can start one for you,” he jutted his thumb towards his chest. “I can be the president too!”

 

“Eh, not interested,” she winked. “Come on, let’s get started.” She pointed at the abandoned tunnel and walked along the crumbling concrete road leading towards it. Stopping, she turned to Zack who stopped right behind her; she brought her finger up and put it over her lips, “Shinra didn’t send me by the way, I’m here for my own reasons. So try to exclude that in your mission report, ‘kay?” 

 

“What do I say about Angeal then?”

 

“Just pretend he was here and that I’m him,” she grinned. “But of course, I’m more fun to be around.”

 

They continued their walk down into the tunnel and Lady held her hand up in the middle of them, producing a bright ball of fire that illuminated their way. 

 

“Oho, so you think he’s bit of a bore do ya?” Zack laughed, his happiness echoing off the walls of the tunnel and he blushed at his own exuberance. 

 

She grinned, “Nah. He just needs to loosen up sometimes. He’s so rigid sometimes, I joke with him to not fasten his belt so tightly.”

 

“Heh, between you and me,” he nudged her gently. “Ever since he’s been hangin’ out with you- he’s loosened up a whole lot. I see him smile more often.. and that goes for all three of them.”

 

Lady tried to hide the growing smile on her face, “I’m glad I can do that for them.” She looked up at him, “I heard you’ve been taking on their responsibilities for the time being..” she stopped and the arcane flames danced in her grateful eyes. “Thank you so much. You’ve been a great help.”

 

“Uh,” Zack looked at her, scratching the back of his head. “N-no prob! Can I ask why they haven’t been coming into work?”

 

She looked at him and gave a solemn shake of her head, “I’m sorry. I’ll tell you some other day.”

 

He sighed, “Yeah.. Angeal and Genesis didn’t wanna tell me either.”

 

They continued walking until they neared a crevice in the ground, Lady let the ball of flame hover near it and she frowned when it lit up black gunk that spilled over the edges. Her brows furrowed when she knelt down, taking a piece of twig from her back pocket and using it to scoop up the foreign object onto it. Standing up, she held it up for both of them to see. 

 

“What do you think that is?” Zack squinted at the viscous fluid. “Looks.. gross.”

 

“Indeed,” she murmured, bringing up the flame to let it consume the twig. Watching as the the liquid caught fire after about fifteen to twenty seconds and burned into a black smoke that gave off a foul stench. She covered her nose with her hand and Zack did the same, both of them looking on as it turned to ash in her hand. “Hmph, weird.” 

 

Zack looked up to where the crevice cracked and twisted in the ground, heading towards a vein in the wall that stood agape. Tapping her shoulder, he pointed at it and the ball of flame hovered over and expanded to reveal a set of handprints that left a darkened crimson skid mark against the wall. As if the person who left them tried to use the wall to support themselves before they were dragged inside against their will. 

 

The two soldiers shared a glance, nodding, and made for the wall. Zack put a protective arm in front of her and went first, stepping on the ground and making sure it was sturdy for the both of them. He gave her a thumbs up and they both descended, following the smell of dried blood that hung heavy in the air. Lady looked down and tapped Zack on the shoulder. 

 

“You didn’t bring the charm I made for you?” She leaned in to whisper. 

 

“I didn’t want to lose it down here,” he whispered back with a meek smile.

 

“It’s fine, I’m here so I’ll protect you,” she smiled. “But next time make sure you bring it, okay? It’s a toy but I imbued it with some heavy magic.”

 

“I promise,” he brought his pinkie up in front of her and Lady looked at him with an amused smirk. Relenting, she wrapped her pinkie up with his and he held onto her finger tightly. “Now for sure, it’s going to happen because we pinkie-promised.”

 

Lady couldn’t help but have her smile grow at his childish logic, but something about the small and silly sentiment imbued her with strength. Continuing their trek, she looked at the walls. Old and ruined- it definitely confirmed that this part of the city was left abandoned and forgotten. Nature had begun to reclaim it as she saw vines and tree roots twist around rusted metal fixtures and break through concrete. It would’ve been beautiful in a poetic way had it not been for the stains of blood that decorated the cramped hallway they were traversing. She would stop to investigate the congealed blood that littered the stone, noting that some were noticeably more red than the others while some were almost brown and completely oxidized. 

 

They stopped as the hallway expanded into a rectangular room with a cracked ceiling. Looking up, she could see hints of starlight try to creep through. Once they approached the middle, her nose scrunched up in disgust- the smell of open wounds hitting her. The stench was unfortunately a familiar one, as she would always smell it walking past the infirmary in Shinra. It wasn’t nearly akin to decomposing flesh, more like the souring of blood and pus mixed together- almost like rotten milk.. if the milk was taken from a corpse. 

 

The two of them were silent, but they knew they might find the missing soldiers soon enough. Zack looked up at the sign that was almost completely disintegrated, sounding out the words until he could form what it said, “Sewers?” He turned to her, “Think that’s where they were dragged off to?”

 

She nodded. “The blood trail leads in there..” she pointed at the ground and the remnants of the crimson track that urged them to follow inside. 

 

Zack approached the door, putting his ear against it. Honing in his senses, he waited until he heard the faintest of whimpers from the other side. Getting up, he jingled the door handle and scowled when he found it was locked. The noise of the metal creaking against his pulls echoed in the room and then the voice from the other side became louder.

 

“I-s.. some..one there? H-elp me..!”

 

Zack gritted his teeth, shouldering the door and slamming himself against it. When his attempts proved useless, he motioned for her to stand back and gripped his sword. Bending his knees, he ran forward until he was a foot away from the door and brought the sword down. Lady watched as the metal proved no match for his sheer strength and it was cut in a diagonal fashion. The remains of the door fell back and clattered against the floor, making a noisy entrance as Zack ran inside towards the person in distress. 

 

Lady followed him in, running down the old spiral stairs that only had ropes as their safeguard against the drop down. Looking below, she saw splashes of dried blood decorating the blackened brick walls along with severed pieces of Shinra issued armor strewn about. 

 

Once she reached the bottom, Zack was already knelt down in front of the one who called for help. The wounded man in front of him had his face contorted in extreme pain. His 2nd Class fatigues were a darkened purple that was stained with blood, whether it was his own or somebody else’s- she couldn’t tell. The flickering gas lamps that hung around the room only provided enough light to shine down on their faces. 

 

“What’s your name?” Zack asked him. “What happened here?”

 

“Ambush,” the man wheezed. “My name.. is.. Jin.. 2nd Class.. SOLDIER.”

 

“Can you stand Jin?” Zack offered him his hand and the man only shook his head. 

 

“Can’t feel.. my legs,” he coughed, Lady saw that the blood that came out of his mouth seemed black. Or maybe it was the lack of light playing tricks on her eyes.

 

“How long have you been here?” She squatted down to be eye-level. 

 

“I lost count.. felt like years,” Jin shut his eyes. Sweat and blood matting his light brown hair against his forehead which had a sizeable gash going across it. “These things.. came out of nowhere… Nothing we’ve seen before.”

 

“Lady,” Zack looked at her. “Can you heal him?”

 

She nodded and focused on the wounded soldier. “Where is the pain most focused?”

 

“Everywhere,” Jin groaned. “It hurts so gods’ damn much.” He rolled his head and looked at a helmet that had a hole blasted in the side. “They came at us so fast.. we couldn’t stand a chance.”

 

A tear rolled down his cheek, the congealed blood on his face rehydrating as the saline drop touched it. “That thing got to Serei so fast.. we had to put him down, he turned into a monster,” as he spoke, his eyes bulged and he pushed away Lady as he leaned to the left and threw up. Upon closer inspection, Lady held her breath. His blood was definitely black.

 

 Wiping the back of his mouth, Jin sniffed, “My whole squad got turned into monsters..” He looked up at Lady tearfully, “Please.. help me.. I’m the only one left.”

 

Nodding, Lady squinted as she followed the blood trail on his body to look for the original wound. She didn’t want to make her shock visible as she studied him. Wounds were everywhere, it was almost impossible to distinguish which one where the ones that leaked most of his blood out. Focusing instead on if there were any that punctured any of his major organs. Squinting, she brought her hand closer to his body- fingers illuminated with gentle flames. Jin winced as the fire came closer and Lady immediately withdrew her hands.

 

“What’s wrong?” Zack whispered.

 

Lady looked up at him and back to Jin, swallowing. “We need to get him out of here, it’s too dark for me to see. Magic can’t heal this, I need to disinfect the wounds and stitch up the major cuts.”

 

“Can you walk?” Zack addressed Jin. 

 

“If I could.. I would’ve walked outta here,” Jin replied, trying to let out a small laugh but ended up coughing more. 

 

Lady sat back and sighed, “I’ll try to find a way then. Zack hold your hands out.” He did so and put the sphere of fire in his cupped hands. She pulled his arms to where she wanted, serving as a makeshift lamp. “I can staunch the bleeding on the wound over his stomach,.. do you think you can carry him out after?”

 

Zack nodded.

 

“Wait,” Jin grabbed her hand that moved towards him. “If I don’t make it out of here,” he breathed, grabbing a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. “I was.. supposed to mail this to my fiancée after this mission. I didn’t expect it to end up this way, so..” 

 

She hesitated, “You’re not dying here, SOLDIER 2nd Class Jin. Mail this to your fiancée yourself, you are walking out of here.” 

 

Jin sniffed, “At least take it before it gets more stains on it. My Marei would throw a fit if she received this blood soaked letter.. please.”

 

At that plea, Lady nodded and pocketed the letter in her coat. Moving on to try and see what she could fix up on him. 

 

Lady examined the stomach and moved Zack’s hands closer and they all saw the black liquid ooze out of the gash. “Your pancreas has been punctured, I need to close it before infections sets in completely and it’ll start to circulate towards your respiratory organs..” _But I don’t have anything to wrap it up with.._

 

She swallowed and looked at Jin’s wavering green eyes. “I’ll have to cauterize your wound and wait till we move to sterilize the rest.”

 

“You don’t have any bandages?” His eyes widened.

 

“We didn’t expect any survivors,” Zack muttered. “Sorry.”

 

Jin gritted his teeth, “Do what you gotta do then.” He held his arm over his chest and squeezed his other arm until there were indentations below his fingers. “Whatever it takes to get outta here alive.”

 

Lady placed her hands together until her palms grew white with heat; she nodded to Zack as he moved the turtleneck up and away from the wound. Looking up at Jin she uttered a quick apology before placing her hand down right over the gash. Jin slammed his head back against the rusted rail as he let out a pained groan. The stench of burnt flesh filled the closed off room and it was almost disturbing how it just smelled like cooking regular meat. She wanted to gag, but bit her tongue as she continued to press down on the flesh. 

 

She slowly pulled her hands away and his stomach now sported a dark brown burn that spanned five inches across his upper abdomen. Looking up to check on his current state, Jin pushed her away again to throw up once more. 

 

“Gods,” he said through heavy breaths. “That hurt like hell.”

 

“Can you walk, soldier?” She wasted no time in urging him to move. “Whatever attacked you might still be here.”

 

Jin nodded and Zack brought his arm around his shoulder, helping him stand up. As they all continued to walk towards the stairways leading up, Jin stopped Zack as he looked at him. Looking down at his wound, Jin’s eyes widened as the wound that was just closed up began to glow red and bubble around the edges. Black viscous liquid oozed out once more and began to catch fire as it dripped down his stomach. Shoving Zack away, Jin held his wound and let out a pained scream. The burned skin began to crack and burst through as more black gunk spurted through. It began to smoke and the two could only watch as the flames began to consume his stomach and burn through his body’s midsection.

 

 Bits of inflamed flesh flew from his body and hit the walls that sounded like coal smacking against the stone; Lady and Zack both looked up as the flesh lit up the coating of black began to catch on fire as well. 

 

“We gotta get out of here!” Zack pulled Lady towards the stairs. Urgency permeating in his voice. 

 

“But-“ she looked over to Jin, the fire now traveling up his neck. His green eyes drowned out in the angry red flames. Her mouth only hung open as she could only view what was going on. Her words failing her as well as her body that threatened to buckle at her knees. 

 

“He’s already gone, we gotta leave!”

 

Lady felt herself being pulled up the stairs as the fire ran up the brick walls, following them up as Zack pushed her through the door and covered her body with his. She didn’t have to look to feel the heat that emanated from the chamber they came from, choosing to shut her eyes and grip the floor. She felt Zack roll off of her and she got up slowly. Turning her head steadily to see the remnants of fire roar before dying down, the smell of burnt metal and flesh heavy in the air. The same scent from earlier when she burned the liquid on the twig aerated in the environment around her. 

 

She felt like her soul had left her body, only focusing on the door that led to the chamber. The very oxygen entering her lungs felt foreign to her. She spoke felt Zack’s hand touch her shoulder gently. Only after a couple seconds, did she realize that he was calling her name. His voice sounding like he was miles away and coming in fast towards her. 

 

“Hey.. hey!” He shook her and she looked at him, searching his face as if he was a stranger she just met.

 

“It was my fault, Zack,” her lip quivered. “That stuff from earlier was inside Jin and I- I- I-“ Her breath became shaky and she swallowed, closing her fists to steady herself. “It’s my fault he died. I didn’t know- I didn’t think it would do that..”

 

“Exactly,” Zack held her upright, his arms squeezing her gently. “ You didn’t know, so don't blame yourself.. please.”

 

“I should’ve known better,” she muttered as she felt the guilt begin to pulse through her chest. Closing her eyes, she felt her body grow heavy even when Zack pulled her up into his arms. “I should’ve.. known better-!”

 

•••

 

It was a long walk back towards the Alstroemeria. Walking Zack to Shinra first to do his mission report and leaving him alone- even though he protested heavily against her going back by herself. It was only when Reno interfered and pulled him away from her that she could escape. Each step she took seemed to grow heavier as she slipped past the iron gates silently and towards the pier where the lapping of the ocean waves seemed deafening. Looking down into the indigo-hued water, she held her breath as she sat down on the edge. 

 

Ripples formed on the surface and upon closer inspection did she finally realized that it was her tears causing the disturbance in the water. 

 

Wiping them away with the back of her hand, she winced when she felt dried specks of blood scrape at her cheeks that still stuck onto the back of her leather gloves. A strangled sigh escaped her as she cupped her hands into the seawater and splashed it up onto her face. Scrubbing vigorously until she felt the salt sting her eyes more and more. 

 

Blinking, she looked down at her distorted reflection. Everything about her seemed normal physically.. except for her eyes. They glowed a piercing hue of purple with slanted feline-like pupils. 

 

**“You think you hunt down monsters in a fruitless attempt to save the world..”**

 

“Shut up..”

 

**“And you think you can save your friends when you can barely save yourself.. or that man you just killed. Pathetic.”**

 

“Shut. Up.”

 

 **“Look at yourself. You** **_are_ ** **the monster here.”**

 

“ _Shut the fuck up_!!!” She screamed and punched the surface of the water. Watching her reflection dissolve into small waves. The only thing that remained still were those damned eyes. 

 

 Reaching down, she grabbed a fistful of water and splashed her face once more. She could still feel the heat even as the cool water ran down her neck and she wanted to scream more. 

 

“Lady?” 

 

She looked up at Demyx who looked at her with big worried eyes. The blond knelt down beside her and let his legs hang over the edge of the pier to dangle in the water. 

 

“Everything okay?” He whispered, afraid that if his voice was any higher he would shatter her. 

 

“I’m fine.” She muttered. A blatant lie.

 

Demyx looked at her and she to him. She knew he didn’t believe her. 

 

“I-“ he sighed, looking down at the water and adjusted the collar of his shirt. “Can I show you something?”

 

“Demyx, not now, please.”

 

“It’ll be quick, I promise,” he insisted. “I was actually waiting for you to get back. I felt bad about earlier and wanted to make it up to you.”

 

Lady shut her eyes, “What is it?”

 

“I told you it was a surprise, right?”

 

“You did,” she nodded, opening her eyes to see him slip into the water. Keeping himself afloat with his legs kicking beneath him. He held out his hand to her and she looked at him confused.

 

“Trust me,” he gave her a shy smile and Lady looked up at the sky. Nodding again, she took his hand and slipped into the water beside him. “Hold my hand,” he instructed her, feeling bold now that her trust was placed in him. 

 

She did so and intertwined her fingers with him as he gave her one last set of instructions, “Now.. hold your breath.”

 

As her cheeks filled with air, their bodies sank below the surface of the water. Lady’s eyebrows raised as his other hand caressed the side of her head, a bubble forming when he took his hand back. Lady felt air fill her nose and she breathed; surprised that air was flowing to her at all. She looked to Demyx who gave her a thumbs up, the same bubble forming around his head. 

 

Taking her hand tighter, he pointed down below and angled his body to swim down. She allowed herself to flow with him, becoming the chain to his ball as they sank deeper into the depths. The water around them turned darker in color as she began to see rock formations that decorated the ocean floor. Demyx pointed to one in particular as they swam towards it with ease. They approached a mouth of a large cave and swam inside; the dark area soon transformed as their bodies neared swaying plants that lit up at the proximity of contact. 

 

Colors spanning across the cool-toned rainbow. Orbs of light suspended in the water floated by them, forming with multi-hued bubbles that attracted more glow to them. Lady was struck in awe, never having really seen anything like this in her travels or years of living. To even be this deep under the ocean seemed to be something out of a dream.

 

Demyx looked back, his face softening when he saw the small smile on her face. Pointing upwards, he swam in that direction while she kicked alongside him. Their hands still entwined, they soon broke the surface of the water as the bubbles around their heads burst when it made contact with the air.

 

She looked around at the small enclave they were in; sizeable enough to fit a room in, it had a mystic charm about it. She found it strange to think that a cave would be charming, but the way the stalactites formed on the ceiling with drops of liquid that bounced back into the water captivated her by noise alone. Watching as a single droplet pierced the surface in front of her, the sound echoing in the cave as if it served as an amplifier.

 

Demyx swam towards the stone ground that was a few inches above the water level. He turned and helped her up besides him as they stood up so he could lead her to the middle of the floor. The whole cave structure was built like an amphitheater, with the back tapering into an almost semi-circle.

 

In the middle, she noticed a colorful carpet laid out with an array of candles strewn around the cave to act as a light source. He motioned her to take a seat on the carpet and she did so, sitting criss-cross while he did the same. 

 

“What’s this?” She asked. 

 

“It’s a little something I found,” he summoned forth his instrument. “Remember how I said I always get kicked out of the apartments if I play my music? I decided to find somewhere else to jam out.”

 

He began fine tuning the sitar and she noticed the lack of frets on it, she just assumed that the sitar was imbued with magic that would change to his whim. He looked up at her with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, just give me a sec.”

 

After what seemed like a couple minutes, he sat back with a relaxed sigh. “Ugh, finally. Usually it takes fifteen to twenty minutes to tune a traditional sitar- did you know that?” He pointed at the blue instrument resting on his lap with a proud look. “But mine’s special!”

 

“So this cave is what you wanted to show me?” 

 

“Ah yeah, but-” he rubbed the side of his neck. “I wanted to show you my song too.”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

Demyx nodded, giving the strings one last strum to make sure it was in the scale that he wanted. Inhaling, he plucked a string and soon followed as his fingers slid up and down the body of the instrument to play his song. Lady looked up from the careful precision of his to see the bubbles of water rise up from the pool they arose from. Soon the orbs floated around them and took on light inside their spherical bodies- shining around them. 

 

It was as if they were underwater again with the way the water moved around them, floating up and down like small fairies that flitted about. Sounds from his sitar echoed in the stone chamber, reverberating throughout and filling the silence with new music that calmed her spirits. Closing her eyes and allowing herself to feel the sounds; it was melodic and soothing- almost like a lullaby. She could curl up on this carpet here and just sleep if she wanted to, and let the waves crashing overhead along with the gentle plucking of strings lull her.

 

The music slowed and she opened her eyes, looking to see what made him stop. She only saw Demyx who was looking at her, he saw his throat bob as he swallowed harshly. Tilting her head to the right, she raised an eyebrow. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

He swallowed again and shook his head, the illuminated bubbles still floating around them like stringless lights. 

 

“I.. it’s been a while since we met, huh?” 

 

“It’s only been a few months,” she chuckled. “Hasn’t been that long.”

 

“I know but..” he sighed. “I really like living here. With everyone- with _you_. Living at the Castle just made me feel, I dunno, hollow.” He let out a small nervous laugh, “I kinda always had a feeling we had hearts y’know? Maybe Xemnas was pulling the wool over our eyes or something and I had to always agree with the boss man but after meeting you..”

 

He stopped and his eyes looked up at her, the irises shimmered, “I think I can honestly say I think I _do_ have one. I feel stuff, good and bad. But especially when I see you, y’know? I feel _happy_.”

 

“That’s good,” Lady smiles. “I’m glad you feel at home here.”

 

Shaking his head, he continued, “The guys are great, but I think home is home because of you. Never in a gazillion years would I have thought that Saïx would take orders from anybody other than Xemmy, but he seems to listen to you.”

 

“Sometimes,” she huffed. “When he’s in a good mood.”

 

“Besides that,” he said, leaning forward towards her slightly. “Thank you.. for everything.”

 

She only smiled and nodded her acknowledgement. Demyx swallowed, his throat beginning to feel dry despite the amount of times he’s already gulped down his saliva.

 

His upper body leaned forward more, as if he was gravitating towards her. His eyelids came down halfway as he soon was inches away from her face. His lips parted, wanting to close the distance as fast as he could- but he wanted to relish the moment. 

 

Lady watched as he neared her, lips open- why were they open? To speak? Or.. did she want to kiss him too?

 

As his lips were closing in, inches, millimeters away, she looked down at his mouth and bit down on the skin of her cheek. Feeling as if a heavy rock had landed in the bottommost pits of her stomach. 

 

 **“Monster.”**  

 

The voice echoed in her head and she closed her eyes, moving her face just as his lips brushed against her outer cheek. 

 

They stayed there for a while- Demyx stayed still, the adrenaline in his veins dying down to a gentle rhythm that was soon replaced with white hot embarrassment. He heard her sniff. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, hoping he could hear her over the roaring voices in her head. “I don’t think.. that I would be a good person for you.”

 

•••

 

Lady closed the door of her apartment behind her; Vincent was nowhere to be found and she was thankful for that. Slowly letting her coat slide down her arms as she shrugged it off and let it fall to the floor. Her body and clothes mostly dry thanks to Demyx’s magic that absorbed most of the moisture out. After that, she left in a hurry to close herself from the world.

 

As her coat was tossed onto the ground, a piece of paper fluttered out and landed softly on the wooden floor. Her breath hitched as she remembered what it was. 

 

She reached out to pick up the paper, hand trembling as her fingertips touched the wrinkled papyrus. Swallowing, hoping to wash down the feeling of rocks that formed in her throat- she took it and flipped it over. Feeling as if it was the heaviest thing she had ever held, she used both of her hands to pick it up. Stepping back until her back collided with the wall. She read it aloud.

 

“My little Marei fairy..” Her voice cracked. “Did you tell dad that I don’t want our wedding to be at the old ranch-?” Tears blurred the words that were already hazy on the paper, due to the blood and the ink that bled through. “I want to have it where we first met.. where the sky meets the sun.. just.. one month left on service and I’ll be back in Midgar to see you.. love, Jin, your future husband and- soon to be.. 1st Class.” 

 

Her lip trembled as hot tears spilled down her cheek and dripped down the curve of her neck just over her throat. She let the letter drop from her hands as she brought her knees up to her chest, her hands reached up to cover her ears as she let out a strangled whine. Eyes shut, she rocked herself on the wooden floor in the lonely apartment as her tears soaked the letter below her. 


	36. XXXVI

The stench of dead fire hung heavily in the air; winds snaked around the cracks in the walls and through the rusted pipes, making a sound that was eerily similar to a child’s humming that echoed then dwindled to a haunting silence. 

 

Lady gripped the bouquet in her hand tightly with both hands, as if she was cradling a sleeping baby. Looking down, she caressed the petals carefully to make sure they were arranged immaculately.

 

Pink carnations, to say ‘I’ll never forget you.’

 

White cyclamens, to say ‘goodbye.’

 

And finally, purple hyacinths. To say, ‘I’m sorry.’ 

 

 Even the fresh colors and soothing scents of the flowers couldn’t overpower the stale stink of dread and despair as she trudged down the stairwell leading to the bottom. The sturdy rope that was used to safeguard was now gone, being replaced with a braid of ash that looked like it could fall with the mercy of even the smallest gust of wind. Her footsteps echoed, resounding a dull thud with each step she took down the old stairway. 

 

Each second bringing her closer to the bottom, she felt a chill run up her arms. Stepping to the middle of the dark chamber to set the bouquet down on a pile of clotted ash. Closing her eyes, the cold was replaced with roaring flames and she could see green eyes in the void that were consumed- the bright pupils melting and turning to dust. 

 

Gasping silently, she opened her eyes and looked up to see nothing but darkness. Looking down at the flowers that contrasted greatly with the blackened metal grated floor, she clenched her fists. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, her apology sent out and bounced off the brick walls, wanting to be heard. 

 

Water dripped and splashed loudly behind her, spinning around she looked to see black liquid spill from a pipe overhead. Squinting, she took a step back as the pipes began to shake and the clotted liquid spilled onto the floor below. She backed away even more and tripped when her feet came into contact with something solid. Looking down, she saw a blackened body resting under her legs. Gulping, she tried to pull herself away with her hands when the head made a sickly noise as it snapped up in her direction. 

 

Green eyes with stark white scleras looked at her, blood vessels popping within them as the white turned a bright bloody red. Lady held her breath and tried to back away, only meeting the rail that barred her path. Beyond the body, the black liquid coiled up until it started forming organic shapes: legs, arms..and finally a head. 

 

The liquid dripped off the figure like a thick oil as it evaporated into smoke once it slid off; eyes forming until they started glow that horrible shade of purple. Her breath hitched as it began crawling towards her slowly on all fours, hands reaching up and slamming down onto the grate below as it prowled. 

 

Her body failed her yet again as it did yesterday, every inch that she moved would result in the burned body below her to follow- stopping her with its gaze alone. As if there were chains holding her down, she remained strapped to that spot even when the oil on the figure dissolved completely to reveal herself. 

 

Her face, her hair, even what she was wearing- the only thing different was those damned eyes. 

 

“What do you want?” Lady scowled. 

 

The thing in front of her smiled and was just a foot away. 

 

“I’m not scared of you,” Lady breathed, trying to compose herself. “You’re not even real.”

 

**“Are you so sure?”** It spoke. 

 

Lady flinched when she felt cold and clammy hands rest against her cheek. 

 

“You-you’re just a vision. All of this is-! You’re not real!”

 

 Fingers wrapping up until they were just below her eyes, feeling the nails dig into her skin. It felt real.. too real, but they couldn’t be. They can’t! 

 

**“I’m much more close at hand than you think.”** The face she stared at smiled at her, deceptively sweet. 

 

Hands grabbed at her shoulder and pulled her up, shoving her back to the middle of the platform and she stumbled forward. Looking up, she crawled back when she saw Angeal look down at her. 

 

“Angeal..?” She whispered, not believing what she saw. 

 

Angeal turned, pointing at the dead body she tripped over then looked back at her with stern eyes, “This is what your recklessness cost you. He was days from becoming 1st Class.” He knelt down in front of her, putting his right arm over his knee. “You’re a disgrace.”

 

“You don’t mean that,” she whispered, her voice shaking when she felt someone else pick her up roughly by the crook of her elbow. She turned to see Genesis look at her with disdain. He let go of her arm, brushing his glove against the front of his coat as if what he touched was soiled.

 

He circled her, his nose wrinkling as if he smelt something foul. He walked over to Angeal. “Look at her. How horrible that I felt something for someone this pathetic.” 

 

Genesis stopped, looking at her once more and threw his head back to laugh, “Can you believe we had sex with _that_?”

 

Footsteps sounded over the metal grates and she looked to see Sephiroth emerge from her left towards the other two. Once he was next to Angeal, he turned to look at her, his eyes filled with seething repulsion. “You aren’t even worthy enough to even look at us,” he stated simply and his words cut her like a hot knife; feeling her heart being clawed with sharpened nails that dragged it to the pit of her stomach. 

 

“Our affection was wasted,” Angeal sneered, turning his head away from her to the thing that emerged from the shadows and stood in the middle of them three. 

 

It was that _thing_ that had her face, her body, her _everything_.

 

“That.. you..” her words fumbled and she didn’t know how to salvage it. 

 

It smiled. **“You’re useless to me.”** It motioned to Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth. **“Especially since these three are much better vessels.”**

 

“Don’t you dare touch them-!” Lady shrieked, pushing herself up. Only stopping when she was met with the edge of a sword, its blade glinting in the dark. The tip grazed her neck and she gulped, looking at the wielder of the blade, “Sephiroth.. stop.”

 

**“Good boy,”** it smiled as it raised it’s hand up over Sephiroth’s arm. Sliding over until it cradled his face. Sephiroth turned his attention away towards her doppelgänger as Lady watched them kiss ever so softly. 

 

“Stop,” Lady gritted her teeth. “Stop, Jenova-!”

 

It’s eyes snapped up just as it’s lips left Sephiroth’s. Lady held her breath when the green-blue of his eyes slowly turned purple. 

 

She clenched her fists and launched herself towards the thing that held her image, “Damn you!!”

 

Her attack was cut short as Angeal adamantly blocked her fist with his, eyes narrowing as he balled up his other hand and socked her right in her stomach. The punch sent her flying back; colliding with the rail and she clutched her stomach as she wheezed- feeling absolutely winded. Struggling to get her breath back, she readied another attack but was once again cut short by spears of beaming red energy that pinned her down. 

 

Eyes locking with Genesis just as he lowered his hand, magic lingering on his fingers; he turned away just as it planted a kiss on Angeal’s lips. Lady could only struggle against her arcane bonds as it reached to kiss Genesis then backed away. With a lingering smile on its face, it backed up into the darkness as the three of their eyes glowed a brilliant purple. Wings emerging from their bodies that towered above them. 

 

Their eyes turned towards Lady as she struggled to fight against Genesis’ restraints. She felt anxiety grip her heart, “Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis.. please don’t do this-!”

 

Blades gripped firmly in their hand, they all headed towards her- their weapons raised over their heads as they began to thrust it at her. Lady shut her eyes and prepared for the incoming attack, only to be met with silence. Opening her eyes, she found herself alone in the room. 

 

A veil of sweat covered her forehead and she slowly staggered up. She looked to see the bouquet still lying on the floor in front of her, shaking her head she wiped the sweat off her brow. 

 

“Will you finally let the darkness consume you?” 

 

She whipped around as a gloved hand caught her wrist, twisting it over her head in a painful bent position. She winced as she blinked to see strands of silvery white hair with golden amber eyes staring back at her. 

 

“Xemnas..” 

 

“Lady,” he murmured, bringing his other arm up to brush her cheek with his finger. “It’s not too late to give in to me.”

 

His finger traced her bottom lip, focusing his gaze on her as he anticipated her answer. Her lip trembled against his wandering forefinger and she found herself conflicted. 

 

“I..”

 

She shook her head. _You can’t give in. Stop that._

 

“Look around you, you’re alone. Only I can understand the despair you feel.”

 

Lady pulled arm back, pushing him away from her as she backed away. “You can’t.. _you_ don’t feel- you don’t even know what love is!”

 

Black flames burst forth from the holes in the floor and she looked around her to see the flowers catch on fire. She looked back at Xemnas whose amber eyes held a small ring of purple deep in his irises.

 

**_“I will be there to claim you at your darkest hour.”_ **

 

Lady felt the heat lick at her neck as she made a break for it, using her arms to shield herself while she ran up the stairs. Her feet carrying her swiftly over the heated metal when she finally stepped over the threshold, catching herself with her hands- palms scraping on the worn concrete. 

 

The heat she felt dispersed and was replaced with a bitter chill. Her head throbbed as if a jackhammer drilled into her cranium and her stomach felt unpleasantly nauseous. Her back arched as she got on her knees, her throat began to burn with her dry heaving. Falling tears mixed with the trail of saliva from the corners of her lips made her cough violently, watching the mix of tears and mucus swirl onto the ground. 

 

Moving to the side to rest her forehead against the cool stone floor, pounding her fist against it as if it were the cause of all her problems. With one last hit against the floor, she pushed herself up. The earth beneath her feeling as if it were shaking while she felt her knees wobble, using the side of the doorway to balance herself. She willed herself to peek down at the bottom of the stairway. 

 

And there, she saw the bouquet of flowers she had left to be untouched. Perfectly still, laying daintily on the makeshift grave. 

 

Lady gripped the rails until her knuckles were taut and white against her skin. 

 

“Why.. why _me_?!” She screamed into the nothingness below. 

 

•••

 

“Have you seen Lady?” Zack approached the gazebo. 

 

“No, why?” Xion looked up at him from the book she was reading. 

 

He didn’t bother explaining it to her as he looked around for the next person to ask. He spotted Roxas and Axel who were walking up to meet up with Xion. “Have you two seen Lady?”

 

“No..” Roxas squinted, his mouth turning to a scowl. “Why? What’s going on?

 

Zack shook his head and took off before Axel could question him. He went for the beach, looking to see Xigbar and Vincent standing together on the pier and talking. 

 

“Has Lady been here today?” 

 

“Nope, haven’t seen her all day,” Xigbar raised an eyebrow. 

 

Zack looked to Vincent who stared back. “I haven’t seen her since we got back last night,” he said, pointing to Xigbar. “That was around three in the morning.”

 

“Where did you go- you know what, nevermind!” Zack groaned in frustration and ran back to the complex. Looking up, he saw Noctis and Prompto leave their apartments. Jumping over the rail of the stairs, he skipped two steps on his ascent as he skidded to a stop in front of their rooms. 

 

“Woah- hello to you too!” Prompto backed up as Zack pushed past him to look into their living room. His eyes scanning around for traces of her but only gazed upon the confused faces of Gladio and Ignis. 

 

The soldier turned back to them, “Did you guys see Lady today?”

 

“Uh, no,” Noctis frowned. “Why, what’s wrong? What happened?”

 

Once again Zack shook his head, muttering something and jumping back down to continue his search. 

 

•••

 

Lady stopped to sit on a bench, the events of the day bearing down on her stamina as she tried to catch her breath. She put her face in her hands as she tried to recompose herself. 

 

Her arms reaching up to wrap around herself as a form of self-preservation.. it almost felt as if someone was hugging her. Almost. 

 

“Lass.”

 

She looked up then down.

 

“Cait Sith,” she gave him a weak smile. “Why’re you all the way here?”

 

“They’re all looking for you, yer friends,” the cat bounced up to sit beside her. “You got the bunch worried sick!”

 

“Hmph,” she laughed bitterly. “I feel like all I do is just cause everyone problems.”

 

Cait Sith turned his head towards her, “I heard what happened.. I’m sorry lass. But it weren’t your fault.”

 

“Yes,” she gritted her teeth, her eyes flaring. “It _was_!” 

 

The cat flinched at her rage that began to seep through every pore in her body; even though he knew the anger wasn’t aimed at him- rather, herself. 

 

“Hey.. can I ask you something?” She whispered. 

 

“O’course.”

 

Her eyes glazed over, looking up at the group of clouds gathering over the sun. “Do you think.. everyone’s lives would’ve been better if I had just died during that experiment..? Shinra wouldn’t have a reason to be here.. no one would be hurt.”

 

“Lass.. you cannae mean that.”

 

Cait Sith placed his paw over her hand and the soft cloth brought the dulled light back to her eyes, looking down at the stuffed toy with a forlorn smile. “I’m sorry, forget what I said.” 

 

Getting up, she turned her back to the cat. “Go on ahead, I’ll be home.”

 

Cait jumped down, reaching to grab her but she stepped away before his paw could clutch onto her pant leg. Walking away quickly, she heard the low roll of thunder that echoed above her.

 

Flashes of lightning lit up the sky and the citizens around her began to mutter about the coming storm. Starting to feel the drops that hit the top of her head, she reached inside her pocket and took out the letter to hold against her chest. Protecting it from the drizzle of rain, she wanted to hurry but her feet seemed to drag behind her. Only popping up the collar of her jacket to provide some type of protection, she flattened it back down after she realized it wouldn’t do much. Of course it wouldn’t, what was she thinking?

 

Her leaded feet took her towards a post office, looking at the Moogles who floated in and out with postman caps tilted on their head to make room for their red bobbled antennas. Moogles carrying large bags filled with numerous packages hovered past her to make their deliveries while she entered the building. 

 

Once she stepped in, a Moogle approached her. “How can I help you, kupo?”

 

“I need this delivered to one Marei Fonce in Midgar’s Sector 7. It’s from Jin Guei.”

 

Lady presented the letter and the Moogle took it from her carefully. The letter was tucked in a new envelope and she made sure it didn’t obtain any new stains or wrinkles on it. After handing over the correct amount of gil over to the Moogle, she ducked her head and exited the post office just as the rain started to saturate the ground. 

 

The concrete below her feet became a darker color, water soaked the ends of her hair as she took the long way around back home. She should be used to this. To death- soldiers died all the time in the battlefield and even during times of peace. It was an unwritten contract that they signed when they donned their fatigues for the first time..

 

..But she didn’t want to get used to this- to meaningless death. And 2nd Class SOLDIER’s Jin Guei’s blood would stain her hands till the day she herself would die. 

 

It was her, due to her carelessness, her complete and utter _incompetence_. 

 

“Never again,” she muttered to herself. _Never again will someone die because of me.. I swear it!_

 

Images of those three with purple irises- ready to strike her down with their swords, flashed in her mind along with a clap of thunder that roared overhead. She stopped walking, clenching her fists until her nails dug into her palm to qualm her shaking. 

 

_Jenova wants them. For what end?_

 

Rain started to soak completely through the thin jacket she wore, dripping down over her t-shirt and jeans. Standing amidst the crowd who shielded their heads with whatever objects they had in their hands as they looked for cover from the rain- she was the only one letting the rain hit her freely. 

 

Looking up, her vision was cut off by a clear umbrella going overhead. The drops stopped against the plastic and Lady looked behind her to see Eli- the bangs of his hair slightly damp. 

 

“Eli,” she greeted him, feeling her face still wet from the downpour. Her fingers reached up to wipe it away, only to find that instead of rainwater it was her own tears that kept falling down. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, “Sorry, I need to stop crying it’s getting really annoying.” Trying to look up at him and give him her best smile. 

 

He reached up, taking her by the waist and hugging her. Her nose buried into his shirt and she could smell the sweet scent of brown sugar and cinnamon. His body emanated pure warmth and she relished the welcome feeling after standing out in the cold. 

 

“Let it all out,” he whispered. “It’s okay to cry. It’s just a thing we humans do, right?”

 

She nodded, her fingers gripping his shirt, “Yeah.. human.” Letting go, she stepped back. “I’m sorry, I should go home.”

 

To prevent her from leaving, his hand wrapped around hers and he held it in place. “Let me walk you.” 

 

Lady looked down at his hand, turning her wrist around till she could feel his palm against hers. “Your hands are always so soft, y’know?” She brought it closer to her face, turning it and letting her thumb run across the veins on his palm; remembering the first time she felt them and thinking the same thing as she did before. “Like they’ve never seen battle.” 

 

Eli’s fingers wrapped around hers and he looked at her, his eyes shimmering with dulled pain, “Not all battles are physical, there are just some that you can’t see. Some that people can’t understand.”

 

She turned her head down, “I’m sorry. I was being presumptuous.”

 

He smiled at her, unwinding his fingers and moving it until he caressed her face, “It’s not your fault, don’t worry.” Taking the umbrella, he nodded his head towards the right. “Let’s go, I’m walking you.”

 

Nodding, she followed him as the crowds separated to make room for them. His hand was on the small of her back while the rainwater splashed up on her shoes. 

 

“What happened?” He asked her. After she didn’t reply, he tapped a finger against her jacket, “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me- just know I’m here for you, alright?”

 

She nodded, feeling like a child who bit down on her tongue, unable to articulate like a proper woman. A nonverbal ‘thank you’ by means of leaning closer to him was all she could do and she was relieved when he seemed to understand the notion. 

 

“Your friends came by earlier to look for you, y’know?” He chuckled. “They were giving me rather mean looks and demanded to look in our backroom.”

 

“Were they disappointed when all they found were coffee grinders and first-aid kits?”

 

“Yep, and proceeded to frown at me until they left.”

 

“I’m so sorry,” she shook her head. “I’ll make sure they apologize properly.”

 

“Trust me, if you were missing and I was looking for you- I would be irritated too until I knew you were safe.”

 

“You’re too nice to me,” she smiled up at him.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” he winked. “The small chances of seeing you during my shifts make me look forward to work.”

 

Her stomach fluttered then died down at the way he just said that so casually. “Make sure your female fans don’t hear you say that.”

 

“I’ve only got eyes for you.”

 

They stopped when they could see the Alstroemeria in the distance. She took a deep breath, letting her shoulders rise and fall. “I’ll walk back by myself. I think they would throw a fit if they saw you again.”

 

“As much as I don’t want to leave you alone, I also don’t want to get into a fight,” he grinned. “I’m glad I found you though.”

 

“Yeah,” she breathed. “Me too.” She waved to him before making her way towards the gates. Rain re-soaking her once more before she was even close to the iron gates. 

 

Opening them, she sighed when the gates creaked to signal her entrance- she would have to get that fixed as soon as possible. Walking towards the courtyard, she saw a group of people gathered under the gazebo and she cursed. Hurriedly deciding on what course of action she wanted to take- she chose to feign ignorance. 

 

Hoping that she didn’t attract too much attention at the gate, she turned towards the stairs to try and sneak up until a stern voice stopped her. 

 

“Just where do you think you’re going?” 

 

Her body froze, feeling like a child about to be reprimanded again for taking too many cookies out of the forbidden jar. Letting out a resigned sigh, she walked towards the owner of the voice and averted her gaze.

 

“We’ve been looking for you all day, you didn’t even answer your phone,” Angeal frowned, crossing his arms. 

 

“I left my phone in my room and went out for a walk,” she swallowed her lie, hoping the saliva would help it go down smoother.

 

“I’m getting real tired of this,” he huffed, moving his arm and his frown deepened when she flinched at his sudden movement. “What’s wrong?”

 

Her hand moved to cover her stomach involuntarily as she shook her head, “Nothing. Sorry for making you worry.”

 

Angeal closed his eyes, letting out his breath. “Come out from under the rain at least,” he pulled her under the protection of the gazebo and Lady continued to look down at her feet. 

 

“We looked all over Elera for you, y’know?” Zack poked his head from behind Angeal’s shoulder. 

 

“Yeah, but you’re the one who got us riled up after running around the apartments like that,” Xigbar muttered and Zack shot him a nervous smile with a shrug. 

 

“Sorry, I just wanted to run some errands today and guess I got sidetracked,” Lady’s fist clenched. “I think I’ll go rest now. I’ll catch up with you guys later, okay?”

 

She didn’t allow them to continue the conversation as she turned on her heels and quickly walked away, letting herself get soaked once more as she jogged up the stairs and to her room. Retrieving her key from her pocket, she had to hold her hand still while she tried to insert it in the keyhole. Finally pushing it in, she unlocked it and stepped inside quickly- closing the door with her back. 

 

“There you are,” Vincent looked up at her from the couch, wearing a black button-down he had rolled up to his elbows with dark slacks.  

 

Lady resisted the urge to yell in surprise. She forgot he was bunking down in her living room as he had nowhere else to sleep. Giving him a tight-lipped smile, she walked past him towards her room and she heard him get up and close the distance between them. Whipping around, she frowned when she found herself face-to-chest with the man as his crimson eyes bore down on her. 

 

“What happened?” He asked in a low voice.

 

“Nothing,” she turned to walk away but he caught her hand and held her in place. 

 

“You might fool the others with your ploy, but it won’t work on me.”

 

She struggled to take her hand back. 

 

“..I know what it’s like. Trying to control the thing inside you.” 

 

She stopped struggling. Looking up at him with widened eyes.

 

“You’re going to suffer, there’s no doubt about that. I know I did, but-“ his eyes shimmered. “-but you had something I didn’t have.” He released her hand and she let it drop slowly to her side, “You have friends. People that care about you. You aren’t fighting this battle alone, so you not only live for yourself but also for them.”

 

Lady closed her eyes and exhaled. “Yeah-,” opening them and looking up at him, “-you’re right. But, as long as you’re here, you have us as well. Please don’t forget that.”

 

“Hmph,” he blinked and she saw the ghost of a smile. “You’re needed.”

 

“For what?”

 

“To see Lucrecia.”

 

Her eyebrows raised, “But-“

 

“One of your friends from the Organization can take us to her final resting place.. Sephiroth is coming too.”

 

Lady bit her lip, “Is he okay? How does he feel about that?”

 

“He wants nothing more, but he wanted you to come as well.”

 

She nodded, “I see. When do we leave?”

 

“Since you’re here- we leave right away.”

 

•••

 

“I guess someone call me when you’re done,” Xigbar put a hand on his hip, allowing the other three to exit after him. 

 

“Thank you,” she whispered to him. “I’m sorry for bothering you like this.”

 

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, princess,” he winked at her. “Besides-“ his eye glanced up to Vincent, “-you’re not the one asking me to do this, ain’t that right Vinny boy?”

 

Vincent shot him a warning look at his newfound nickname and Xigbar chuckled. 

 

“Oopsy daisy, guess that’s my cue to get on out of here,” he gave Lady a two finger salute before disappearing into his corridor of darkness. 

 

Lady looked at the two in front of her and she could practically feel their tension- thick as the solid stone walls of this cave. Crystals formed along the walls and pathway that lead deeper in, their mineral casing a light that casted a shine every time she neared one. 

 

She stopped just behind them as Vincent looked at Sephiroth, “You should go in first.”

 

Sephiroth nodded and she couldn’t tell what emotions he had flashing behind his eyes. He turned to her for a brief moment and she gave him her best reassuring smile- reaching to squeeze his arm before letting go to allow him to leave. 

 

His silver hair swayed as he disappeared deeper into the cave, leaving her and Vincent alone. She clutched the bottom of her shirt and wrung the cloth, twisting it between her fingers while she bit her bottom lip. 

 

“He’ll be fine,” said Vincent and she looked to him with a raised eyebrow. “Stop doing that,” he pointed to her hands, “Have some faith in him.”

 

“Yeah, I know, but,” she sighed, finally releasing her shirt along with her breath. “Sorry.” Turning to him, she hoped to fill in the gap by making small talk, “You’ve already been here?”

 

He nodded, “I wanted to confirm some things.”

 

“You and her were.. close weren’t you?”

 

He nodded again, “I was assigned to protect her during their stay at Nibelheim.. until _that_ happened.”

 

Lady’s shoulders drooped, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize, none of that was your fault,” Vincent looked ahead to the deep recesses of the cave. “It was mine.”

 

“I don’t think it was,” she said quietly and she didn’t know if he heard her, but she did see his head turn towards her slightly.

 

•••

 

Sephiroth approached the woman encased in her crystalline prison, his steps echoing in the area as he stopped just feet away. The woman was the same as the one in Lady’s vision and he exhaled, eyes widening at the fact that he now faced his mother face-to-face. He could see the features that they shared and it brought him relief that his mother was indeed her- human. 

 

The longer he looked at her, beautiful face still and sleeping, he felt a sharp jab of pain pang his heart. An unfamiliar feeling that was overly unpleasant, he tried not to dwell on it but ignoring the pain only caused it to fester inside. His hand reached up to touch the surface, fingers faltering when he felt the hum of energy that surrounded the crystal, assuming that it was what helped preserve her.

 

Preserve, he repeated that word in his head and it left a bitter taste on his tongue. She was being preserved because she was dead. Dead. 

 

Feelings of melancholy within him were soon changed to those of rising anger. 

 

_Why? Why did you have to die and leave me alone? Do you know how long I’ve suffered? How could you leave me?_

 

Waves of emotion cracked down on him and he didn’t have the slightest idea how to fathom them, feeling as if every second he let himself be washed away would be a second that he drowned under his despair. 

 

“Mother..” he called, hoping for a miracle that she would speak to him. _Something.. anything!_

 

Sephiroth closed his eyes, collecting himself and he finally let his fingers touch the smooth surface of the crystal. Surprised that he could feel a modest amount of warmth that greeted his touch. 

 

Opening his eyes, he found himself in a grassy meadow under a tree. The sun’s rays shone down on him, allowing him the luxury of soothing temperance versus the cold confines of the cave. Small flowers dotted the ground beneath him and he looked at his hand that was still held out. Instead of the crystalline surface, he was touching palm-to-palm with someone. 

 

“My baby boy..”

 

His eyes widened as he looked down, his lips parted as he was staring at his mother who smiled at him- a tear escaping her left eye. Her hands reached up slowly towards his face and he could only stand rigid as her fingers touched his cheek tenderly. The breath he let out was shaky and strangled, his heart began to beat against his chest faster. 

 

“You’ve grown so much, look at you, you’re so handsome!” she laughed, caressing his cheeks and he noted how tender they felt on his face. A feeling of serenity replaced the growing anxiety, a feeling he only usually gets when he’s with Lady, Genesis, or Angeal. A feeling that he could be himself without fear of failure.

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, bringing her forehead to his. “You suffered so much and I wish I could’ve been there for you.”

 

“Why didn’t you?” Was all he could say and he heard her sigh.

 

“I was afraid. I was scared that they took you away from me forever and I had no one to run to,” tears fell from her chestnut brown eyes.

 

Sephiroth began to feel the tides of anger pick up again. Because of _Shinra._ They did this to them, tore them apart, tore her away from him.. he shut his eyes. How incredibly _easy_ would it be for a man of his caliber to destroy Shinra as a whole. He looked for someone to blame, anyone- till he thought of the _one_ person he despised the most. The source of all of his pain, he pinned it to that man. To kill- _murder_ \- _decimate_ Hojo. He would- he _could._ He would _destroy them all._

 

As if she felt her son’s growing hatred, Lucrecia embraced him close. “I want you to do something for me,” she said as she stroked the back of his head. 

 

“Anything,” his arms wrapped around her, scared that this was just a figment of his imagination. He felt relieved when he found her to be tangible- for the meanwhile. Emotions still clashing within him but felt they waned with each stroke of her touch. 

 

“I want you to live. For me.” She leaned back, smiling. 

 

“But.. what about you?”

 

“Regrettably.. this is the closest I can be with you. My body is long gone, only my spirit remains,” Lucrecia looked down, shame filling her being. Her eyes then lit up and she grasped his face, making him look at her. “But never think you’re alone, Sephiroth. You have friends, no?”

 

His eyes widened at her knowledge and she chuckled. “Vincent told me. Who’s this girl I keep hearing about?”

 

“She’s..” a small smile creeped up on his lips, light filling his mind. “She is what holds us together.”

 

“What kind of girl can attract my loving son, I hope she’s nice to you!” She stepped away, putting her hands behind her back and leaning to the side. “Do you like her? What does she do? Is she smart? She’s good to you, right.. ah sorry, I suppose I’m rambling.”

 

For a brief moment, Sephiroth felt as if he was being nagged by the typical woes of maternal affection. But he cherished it. 

 

“Yes,” he nodded to her inquiry. “I asked her to come with me today.”

 

Lucrecia clasped her hands together and she grinned, “Can I see her?” 

 

•••

 

Vincent and Lady looked up when they heard footsteps approach. Sephiroth approached them and stopped when he was in front of Lady.

 

“Well? How did it go?” Lady asked Sephiroth.

 

“It went well,” he replied. “She wants to see you.”

 

“Huh, me? But why?” Her eyes widened and her hands immediately started to pat down the fly-always of her hair and straighten her shirt. “But I look like a mess..” she grumbled, trying to conserve what dignity she had that didn’t wash away in the previous rain. 

 

“You should’ve thought about that before we left,” Vincent sighed. 

 

“Sorry, I wasn’t given much time to prepare,” she hissed back. 

 

She clicked her tongue in annoyance at Vincent and looked to Sephiroth who held out his hand to her. Wrapping her hands with his, he led her towards the back. Walking, she held her breath.

 

“How do you feel?” She asked him.

 

“I feel.. good,” he faced forwards, only his eyes moving down to look at her. “I’m glad you’re here.”

 

Their fingers tightened around each other’s and she smiled, “Yeah, me too.”

 

Arriving in a portion of the cave where a crystal was suspended over a shallow pool of clear water, she looked to the woman encased within and let out a small gasp. Her vision was accurate, it looked exactly like the woman she saw portrayed. Only this time she wore an elegant white dress and shawl that covered her upper arms, hands clasped in eternal prayer.. prayer for whom? She could only guess for those that she left behind. 

 

Sephiroth pulled her towards the pool and she was surprised that the liquid seemed to be solid under his steps, only the surface rippling against the contact. She followed suit and they both stood in front of the crystal. Taking their intertwined hands, he urged her to place her palm over the surface. Nodding, she did so and she felt a surge of warmth travel from her fingers all the way to her forearm. As if being enveloped in a hug from a dear friend, she closed her eyes and felt a pleasant breeze ruffling her hair. 

 

Opening her eyes once more, she squinted at the bright light that surprised her corneas- her hand instinctively going up to shield them.

 

“So this is her?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She looked to see who he addressed and her eyes widened when they were in contact with the very woman she saw encased in the crystal. 

 

“Dr. Crescent,” Lady greeted her, dumbfounded. _How is this possible- is this an illusion?_ She looked at Sephiroth who was fully aware of their changed environment. _No, if it was, he wouldn’t see it. Then it really is her._

 

“Lady.. right? Peculiar name,” Lucrecia tilted her head.

 

“No, that’s just something I go by,” she laughed nervously and introduced her real name to her. 

 

“I see.. well, I hope you’re taking good care of my son,” she winked and Lady smiled weakly. 

 

The realization of her situation dawned on her. She was meeting Sephiroth’s mom. His mother. _Astrals- and I look like this right now. She’s probably thinking what poor taste he has._ Her train of thought was interrupted by her getting pulled forward in a hug. Lady’s eyes widened, not sure if she should hug back. 

 

Pulling away, Lucrecia studied her face and Lady’s body became rigid; hoping nothing about her would displease. Nodding, Lucrecia turned to her son, “Excuse us for a minute, would you? I want to have a word with her alone.”

 

Lady looked to him, her eyes filled with worry and he only gave her a reassuring squeeze on her arm before going to lean against the tree to wait. With that, Lucrecia wrapped her arm around Lady’s and they walked a short distance away. When she was sure their conversation would remain private, her eyes became filled with sorrow.

 

“I’ve a favor to ask you,” she began.

 

“Yes?” 

 

“I sense great despair within you,” she continued, taking her hands within hers. “But I must ask you this nonetheless.”

 

Lady waited with bated breath.

 

“I’ve said this before but, please watch over Sephiroth for me,” her tone suggested that it wasn’t a request but more of an urgent demand. “In truth, I was not expecting to see him like this.. you must already know, that my body had a part of Jenova injected within me when I conceived him, right?”

 

Lady nodded. She felt Lucrecia grip her hands tighter. 

 

“Before he was born, I had these visions of him in my dreams. Death and darkness was all I saw and I only feared what he would become- what the experiments I voluntarily gave him up for would turn him out to be.” 

 

Lady retracted her hand, her eyes hardening. “I know I’m in no position to feel what a mother would, but.. what the hell were you thinking? What you did was cruel.”

 

Lucrecia flinched at her words, “I know, I’m aware, and I’m sorry.”

 

It was her turn to talk, and she felt anger seep into her heart, “The research thesis you used for Vincent was used by Hojo so he can experiment on me.. did you know that?”

 

“I.. I apologize.”

 

Lady exhaled nasally, “But that won’t stop me from doing my best to protect him and everyone else I care for.”

 

Lucrecia looked to her, a faint smile on her face, “You’ve more courage than I did.” A tear slipped down her face. “I know I’m asking for a lot, but please don’t let him go down a path he can’t return from. I’ve already many sins to atone for so I beg of you-“ she grasped her hands again, “-don’t let this be one of them. Don’t let my son suffer.”

 

Lady nodded, “I don’t plan on it happening.”

 

She sighed deeply and wrapped her arm around hers once more, walking back towards the tree on the hill, “And.. one more thing.” Lady looked to the woman beside her, “Help Vincent if you can. Please? He.. shouldn’t be alone.”

 

Lady looked at her incredulously and chuckled, “You’re asking for a lot.. but of course, I would do that even if you didn’t ask.” 

 

Sephiroth met them both halfway and Lucrecia released Lady to embrace him, taking his face in her palms. “I want you to remember that I will always love you.”

 

He put his hand over hers and leaned into her touch, his eyes filled with forlorn longing. 

 

“And that I will always be here with you,” she planted a kiss on his forehead and his arms reached out to hug her. Clinging onto his mother tightly, he closed his eyes and tried to immortalize this moment. The body he held soon became transparent, orbs of light taking space within her once tangible self; his arms soon embraced nothing and they fell down, looking up at the disappearing fragments. 

 

Blinking, they both were back in the cave and Sephiroth looked down at his empty arms. Lady’s hand reached out to touch his arm, but hesitated- her fingers faltering. 

 

Stepping back, the sound of water moving caught his attention and he looked at her, pulling her towards him and holding her tight. She could only return the favor, holding him closely in hopes that this would comfort him even the slightest bit. 

 

“Do you want to stay here for a bit longer?” She asked him. “I’m with you either way.” 

 

He was silent for a while and finally responded, “Let’s go home.” 

 

•••

 

They were transported right back under the safety of the gazebo, the courtyard covered in the darkness caused by the storm clouds rumbling overhead. Xigbar stretched his hands far over his head and let out a groan, “If you guys are done using me, I’m gonna take a nap.”

 

“Thanks,” Vincent nodded at him and Xigbar gave him a thumbs up.

 

Walking away from them, Axel poked his head out from the apartment and waved his hand. “Yo Xiggy, we gonna go out tonight or what?”

 

“I’m _not_ paying for drinks again,” Xigbar called back, massaging the back of his neck. “Tell Demyx to cough it up this time.” Just as he said that, Demyx pushed past Axel from behind the door.

 

“Fine.. but I don’t have much money on me!” He pouted and disappeared back into the apartment. 

 

From the beach, Lady heard a high pitched shriek.

 

“Eugh, what the hell is that?!” Prompto covered his face as Noctis held up a dark grey eel that was still wriggling in his hand. 

 

“Touch it!” The prince urged his best friend, “It’s just an eel.”

 

“Get it away from me!” Prompto shook his head and stumbled over the sand as Noctis chased him with the poor fish still moving in his hand. 

 

“Lady!” 

 

She turned towards the sets of feet running towards her and she greeted Roxas with open arms. “Hey, Axel and the other guys are leaving tonight so you should come hang out with us.”

 

“Can we watch a movie?” Xion stepped forward, holding Cait Sith in her arms. 

 

“Yeah, Sora’s coming over too, come on!” Roxas pulled her forward with Xion pushing her from behind. 

 

Lady looked back at Vincent and Sephiroth with an apologetic smile and Vincent nodded, understanding. Turning towards Sephiroth, the two men walked back up to find shelter in her apartment. Stopping, she held her palm up towards the sky. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Xion asked her, mimicking her and holding her hand up as well. 

 

Lady shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she felt the drops on her hand beginning to dwindle and sunlight starting to break through the dark storm; turning the edges of the nimbus clouds to soften in color. 

 

“I guess it stopped raining.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenova always wants to rain on your parade, huh?


	37. XXXVII

“That’ll be fifty-eight gil, did you want the receipt in the bag or with you?”

 

“You can stuff it in the bag, it’s fine- oh let me get my wallet, whoops.”

 

Lady grumbled as she rummaged in her coat pocket for her money. She looked to the line behind her and gave the aged woman that was next a nervous smile. The woman had her cart filled with a ridiculous amount of pedigree food for what she assumed were her pets and frowned when she kept fisting her coat to look for the elusive money. 

 

“Aha,” she pulled it out with a triumphant smile. “Sorry ‘bout that.” Handing the cashier her gil. 

 

“Thanks for shopping with us,” the cashier gave her a strained smile, no doubt being at least the hundredth time she’s done it today. There was also no doubt about it: retail sucked ass. 

 

Lady gave the female cashier a sympathetic smile, going over to pick up her groceries- shampoo, foodstuffs, clothes for Vincent… Before she could head out the double doors of the supermarket, she heard a distinct whistle in the distance and her head shot up in the direction of the noise. Frowning when it became more distinct, looking around her she confirmed that no one else reacted to the sound other than her. Dropping her bags, she made a run for it outside and she heard an employee call out to her.

 

“Ma’am, you left your bags!!” They shouted.

 

“I’ll come back later!” She yelled back, sprinting past a group of people who grumbled when she brushed against them. “Sorry!” She apologized without turning to face them.

 

Her heart rate increased as she picked up the pace, the whistle growing louder. Opting for higher ground, she climbed up a ladder on the side of the building- ignoring the ‘staff only’ sign. Once she was topside, she hopped from roof to roof on the buildings till she saw Shinra just a short distance away. Balling her fists, she summoned large gusts of wind that propelled her forward. Landing on a smaller subsection of Shinra HQ, she sprinted along its side with her hand tracing along the pipes embedded in the wall. 

 

Traces of mako exited the steel pipes and swirled into her palm and she felt the power surge through her body, imbuing her with undiluted energy. Exhaling, she stopped at the edge of the roof and bent her knees. Pushing herself off the ground, the mako exited her body and traveled to the center of her back; extending far past her shoulder blades until they formed large translucent wings that shimmered under the midday sun.

 

Flapping, they held her aloft before she urged them to carry her along the winds that traveled under her feet. Flying faster than she was running, she felt the adrenaline mix in with the mako that pumped inside her veins. The rushing winds only proved to increase the growing anxiety in her stomach. 

 

She flew until she saw the Alstroemeria in sight. Carrying herself towards the central courtyard, her wings folded up to cover her head as she dove down. This is where she focused her reserved energy, letting the pent-in rage release as she landed. Torrents of wind blew back the flowers in powerful gusts as she slowly stood up, clapping her hands together and releasing to form an elongated sword of calcified mako. Her wings fully stretched far above her head as she gripped her sword tightly, ready for battle. 

 

“I’m here to kick any bastar-“ she growled, but stopped when she noticed her surroundings. Eyes searching for signs of enemies but found there were none. She looked to the gazebo at a nervous looking Xion. Lady twirled around, only looking upon her serene surroundings and the confused faces of her tenants. Turning back to Xion, she sighed, “Why did you whistle for me if there’s no threat?”

 

“It wasn’t me!” She shook her head, her forefingers poking together while she looked up at her with widened eyes. 

 

“What’s going on?” Prompto whispered to Noctis as they both watched from the balcony alcove above, having left their apartment to investigate the noise. 

 

“If it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Lady asked, her voice low. Cold mako infused eyes staring into the group gathered under the gazebo that consisted of: Axel, Roxas, Xion, and Saïx. 

 

All fingers pointed to Axel who gave her a nervous grin, quickly hiding a small silver object behind his back. 

 

Axel cleared his throat. “We were just curious how fast your response time would be! You came here pretty fast, where were you?”

 

“At the Eleran Market near Shinra,” she deadpanned.

 

“Oh!” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s.. that’s pretty far. Props to you for responding so quickly though!” He let out a staggered laugh. 

 

Lady’s wings still flapped, looking at the redhead with apprehension. “And how was my time?”

 

Looking down at his phone, he announced her record, “About two minutes. Well.. at least we know if we’re ever in danger you’ll be here.” He let out another awkward laugh.

 

“Two minutes?” She gave him a lopsided smile, slowly breaking out into a chuckle that soon turned into a full-blown laugh. 

 

Not knowing what to do, Axel could only smile. His brows scrunched in confusion as he looked to Saïx on a cue of what to do. The only advice he received was a disappointed shaking of his head. 

 

Lady swung her sword to the side, laughing as she clutched her stomach. Straightening up as she looked up with a smile. “Ahhahaha.. run.”

 

“Huh?” Axel frowned. 

 

“I said..” Her wings flapped and she bent her knees, ready to pounce. “ _RUN!_ ”

 

“Uh oh,” he swallowed, jumping to the side as Lady launched herself over the table and at him. Axel hopped back, gripping his fists as he opened up a corridor of darkness and disappeared within it.

 

“Not so fast!” She growled and jumped inside right after him. 

 

**Three hours later…**

 

“Where’s Axel?” Sora looked at Roxas and the blond shrugged.

 

“Your guess is as good as mine. It’s been-“ he looked at Xion,”-how long has it been?”

 

“Three hours,” she sighed. “I never should’ve told you guys about my whistle,” she mumbled, burying her nose back into the book she was reading. 

 

“Aren’t you guys, y’know, concerned?” Sora crossed his arms behind his head. 

 

“Not at all,” Saïx hummed, crossing his legs and leaning back in his patio chair. “He got what was deserved.”

 

As Sora opened mouth to say something, a corridor of darkness opened up nearby and out stepped Lady with ash marks staining her clothes and her hair was incredibly windblown. Behind her, Axel walked out with a veil of exhaustion and slight terror in his eyes. 

 

Lady walked over to Xion and placed a whistle back in her open hands. “Don’t let anyone else touch, that,” Lady muttered as she turned, finally spotting Sora. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

 

“Came to hang out again,” Sora smiled. “Were you busy?”

 

“Was I busy..?” Lady closed her eyes, quietly listing off the chores she had to do today and then her eyes shot open. “Ah- my groceries!” 

 

She turned to the ex-Organization members, “Are you coming?”

 

“Whatever for?” Saïx looked fairly unamused. 

 

Lady just stared back at him, hands on her hips, “To help me carry them.”

 

“I decline,” the Luna Diviner rejected her. 

 

*******

 

“What are you specifically referring to when you say ‘detergent’?” Saïx squinted at the list held between his fingers. 

 

“Use your brain and figure it out,” Lady slapped Xigbar’s hand away as he was reaching for a bottle of oil. “Stop that, that wasn’t on the list.”

 

“Can we get something too?” He looked at her with a pout. 

 

Lady looked at him and at the others, tapping her finger impatiently on the cart and letting out a strangled sigh, “ _Fine._ One thing only, and make sure it’s not too expensive.” She pushed the cart forward, grumbling, “When I said I needed help carrying them.. I didn’t actually need all four of you to come.”

 

“I needed to come here anyways,” said Xigbar. 

 

“We’re running low on multiple items in our apartment,” Zexion sighed, counting on his fingers. “I don’t know how that came to be.”

 

“Someone keeps stealing my earbuds, where can I find those here?” Demyx cried and Lady stopped, waving a package of earbuds in the air before tossing them in the cart.

 

“Where is Axel?” Zexion asked and she cleared her throat, looking over a wall of packaged spices with great interest.

 

“Our landlady has gotten to him, the poor thing,” Saïx had a faint smile on his lips. 

 

“What did you do?” Demyx’s eyes widened.

 

“Don’t give me that third-degree, I did nothing!” Lady scoffed. “Least he’s not dead. I left him in Roxas’ and Xion’s capable hands.”

 

“Hah, as if, those two probably are drawing on his face with a marker as we speak,” Xigbar laughed.

 

“Sounds like a personal problem,” she shrugged and Zexion nodded along with her.

 

“Letting out some steam on poor Axel, huh?” Xigbar nudged her with his elbow. “You’ve been on edge these past few days, princess, what’s biting you?”

 

“Yes, you do seem more.. irritable lately,” Saïx added.

 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lady muttered, ignoring their inquisitive looks. 

 

Bringing her cart around the corner, she scowled as the handle hit her upper abdomen forcefully when she crashed into another cart as she rounded the turn. 

 

She coughed and quickly continued to apologize, “Ope, I’m so sorry-“

 

Looking up, she stopped mid-sentence when she saw who she bumped carts with. 

 

“Shit,” she heard Xigbar mutter under his breath and Saïx stood besides Lady, his shoulders stiffening; Zexion and Demyx only peeked over their shoulders. 

 

“Well well, good to see you again.”

 

“I can’t return the sentiment,” Lady hissed, her knuckles taut and white against the cart.

 

“What are _you_ scrubs doing here,” Xigbar frowned, crossing his arms. 

 

Marluxia tilted his head, an amused smile on his face, “Merely perusing. What a coincidence we would bump into each other.”

 

“In a store that’s only a couple miles from our dwelling?” Zexion scoffed. “I somehow doubt that.”

 

“How dare you assume you would be the subject of our interest, VI,” Vexen frowned, almost bending his knees to be eye level with Zexion. 

 

Demyx stepped to the side, his head visible over Saïx’s shoulder, “Can’t you guys leave us alone?”

 

“The traitor speaks,” Larxene propped her elbow up on the cart and drummed her fingers against her cheek. “How’s your new home, dweeb?” 

 

“Let’s not exchange fighting words here,” Luxord tutted, looking around to the people giving them hushed whispers and side glances. “We’re merely restocking on remedials.”

 

Let it be known that they were still wearing their Organization garb. 

 

Marluxia’s eyes turned to Saïx. “How unusual to see you so tame, I thought it would only ever be the Superior who would have a leash around your neck.”

 

“Step outside with me and I’ll be the one to walk you like a dog,” Saïx growled. 

 

“Enough,” Lady warned, looking at Larxene. “Out of all the places you could go in this world, you pick _this_ store?”

 

“What can I say?” She smirked, green eyes flashing. “This city is pretty interesting.”

 

“So you wouldn’t have anything to do with the recent attacks on civilians, right?”

 

“You really think we have time to mess around with these sorry saps?” Larxene rolled her eyes. “We’ve got more important things to do.”

 

“Oh yeah? Like what I wonder,” Lady gripped the cart.

 

“Wouldn’t you like to know, landlady,” Larxene now put both her hands on her cart, small bolts of electricity dancing between her knuckles. 

 

“I think I would actually,” Lady hissed, her eyes filling with a subtle glow. “You gonna talk or do you wanna stand here staring at each other?”

 

Their carts pushed against each other, the metal clanging on impact. 

 

“You wanna go?” said Larxene, her voice low. 

 

“It didn’t go so well for you guys last time, huh?” Lady countered, her voice matching the predatorial tone of the Savage Nymph’s. “Why don’t you call the rest down here too and we can finish this.”

 

“They’ll just get in my way, how ‘bout we do this one-on-one, woman to woman?” Her green eyes flashed.

 

“It’ll end quicker then, if that’s the case.”

 

Larxene gritted her teeth, bright yellow electricity traveling down the welded metal wire and towards hers. Meanwhile, dark green wisps of mako left her body and evaporated up into the air. Their eyes glaring at each other and the air between them seemed to cackle with tangible tension. Even the men beside them looked between their opposing females, not entirely sure what to do. 

 

“Um.. excuse me?” 

 

Their eyes snapped to the teen with an employee’s outfit on, she cleared her throat before continuing. “If you’re going to fight.. mind taking it outside instead of the bread and canned foods aisle?” 

 

“Aha,” Lady let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry sorry, we won’t cause any more trouble for you! Isn’t that right-“ she shot Larxene a disarming glare. “- _friend?_ ”

 

“Hmph,” her eyes rolled up in annoyance. “Yeah, whatever.”

 

The employee nodded her thanks and left to go about her usual business. 

 

Marluxia put a hand on Larxene’s shoulder, “We’re not here for a fight. Calm yourself.”

 

“Wait-“ Lady’s nails dug into her palms, looking at the pink-haired man. “-so, you really don’t have anything to do what’s been going on?”

 

Larxene opened her mouth to retort but Marluxia replied for her, “No, it hasn’t been in our interest to do so.” 

 

“Oh.” Lady couldn’t help but sound disappointed. It would’ve been easier to just pinpoint the problem on something or someone. Establish it so she could formulate a plan of attack. But the fact that she couldn't find the answers to an ever evolving problem frustrated her to the point where her she could feel an aneurysm forming every time she thought about it. 

 

A finger lifted her downturned chin and she looked up into the soft blue eyes of Marluxia. 

 

“You’ve bags under your eyes, are you losing rest over this?” He asked, his voice turning to a whisper and it sang into her ear. “ _Do you need help sleeping?_ ”

 

His hand was pushed away by Saïx who glared at him, his eyes setting forth a nonverbal warning. 

 

“It seems Lord Xemnas was right about you,” she caught Vexen mutter and she swallowed, not sure what to think about that. 

 

“We’ll take our leave,” Saïx said. “It’d be in your best interest to do the same.”

 

“Of course,” said Luxord. “Let’s go, shall we?” He looked to his comrades and they all shared one final look before both parties went their separate ways. 

 

“What the hell’s their problem?” Demyx muttered. 

 

Zexion nodded, “This is worrisome, should we-“

 

“No,” Xigbar interrupted him. “Let sleeping dogs lie, if they say they don’t have beef with us then why instigate?” 

 

“True enough, but it won’t hurt to be exercise caution,” Saïx glanced at him. 

 

Lady stayed silent as she finished checking off the rest of her shopping list. 

 

After paying for her groceries and heading out of the store, she stopped and turned to the group- thrusting her grocery bag in Saïx’s hand with a pleading look. “Do you mind carrying my bag back? There’s something I want to look into.”

 

He only nodded, taking the bag along with his own and holding it with one hand. Xigbar stepped forward and brought his face close to hers- their noses almost touching for a heartbeat before he leaned back. 

 

“Flower boy was right, you got bags. You sleepin’ alright?” He said, his thumb reaching up to graze just under her bottom waterline. 

 

“It’s nothing,” she smiled up at him. “You just make sure Vincent gets his new clothes, ‘kay?” Stepping back, she walked in the opposite direction- leaving them behind. 

 

Demyx stepped forward to follow but was blocked off by Xigbar’s arm.

 

“She’ll come to us when she’s ready, let her be for now,” he said and Demyx looked down, shoulders slumping. 

 

*******

 

“Time of death was declared around twenty-two hundred hours.. we’ve already sent a letter and reparations to his family and fiancée.”

 

Lady bit down on the knuckle of her forefinger, listening silently to Lazard as he listed off the names of the fallen soldiers and time stamps of their grisly deaths. He stopped and she looked up at him, her incisors knawing on her flesh lightly. 

 

He put his list down, “It wasn’t your fault.”

 

 _Yes it was._ Lady only looked up at him and at the list in his hands, nodding silently. “Will this go on Angeal’s record..?”

 

Lazard took a moment, breathing, “No. It will be listed as an accident. Not to mention this makes us look bad if we can’t get this situation under control.”

 

Lady’s back slumped against the wall of his office, sliding down and massaging her temples. She looked up at him, “Whatever happens, I’ll take full responsibility.” 

 

The wheels of his chair rolled back, and Lazard knelt in front of her. He was silent as he pondered about what to say. “Lady, you need to take a break.” 

 

Her head shot up and looked into his eyes, “A break?” She was sounding the word out as if it was foreign. 

 

“Focus on your duties as a landlady and we’ll do ours.”

 

“But-“

 

“You’re tired. You need to let yourself rest, if you keep going on like this, you’ll make even more mistakes.”

 

“I’m fine,” Lady muttered, lips almost protruding into a pout. 

 

“Come with me,” he told her as he got up to walk back towards his desk and Lady trudged after him. Motioning for her to sit down on the chair he pulled close to his and pulling out a pressure cuff with a squeezable balloon that had an aneroid meter attached to it. 

 

She looked up at him, frowning with confusion. “Is that your personal sphygmomanometer?”

 

He chuckled, “You’d be surprised how many times this job can stress me out. Monitoring myself can help.” 

 

She held her arm out as he wrapped the cuff around her upper arm, feeling it tighten around her tricep and bicep as he repeatedly squeezed the balloon. His finger tapped against the glass surface of the meter and silently counted the seconds. 

 

“Your systolic pressure is considerably higher than average, one-hundred and forty-six over eighty. You’ve just passed the threshold for pre-hypertension. Have you been sleeping and eating well?”

 

 _No._ “..Yeah.” 

 

He smiled, “You’re a horrible liar.” Taking back the sphygmomanometer and putting it back in his drawer. “You need a vacation. Go somewhere and relax for a bit.”

 

“Sure, doc,” she scoffed. “Gonna prescribe any vitamins too?”

 

“If it helps, I can send over some that can help with blood flow.” 

 

She shook her head, “I can’t just leave everyone. There’s something going on and if I just up and leave because I’m stressed then where’s that going to leave them? What if something happens? What if there’s another attack and I can’t be there to-“ 

 

She stopped when Lazard looked at her with eyebrows raised. 

 

“See what I mean?” He said. “I think you sometimes forget that the people residing in the Alstroemeria are experts in combat and will do fine if you were to leave for a few days.”

 

“No way that’s happening.”

 

“Then as I said earlier, just focus on your duties as a landlady first and foremost. If something urgent were to happen, you’ll be one of the first to hear,” he offered.

 

“No, I’ll be _the_ first to hear,” she frowned.

 

“Fine. In exchange, I’ll have someone in the Alstroemeria monitor your condition.”

 

“Who would that be?”

 

“Whoever is the most level-headed,” he responded.

 

“Probably Ignis.. wait, no. He’s got his hands full with Noctis. Besides Angeal- Zexion would be.”

 

Lazard nodded, “I’ll let our mutual furry friend know.”

 

*******

 

Lady walked down the streets, looking through the flowing crowds when a head of spiky brown hair caught her attention. Her eyes lit up in recognition as she ran towards him, almost losing him in the crowd but she would easily spot him again due to how he stood out from the people around him. Once he was just a short distance away from her, she ran forward and tapped his shoulder.

 

“Terra!” She panted, tired from dodging people to go after him.

 

He had a look of mild surprise on him before softening to a small smile, “Hey, what’s up?”

 

“Nothing much, what are you doing here?” 

 

“Patrolling,” he turned to face her. “We’ve been notified of the recent disappearances so Sora, Riku, and I are looking into it.”

 

“Did you find anything?” Lady looked at him, urgency in her eyes.

 

“Not as of right now,” he rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed. “Still looking.”

 

“Hey,” she nudged him. “If you’re not busy, wanna hang out?”

 

“With me?” 

 

“Uh.. you’re the only one I’m addressing so.. yes?”

 

“Sorry,” he cleared his throat, replacing it with a smile. “Yeah, but let’s go somewhere less crowded.”

 

She nodded and followed him as he turned to walk past the crowd. His steps and tall stature carried him forward quickly, having the people around him move out of his way instead of him moving for them. Meanwhile she struggled to dodge the wave of people to follow the Keyblade wielder, mumbling apologies as she sidestepped left and right. 

 

Terra looked at her and he stopped, holding his hand out for her which she took gratefully; getting pulled towards him as she collided with his chest. 

 

“You always leave girls behind like that?” She frowned up at him. 

 

He chuckled nervously, “Uh, I try not to.”

 

“Anyways, where are we going?” 

 

“Be patient,” he said with an amused smile. “Want me to ruin the surprise?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Too bad, gotta wait.”

 

*******

 

“We there yet?” Lady sighed, looking up at the yellowing leaves of the trees above them

 

“You’re rather impatient,” he chuckled. “Just a little more.”

 

Her arm was wrapped around his bicep, allowing herself to lean into him to guide her steps as she listened to the chorus of the tree leaves brush against each other in a natural symphony. 

 

“Watch your step,” he stopped and they stepped down the stairs together. Leading towards a fenced off cliff, metal railing twisting in elegant swirls dotted with iron gilded lamp-posts. Wooden benches stood against cobbled stone walls that faced towards the cliff. What can be said about the view could only be reduced in one word: breathtaking. 

 

It looked over the coastline of Elera; she could see Shinra HQ in the distance along with the Alstroemeria if she squinted. The crowd below seemed almost like small colorful ants and the noise dwindled, only the sounds of nature reached them up here. 

 

She laughed and he looked to her, “What is it? Don’t like it?”

 

“No, I love it.” She grinned, “It’s just- it’s funny how many spots in Elera I haven’t discovered even though I’ve lived here for the longest.” 

 

“Maybe you need to loosen up a bit and explore more,” he said as they took a seat on one of the benches close to the cliff. 

 

“Oh, _you’re_ telling _me_ that?” 

 

“Don’t turn this around on me.” 

 

She closed her eyes and let the winds gently whip against her cheek, “It’s so nice up here. I could do this forever.”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, closing his eyes and doing the same as her. “Me too. I found this spot couple days back when I was searching.”

 

“Wonder if anyone would hold it against me if I did stay up here.”

 

“I think Roxas would throw a fit and try to fight me for bringing you here.”

 

“Do you have anyone who would do that to me if you did the same?”

 

Terra leaned back on the bench, leaning his elbow against the top, “Probably, just two people.”

 

“Wonderful,” she chuckled. “Who are they?”

 

“Aqua and Ventus,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a star-shaped charm; reinforced by a metal alloy, it’s glass was stained into a vibrant amber. The string wrapped around his finger as he let it drop, swinging by the tether as the sun’s rays caught in the glass and casted a gold shadow on her leg. 

 

Lady sensed traces of magic within the charm, one that filled her with a sense of home and hearth. 

 

“It’s enchanted, correct?” She asked. 

 

He nodded, “It’s a wayfinder charm- my friend Aqua put a spell on it. All three of us have matching ones, she said it was based off this fruit shaped like a star and if we all carry a charm that shares its’ likeness then we’ll always find our way back to each other,” He paused, tossing the charm in the air and catching it expertly in his hands, “I miss them.”

 

“Why don’t you go back to see them?” She leaned forward, turning her head to him. 

 

“We’ve all got our own duties to attend to right now,” he replied, his fingers tracing against the glass of the charm. “But no matter how far apart we are, I’m sure we’ll always see each other again- charm or no charm.”

 

They sat in silence, pondering about each of their friends and Lady wondered what to say next.

 

“You know.. Roxas looks a lot like Ventus.” He began. 

 

“I’m sure there are tons of guys with blue hair and spiky blond hair,” she hummed.

 

“No,” he looked at her. “You don’t understand. They look _exactly_ the same.”

 

Lady looked at him skeptically, “No way.”

 

Pocketing his charm, he traded it for his phone and pulled up a picture to show her. Pointing at the short blond boy besides a slender woman with blue hair down to her neck. Both of them had similar garb to Terra, a mix of clothes fit for combat with pieces of armor that were fashioned over specific areas of their body. They were in front of a building that looked like a castle, it’s spirals towering high against a sky of serene blue. The boy, Ventus, was getting his hair ruffled by the blue-haired woman, presumably Aqua. 

 

Lady squinted. _Woah. He does!_ “That’s.. trippy.” Was all she could say. _They could be twins._ Upon closer inspection, she saw a blur of a flesh-colored anomaly on the lower left corner of the picture.

 

“Is that your thumb?” She snorted, pointing at it.

 

“What? No,” he frowned, turning the phone towards him, ready to deny the accusation. “Oh.. yeah, I guess it is.”

 

“Behold- Terra, the almighty wielder of the legendary Keyblade, keeper of light and destroyer of darkness,” she waved her arm dramatically over her head. “But can’t seem to take decent pictures with modern technology.”

 

“Yeah yeah, laugh all you want,” he tried to frown but it broke quickly into a smile. ‘It’s strange though, huh?”

 

“Yeah.. does Ventus know about Roxas?”

 

“Not much, only that he’s Sora’s Nobody.” 

 

“Mm, I see.” Lady looked at the large fiery orb that was beginning to touch down on the coast line. The lamp posts begin to emit a soft glow as their glass cages filled with light. “Is it that late already?”

 

“Time seems to pass quickly here,” Terra looked up, watching the sun set with her.

 

“It does when you’re having fun,” she smiled, looking at him as he looked at her. “Thanks.. for bringing me here. I needed it.”

 

“No problem,” he replied.

 

Looking back out at the inflamed hues of the skyline, she sighed. “I think I should head home before it gets too dark out here.”

 

“I’ll take you,” he stood up. 

 

“I think I took up enough of your time,” she smiled, hoping to softly decline his offer.

 

“It’ll be quick, I promise.”

 

Her eyebrow raised, “Trying to get rid of me quickly, huh?”

 

“Uh, no..? I-“

 

“Calm down, I was joking. You should- what did you say earlier? Oh-“ she put up air quotations, “‘-loosen up.’” 

 

He shook his head, muttering, “You’re something else.”

 

“I’ve been told,” she stood up besides him. 

 

Terra held out his hand, summoning forth his Keyblade that appeared in prisms of lighted cubes revolved around his wrist that soon phased out and replaced by the large weapon. Her eyes were drawn to it, it was uniquely shaped and like the other Keyblades that she’s seen, all of them had the same aura- promising power to whoever wielded it. 

 

Flexing his arm, he flung his Keyblade far over the cliff and Lady watched as it spun out and back towards them like a boomerang. The Keyblade emitted a bright light and transformed right before her eyes: turning into a vehicle resembling a rather extravagant version of a motorcycle- sharing the similar color scheme as his Keyblade. 

 

“Mmm.. pretty cool,” Lady muttered under her breath, hoping he didn’t catch what she said. 

 

“What was that?” He turned to her. 

 

 _Shit._ “I said it was pretty cool.”

 

He grinned, climbing atop the Glider and offering his hand towards her. “Hop on.”

 

Taking his hand, he pulled her up behind him as she swung her leg over. Wrapping her arms around his waist as he brought the Glider over the fence and up into the sky. 

 

The sudden jolt forward made her arms wrap around him tighter, burying her face in his back. 

 

“You scared?” She heard him say over the rushing winds.

 

“No,” she said. Turning her cheek to let the left side of her face rest against him, looking at the city below. The lights began to illuminate what darkness was left behind by the sun. Her hands clutching onto- or tried, the cloth of his shirt which wasn’t much considering how tight it was against his abdomen. 

 

He removed one hand from the grip and placed it over hers, covering almost the entirety with it. “It’ll be okay,” he simply said, not letting go of her hands and even patting it gently. 

 

Lady smiled, still resting her head against his back as they flew over the city skyline. Appreciating the new perspective, she felt warmth from his body that combated the chill of the elevated winds that rushed past them. 

 

Soon the illuminated courtyard of the Alstroemeria came into view and Terra brought his Glider down, the grass around the vehicle blown back by it’s magical exhumes.

 

Lady leaned back, bringing her leg over and hopping down. She looked up to Terra, her hands clasped behind her back, “Thank you. I had fun.”

 

He looked amused, “All we did was sit down and talk.”

 

“Sometimes that’s all you need,” she replied softly, bowing her head. “So thank you. I’ll see you later.. right?” she looked up, waiting for confirmation.

 

“You’ll see me again, don’t worry,” he smiled. “Next time I’ll show you that fruit I talked about earlier.” He waved goodbye, his Glider tilted back towards the sky and launched itself upward. She stood until all she could see was a speck in the sky that disappeared as it went further and further away from her. 

 

Inhaling deeply, she let out a sigh; feeling rather refreshed. Turning to walk into the Alstroemeria, she opened the gates and entered. The loud creaking of the iron hinges announcing her arrival as she stepped inside and closed the gate behind her. As soon as she took five steps onto the cobbled pathway leading to the central courtyard- the lights illuminating the apartments flickered and died out.

 

She frowned. _Did the breaker short circuit?_ Looking up into the windows of the rooms, she noticed the lights were off in the rooms as well. A sense of dread pricked at her. _Something was wrong._

 

Her steps were now tense, landing softly as to not make too much noise. Entering the central courtyard, she noted how desolate it was. These past few months it served as a central hub, how odd to see it completely empty.

 

Looking around, she searched for signs of movement or anything that might indicate her tenant’s presence.. or something else entirely. An air of unease hung about where there used to be a sense of peace. All she could think about was: _what the hell happened?_

 

Her eyes were immediately drawn to an overturned chair in the middle gazebo, and she made her way to it quickly. Picking it up, her eyes spotted a cup of tea on the table. Putting her hand over it, she could feel the chill on the ceramic- it‘s been sitting there for a while. 

 

Trepidation filled the pits of her stomach that something went very very wrong while she was away. She cursed herself, thinking back to the encounter at the supermarket. _The Organization.. did they-_

 

A rush of black in her peripheral interrupted her train of thought and she turned her head towards it. She squinted, watching the darkness for anything that moved again. Her fists balled up, ready for a fight. 

 

Movement was heard behind her and she quickly turned around to the source, only seeing nothing but darkness. Panic tingled every nerve in her body, what would she do now? Where is everybody?

 

 _Calm yourself._ She pursed her lips and exhaled, deciding on the best course of action. _First, remove the immediate threat- whoever these intruders are._

 

Rushing footsteps approached her, she turned around to see nothing once again. This was beginning to frustrate her. A flash of light caught her attention and then towards the front gates, she saw a black hooded figure standing in the middle of the pathway. She readied for an attack, when suddenly she felt hands creep up on her shoulders- threatening to latch onto her. 

 

Turning around, gloved hands slowly reached for her she ducked- jumping backwards to get away.

 

Knees bent, she readied herself for a coming fight. She then suddenly found herself surrounded by four cloaked figures and she gritted her teeth. Palm held up towards the sky, the ground beneath the five of them lit up as arcane runes rotated into a circle. 

 

One of the figures cursed and tried to reach for her but it was too late, with the adrenaline pumping in her veins- she cast her spell. 

 

Dark clouds swirled overhead and Lady felt energy being drawn towards her. 

 

“ _Thundaga!_ ” She snapped her fingers, releasing a resounding echo as lightning flashed and crashed onto the ground below her. Bolts of purple energy struck the intruders with merciless attacks, finally dying down as the four of them collapsed and groaned in pain. 

 

She held up her fist for the one in front of her to see, coating it with a generous block of ice and readied to bring it down upon them. 

 

“W-wait, it was a joke!” The figure cried and reached to take the hood down to reveal a head of bright red hair. 

 

“Reno?!” She looked at him in disbelief. “Then, who-“ she turned to the ones around them and saw another bald man besides him with sunglasses. _It’s nighttime, why would anyone wear sunglasses at night?_

 

Turning to the other two, she groaned when she saw spiky red hair and messy raven hair. “Axel, Noctis, you.. ugh!”

 

“You move pretty fast for a muscled guy, Rude,” Reno bumped his friend. 

 

“That hurt like hell.. why did I let you talk me into this?” Rude grumbled, rubbing his head. 

 

“Bad idea,” Noctis flipped a piece of hair from his eyes.

 

“Tell me about it,” Axel shook his head. 

 

“What is this?” She said, eyes cold and fixated on Reno. 

 

Reno looked up at her, a nervous smile as the lights came back on and filled the courtyard with light, “Well the fellas told me you were on edge so we thought a little scare might help cheer you up a bit.”

 

Her blood began to boil and she felt like her vessels would begin to burst. “You..you..” she gritted her teeth. “How does that even work?!” She shouted. “That makes no sense!”

 

Tears of frustration built up in her eyes and she bit her lip to try and prevent them from falling further. 

 

Reno looked up, “Oh- aw, c’mon Lady don’t cry. We’re sorry!”

 

“Oh, you’re sorry?” She said, eye twitching. 

 

“Yeah-“

 

She held her palm up and he stopped mid-sentence, expecting another round of thunder to rain down. Instead, she let her hand drop down; turning on her heels, she walked up to her apartment.  

 

“Wait, Lady-!”

 

“Don’t talk to me!” She screamed, looking down at them. “I hate you guys!” Slamming the apartment door closed, she kicked her shoes off and wiped her eyes- anger rolling inside of her. 

 

Vincent looked up from his book, “Did they actually manage to scare you?” 

 

“Shut up!” She hissed, slamming her bedroom door shut. 

 

**Meanwhile…**

 

“Oh dear,” Zexion looked down at the four still dazed from the magic attack. Cait Sith balanced on his shoulder. 

 

“What a buncha idiots,” Cait Sith brought his paw up to his face and shook his head. 

 

**In the 1st Class SOLDIER’s apartments:**

 

Angeal looked up, hearing the shouting outside and he closed his eyes, shaking his head and grumbled something incoherent. Something about ‘incompetence’ and ‘unbelievability’. 

 

Zack sighed, “I think they messed up.”

 

“Oh, really now?” Genesis scoffed, sipping his mug of tea. “I’m surprised they’re even still breathing.”

 

Sephiroth leaned back in his seat, a look of resignation on his face. He heard the thunder from indoors and could only guess the severity of the magic. 

 

**In the ex-Organization’s apartments:**

 

Demyx looked up at Xigbar, “Should we..”

 

“Nah, let her cool down first,” Xigbar sighed. 

 

“I felt the magic energy from here,” Saïx said from his spot on the couch, his legs crossed. 

 

“We should’ve stopped them,” Xion whispered to Roxas and the blond nodded.

 

“I don’t know who would think that would’ve been a good idea.”

 

**In the Insomnian’s apartments:**

 

“Yikes, do you think Noct is okay?” Prompto looked away from the front door and up at Ignis. “Hmm? Iggy?”

 

“Pardon?” Ignis looked over the rim of his can of Ebony. “His highness got himself into that mess, I assume he can find his own way out.” He then proceeded to drink. 

 

Gladio stepped out of his room, his hair wet with a towel hanging from his shoulder and only wearing a pair of sweats. “A few minutes of lights out and that was the best they could do?”

 

**[ The following are reports as documented by Zexion of the Alstroemeria to monitor Lady’s condition. Details may vary person to person, but the following is maintained to be strictly objective.]**

 

**Incident #1**

 

“So the beach is maintained by me of course, and there is a barrier around it as well so nothing dangerous can swim within thirty meters of our shores.”

 

“That sounds perfect! We’re expecting again, so we need as much safety as possible and these apartments are absolutely gorgeous!”

 

Lady smiled at the woman in front of her, a client by the name of Clara who was looking to buy. She held her baby bump as she talked to her. 

 

“Yeah, we’re perfectly safe. Nothing dangerous ever happens here,” Lady grinned. 

 

“Just what I like to hear, and if you don’t mind me asking..”

 

“Hmm?” Lady looked at her.

 

Clara rubbed her stomach, “Do you have any kids of your own? You’ve the look of a mother.”

 

“Oh, ahaha, um, no. I do not,” Lady let out a forced laugh. 

 

“Sorry! It’s just.. you look so stressed and I looked like that with my first child.”

 

Lady gave her a strained smile, just as she opened her mouth to speak a loud explosion went off in the ocean near them. Looking behind her, she frowned when a large torrent of water emerged from the beach and crashed onto the shore. 

 

“Come back, Xiggy! That’s not fair!” Demyx emerged from the water, balls of liquid forming around him. 

 

Xigbar jumped back, summoning his arrowguns and pointed them at Demyx, “Come and get it, water boy! I ain’t gonna take it easy on you!”

 

Projectiles left his weapons and launched towards him; making Demyx yelp and jump back into the water as the arrows followed him in- exploding as it made contact. 

 

Lady slowly turned back to Clara with a nervous smile and the pregnant woman looked at the ensuing battle with wide eyes.

 

“Um.. I might want to take back my offer..” 

 

**Incident #3**

 

“Do you think it’s okay?” Sora whispered to Zack.

 

Zack waved away his concern, “Nah, it’s cool, he said it was so we’re in the clear!” Holding up the infamous Masamune, it’s edge shining with purpose. “You said you wanted to see it, right?”

 

“Yeah, but.. I feel like we shouldn’t be touching it.”

 

“I always wanted to see if I could wield it..” Zack held it up, and focused his energy. Holding the blunt edge up against his nose, he swung it down and his eyes widened when a bolt of energy emerged from it and burst through the door- effectively slicing it in a vertical manner. With the door collapsing, they could see the outside and the remains of a cut that burned against the stone rail. 

 

A surprised yelp emerged from outside. 

 

Sora and Zack looked at each other and towards the door. Lady stepped over the splinters of the door and looked inside. 

 

“What- what the fuck are you doing?!” She screeched. 

 

**Incident #8**

 

“My money’s on Angeal!”

 

“No way, Gladio’s got this one!”

 

A group of tenants surrounded Gladio and Angeal as their hands locked, biceps flexed and bulging as they tried to take the other down. 

 

“Can you guys.. shut up,” Gladio grunted as his elbow dug into the table below. 

 

“Woohoooo, come on An-geal!” Zack cheered on his mentor, pumping his fist in the air.

 

“Zack..” Angeal said through gritted teeth. “Trying to concentrate.”

 

Angeal’s elbow was the foothold of his strength, focusing his energy on taking down his opponent. 

 

“Gladio, you suck, c’mon!” Noctis clapped his hands together. 

 

“Noct, shut the hell up!” Gladio groaned. Dark amber eyes locked with Angeal’s dark blue. 

 

Angeal finally gave one last push, bringing his hand down and slamming Gladio’s arm down against the glass table- breaking it into numerous pieces. 

 

The boys who bet on Angeal cheered but their celebration was cut short as all eyes focused on the woman who looked at them. Her eyes staring at the shattered glass around the foot of the table. 

 

Lady only silently stared and turned back around.

 

**Incident #13**

 

“You have a heart- and you’re powerless to control it!” 

 

“I don’t need a heart, I have the darkness..”

 

“Don’t dare interfere with _my_ Kingdom Hearts!”

 

“What the hell are they doing..” Axel looked up, sitting on his chair backwards with his arms crossed over the top and his chin resting on them. 

 

Saïx frowned, “I’ve heard those lines before somewhere.”

 

Keyblades clashed; Xion, Roxas, and Sora held up their weapons of light as they brought them together. 

 

“Hey, knock it off,” Riku got up and nudged Sora, causing the brunet to lose his balance and aim his Keyblade forward. A beam of light shooting out from the tip and hit Lady just as she walked up, hitting her directly in her sternum. 

 

Her eyes widened, hand flying to her chest as she dropped to her knees and fell forward.

 

“Lady!” Axel rushed from his seat and to Lady’s side, picking her up in his arms and shaking her.  

 

Roxas, Xion, and Sora ran to her, all three kneeling by her as panic plastered on their. Suddenly, Lady’s eyes opened and she shot up- her hand still clutched over her breast. “I-I felt something wriggling in my chest!” 

 

“That was probably your heart,” Riku walked up to her. 

 

“My _what?!_ ”

 

**Incident #16**

 

Noctis walked into the living room, looking around. 

 

Gladio looked up from his book, “What are you looking for?”

 

“A Final Kingdom disc,” he muttered, getting down on his knees and looking under the television stand. 

 

Prompto walked back from the kitchen with a bag of chips in hand, “Did you search your room?”

 

“Yeah, not in there,” Noctis sighed, getting off the floor. 

 

“Huh,” Prompto whistled. “Wonder where it is.” He plopped onto the couch and froze when he heard a cracking sound. 

 

Gladio and Noctis’ eyes immediately honed in on Prompto as the blond scrambled up and rummaged under the cushion, pulling out shards of a broken disc. The pieces spelling out ‘Final Kingdom’. 

 

Prompto held it up for the prince to see. “Uh, Noct? Think I found your disc..” 

 

Noctis looked at the remains, his face paled and he swallowed, his eyes looking up at Prompto. “That disc was never mine.”

 

Prompto frowned, “Then who’s-“

 

“It’s Lady’s.”

 

**Incident #19**

 

Vincent raised his gun and shot the flying plate with expert precision- shattering it completely then twirling his firearm back with his finger still on the trigger. 

 

“Nice one Vinny,” Xigbar grinned, tossing another plate into the ocean.

 

Prompto closed one eye, focusing his aim and only shooting a small piece off the ceramic as it dropped into the ocean with a disappointing clunk. He groaned, reloading his gun. 

 

“Just try again,” Vincent looked at him. 

 

“Yeah kid, we got plenty of dishes here,” Xigbar motioned to the box at his feet. 

 

Prompto pouted, “Yeah, yeah, I know. Why don’t you try then?”

 

Xigbar shrugged and Prompto looked up to see Lady approaching the beach, his arm stretching to flag her down but her attention was focused on something else as she stopped to talk to Ignis.  

 

“Hey, have you seen my box of antique plates around? I was going to sell them for some extra money,” she asked him. 

 

“I’m afraid not,” he replied. 

 

“Darn,” she sighed. “Guess I’ll keep looking.”

 

Xigbar, Prompto, and Vincent looked down at the box of ceramics at their feet. A sense of dread looming over them. 

 

**Incident #20**

 

“I’ll ask this for the last time,” Lady looked at the men in front of her, pointing at the flower pot that had a large scorch mark on its side. The flowers within the pot were wilted and burned, only leaving behind the sorry remains. “Who did that?”

 

“I’ve no idea why you would suggest I would be the one to do that,” Genesis crossed his arms. 

 

“Yeah, anyone can do that,” Axel put a hand on his hip. 

 

Lady closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. “Be- _cause,_ only magical fire can have this type of residue. And natural fire can’t leave this type of mark unless deliberately done so and I’m speaking to the two main people in these apartments that use fire- so I’ll ask again!” She stopped to take a breath. “Who. Did. That?”

 

Genesis and Axel eyed each other. 

 

Fingers pointing with accusatory purposes at the other man. 

 

**Incident #21**

 

“Thanks for walking me back,” she looked up at Eli. “And for the coffee. As always.” 

 

“Anytime,” he smiled, opening the gates of the Alstroemeria for her and she stepped in. “You doin’ okay?”

 

“Hm,” Lady scratched her cheek. “Just trying to keep it together, hahah…”

 

“I see,” he chuckled, his hand on the small of her back as they walked towards the central courtyard. 

 

Just as they both entered, multi-colored bright lights flashed in the courtyard along with the smell of sulfur and charcoal. Sounds of wood splintering filled the air along with the snapping and breaking of items she’s yet to discern. Temporarily blinding them, Lady and Eli’s hands covered their eyes just as the cracking light show died down. 

 

“What..” Lady muttered and brought her hand down. Her eyes widening when she looked at the remains of her gazebo, the wooden splinters strewn about the grass as the foliage around it caught on fire. 

 

In the midst of the chaos, stood the group of her precious tenants that nervously looked up from the burn marks that now marred the floor along with the ash that covered their faces. 

 

“Lady.. hey! This was supposed to be a surprise party for you!” Prompto grinned sheepishly. The white frosted cake in his hand had a healthy sprinkling of black soot. 

 

“Y’know, to say sorry for all the trouble we caused you!” Reno explained, hiding a used match behind his back. 

 

Her purse fell from her shoulder and down into her hand, dragging her blouse sleeve down and exposing her bra strap. Her eyes went cold and the air around her became still. 

 

The tenants- as well as Keyblade wielders and others, looked up at the sky as the clouds darkened and swirled above them. Streaks of purple electricity traveled through the surface of the clouds and lashed out. Eli looked at her and to the group, not knowing what to do and just stood there, bewildered. 

 

The fire on the grass and scattered wooden splinters rose in height, roaring up to meet the lightning above; surrounding the central courtyard within a cage of elemental fury. 

 

Looking up at them, her eyes glowed a vivid purple as wisps of green and black licked the surface of her flesh and dissipated into the humming air that surrounded her. 

 

“We’ve really done it this time,” Noctis muttered, sweat coating his forehead from the heat. 

 

“Any last words?” Saïx looked at him.

 

“I've lived a pretty good life, I don't think I have any regrets,” Zack gulped. 

 

“It’s been a pleasure, gentlemen,” Ignis looked at their surroundings, the fire melding together their dire fates. 

 

Lady inhaled deeply with her eyes closed, the flames quelled as the thunder rumbled gently. Exhaling nasally, flames exited her nostrils; the fire changing from an orange into a light purple and blue. 

 

Turning on her heels, she walked up to her apartment and opened the door- disappearing into the darkness while leaving the door wide open. After a couple minutes, she exited her apartment again with a suitcase in hand and a black hoodie covering her top. 

 

Walking back down, she stopped and faced the group. 

 

“I’m leaving,” she simply said, the hood barely hovering over her eyes. “I need a vacation.”

 

“Are you.. coming back?” Roxas stepped forward. 

 

She remained silent. 

 

“What about the apartments?” Demyx looked at the remains of burned foliage around them. 

 

“I-“ Lady massaged her closed eyes and threw her free hand up in the air, looking at them. “You know what- I don’t even care at this point, you guys do what you want. I’m done.” 

 

Pulling the drawstrings of her hood tighter, she held her suitcase tightly in her hand as she left them. 

 

“Lady!” 

 

They called for her but she blocked them out, slamming the gates behind her. 


	38. XXXVIII

“Was I too hard on them?”

 

Lady brought the axe down and hit the log resting atop the tree stump. Splintering as the axe head split the grains and broke it in half with a satisfying crunch. Wiping the sweat off her brow, picking up the pieces, and placing it in a meticulous pile atop a canvas blanket; she tied it up to carry over her shoulder. 

 

“..Nah.”

 

She walked through the forest, the fallen leaves crushed against her wooden block sandals. An axe in one hand with the wrapped lumber in the other, she breathed in the crisp air and enjoyed the serenity of her new environment. The past few nights of sleep was the most restful that she’s had in  _ days,  _ no,  _ weeks.  _ It was bliss. 

 

Above her was a series of snow-capped mountains that pierced the sky, a round of clouds resting atop their peaks like a crown; a lineage of ancient guardians that watched the forest below. The fresh air that came from the amount of trees and elevation invigorated her. Stopping to peer over at a pond being churned by the stream that leaked from the ice on the mountains, she squinted at the area under her eye- no dark bags. Finally. 

 

Stone stairways lead her to a shed where she dropped the canvas bag and set the logs in a pile near the wall, leaving the axe besides them. Ahead of the small shed was a stone garden with a bed of fine sand around it that gave the illusion of rippling water encircling the shards of rock. Wooden pathways and bridges weaved across that lead to an even bigger place of dwelling- one with brick red tiled roofs and rich mahogany walls reinforced with gilded murals. 

 

It was silent except for the rhythmic tapping of a hollow bamboo shoot filling with water and touching down lightly on the saturated stone below it along with the chatter of those that tended to the estate grounds. 

 

“My little sparrow, where are you?”

 

Lady looked up in the direction of the voice and immediately followed, approaching an older woman with grayed hair tied neatly into a bun held by a pin with an ornamental butterfly poised off the edge- as if it landed there just after flight. Her dark copper eyes looked at her and a smile appeared on her face. She stood a head shorter than Lady, her overall appearance displaying one of feebleness.. But Lady knew better than to be deceived by that facade. 

 

“There you are, I need you to do something- have you already chopped the wood?” She asked.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Lady responded. “It’s in the shed.”

 

“Tsk, don’t call me that. You make me feel as old as I look,” she laughed, placing her hands behind her back. Her mouth was crinkled around the edges of her lips, a physical sign of a lifetime filled with smiles and joy. Lady wanted that. “I told you to just call me Mana now.” 

 

“And have everyone know that you play favorites?” The side of her lips were pulled into a sly smile. “Perish the thought.”

 

“These young blood wouldn’t dare call me anything else,” Mana sighed. “Are you sure you wanted to work? I thought you came here to rest.”

 

“I rested for three days, now I’m just bored,” Lady flicked a piece of hair from her eyes. “If I don’t do something, I’ll go crazy. There’s only so much hours I can waste by sleeping.. plus I kinda need the money."

 

“True enough, if it’s work you need then there’s plenty to be done. Anyways, little sparrow, I need you to see about going to the island near the waterfall. One of the workers left their supplies there and I can’t seem to find them. It’s by the old train tracks.. you remember that place, right?”

 

“Of course, Mana,” Lady bowed her head and walked off to undergo her newly obtained quest. Making sure the ribbon that held her hair back was tightened, she continued on. 

 

*******

 

Larxene paced over the edge of the waterfall, watching the water rush down the rocks and into the lake below. Her footsteps grew more impatient with each passing nanosecond and she was tempted to see how many fish she could shock in mid-air as they traveled upstream before disappearing under the currents. 

 

The lack of Organization members meant everyone had to pull their weight to do more missions and that meant she had to do the work of the peons. Work that she would normally push onto someone else if she could. But a certain water-waving, sitar-wielding, spiky haired idiot wasn’t there to take the missions. Even Roxas and Xion weren’t safe from her. 

 

As to what her mission was right now.. Larxene kicked a pebble into the water and threw her head back to let out an annoyed groan. 

 

“‘Follow her to see what she’s up to,’” she repeated in a mocking tone. “So far she’s up to nothing! That’s what!” She started to pace again. “Is there any point to this? I thought we were over her!”

 

Her green eyes looked over when she saw a lone figure walking down the road towards the lone island, the dirt around it being darker in color as if it were soaking the night before. 

 

“Finally,” Larxene muttered, squatting down and waiting for her target to do something. 

 

Unfortunately her patience was as short as her knives and she stood up not one minute later. Opting for a more quick and direct approach. 

 

Thinking of ways this could go awry, the only thing she didn’t anticipate was the stray fish that launched into the air from the water and smacking her in the face. Larxene was quite surprised as the force of the unfortunately strong fish knocked her off balance just enough for her to tip into the river and down below. The last thing she felt was a bolt of electricity she released in hopes to phase back onto land, but the cold water had already begun to submerge her within its depths. 

 

*******

 

Fire crackled softly when Larxene opened her eyes, her whole body tingled and felt numb to the core. Moving her head, she felt a soft cloth cushion her head. Blinking, she found herself looking up at a starry sky. 

 

That’s not right. It was midday just a second ago.

 

Turning her head to the direction of the warmth she felt, she saw flames dance on wood piled on the sand. And just above the tips of the fire sat her target who was merely stargazing. 

 

“Hey,” Lady said without looking at her, face still upturned towards the heaven. “Did you know you talk in your sleep?”

 

Larxene shot up, gritting her teeth when she felt her body resist suddenly movements- almost making her lay back down again.  

 

“What are  _ you _ doing here?” She scowled. 

 

Lady’s eyes finally moved from the stars and towards her, “Saving your sorry ass from the water. You fell in.”

 

The Savage Nymph could do all she could from stopping the rising heat that creeped up the back of her neck and swirl towards her cheeks. 

 

Larxene turned away. “Well, it’s not like I was unconscious-“

 

“You were though.”

 

Larxene turned back.

 

“I had to perform CPR.”

 

Her gloved hands flew to her lips and she scowled, “You- you-!”

 

“You’re welcome,” Lady stoked the fire with a medium length stick, then proceeded to toss it in. “I wouldn’t move around too much either, you shocked yourself on the way down.”

 

They were silent, only the sound of wood popping in the heat filled the emptiness. Larxene laid back down, her body screeching for her to stop moving so suddenly. 

 

“Well, you seem fine so I’ll take my leave,” Lady got up, brushing the sand from her robe. 

 

“You’re just going to leave me here?” Larxene frowned.

 

“You want to come with me?”

 

“Hell no.”

 

“Alright, bye.”

 

Lady turned away and continued to walk off. 

 

“You’re not even curious why I’m here?” Larxene called.

 

“I have an idea, but I don’t really care,” Lady sighed, looking back at her and watching the disgruntled pout form on the blonde’s mouth. Shaking her head, she walked back towards her and held out her hand. “C’mon.” 

 

She frowned, looking up at the hand as if it were a foreign object, her green eyes locking with Lady’s. 

 

“You said you didn’t wanna be left alone here right? Can you walk?”

 

“Does it seem like I can?” Larxene seethed. 

 

“The attitude isn’t helping your survival chances, lightning bug.”

 

Her mouth was glued shut in a permanent sour scowl as Lady helped her up. As her feet touched the sand, her knees threatened to buckle and she stumbled forward in Lady’s arms. In one swift movement, Lady bent her legs and picked up Larxene to toss her over her shoulder- the stomach resting directly over the bone. 

 

“Ugh, put me down!” Larxene struggled, trying to alleviate the pressure digging in her stomach. 

 

“Well, how else do you want me to- stop struggling!” Lady tried to balance herself with the flailing Organization XIII member on her shoulder. Inevitably failing, they both fell down and a splash of sand both hit their faces. “See what I mean?!” Lady scoffed, wiping the sand from her mouth. 

 

“Shut up!” Larxene sputtered, tasting the grainy sand assault her tongue. “Find a better way to carry me then!”

 

**Ten minutes later...**

 

“This is the best you could do?”

 

“Are you gonna keep complaining or are you gonna shut up?”

 

“Walk faster.”

 

“I will drop you in this water right now with no hesitation, you absolute annoyance of a woman.”

 

Larxene was riding Lady in the good old-fashioned piggy-back style. Her legs held firmly by Lady while her arms wrapped around her neck. 

 

“You’re choking me,” Lady muttered. 

 

“I thought you liked that type of treatment?” Larxene shot back. 

 

“Uh, no?”

 

“Oh, so you only like it when Xemnas does it.”

 

“Not this again..”

 

Lady remembered his hands around her neck when he first threatened her shortly after the Organization crashed Axel’s party. Good times.

 

Larxene was holding Lady’s wooden sandals as they waded through knee-high water. Looking down, she could see her reflection that was almost blocked off by the stars- green eyes looked back at her. Craning her head, she looked up at the sky, almost catching herself admiring the way it sparkled in- what was she thinking?

 

“Stars are pretty out here, huh?” Lady smiled. 

 

“How did you know I was looking at them?“ 

 

“I’m assuming you’re looking at something more interesting than the back of my head.” 

 

“Hmph. How did the water even get this high?”

 

“It only happens at night, this area gets filled with water from the mountains and then it drifts downhill into the ocean. It’s always been like this,” Lady replied, adjusting her grip and hoisting her with a small grunt. “This whole mountain has clean mineral water condensed by the clouds, it’s a natural spring. Cool, huh?”

 

“I guess..” Larxene responded, mumbling. “Any reason why you’re here and not with your little harem?”

 

Lady scoffed, “Because they suck and they’re annoying. This is my vacation.”

 

“Tired of playing mommy?”

 

“Oh, you’ve no idea,” Lady let out a sigh. “How did Xemnas run that group?”

 

“You act like we actually listen to him.”

 

“Ah. That explains a lot.” 

 

A small smile appeared on both of their lips, and Lady exhaled her amusement nasally- her smile turning into a grin. Larxene was thankful that she behind Lady and that she couldn’t see her amused facial expression. The Savage Nymph looked up into the sky, feeling the gentle breeze caress her cheeks and run through her bright blond hair. Her momentary serenity was cut off with Lady letting out a huff as she adjusted her grip again. 

 

“You’re getting heavy..” she panted. 

 

*******

 

Xion looked at the group of men in front of her, almost all of them easily towering over her small frame but she remained steadfast- arms crossed in a dominant stance. 

 

“You guys should be ashamed,” she frowned.

 

“Who died and made you the next landlady,” Axel looked down, muttering. 

 

“Let’s go find her and apologize properly,” Xion continued. “We’ve already cleaned up  _ your  _ mess, but we should do more to make up for your mistakes.”

 

“Woah woah woah,  _ our  _ mistakes? Why are you blaming it on us?” Demyx pointed at her. 

 

“I told you guys that it was a bad idea in the first place but no one listened to me!” Xion countered, “Now look what you’ve done!”

 

“She did say that,” Saïx muttered, not wanting his agreement to be heard completely. 

 

“Look, kiddo, even if we do find her. What makes you think she’d want to see us?” Xigbar flipped his ponytail over his shoulder. “You saw what happened, she was ready to roast us alive. She made Ax’s flames look like matchsticks.”

 

“Not cool,” Axel shot him a glare from across the room. 

 

“Do you think we can find her using the same method you used before?” Zexion looked at Xigbar. 

 

“I guess? You do realize she could’ve gone  _ anywhere  _ and the area of my search is only a couple miles,” he replied back. “It’ll take us forever.”

 

“Then we find clues on where she went,” Roxas piped in. “Ask around, someone she trusts.”

 

“The people she trusted were the same ones who’ve just angered her,” Saïx shook his head. 

 

Xigbar rolled his head back, resting his arm on the top of the couch and looked up at the ceiling, “What about the barista guy she always hangs out with? Think he knows?”

 

“That blue haired one? I don’t like him,” Demyx frowned.

 

“What does Lady even see in him,” Roxas added. 

 

“Interrogation?” Axel grinned, his eyes flashing wickedly. “I’m down.”

 

“If you hurt him, you’ll just anger her more,” said Zexion and Axel buried his disappointed pout in the crook of his arms. 

 

“It’s worth a shot,” Xigbar whistled. “Who wants to go?”

 

Roxas stood up, ‘I will. What are you guys gonna do?”

 

“We’ll wait here for your inevitable success,” Xigbar waved him off, opening up a corridor for him. 

 

“Unbelievable, you guys are so lazy,” the blond Keyblade wielder rolled his eyes.

 

“You just noticed?” Axel yawned. 

 

“I’ll go with you,” Xion stood up, walking to the corridor with him and both of them disappeared within the darkness. 

 

When they were out of sight, Xigbar crossed his arms, “Has anyone else took note of how Xion’s been lately?”

 

“Whaddaya mean?” Axel looked at him.

 

“She acts like Lady,” Zexion answered. 

 

“That’s cute, I guess?” Demyx frowned. 

 

“Better she be like Lady rather than any other obnoxious brat,” Saïx sighed, crossing his feet at the ankles and closing his eye. The other men nodded their agreement. 

 

*******

 

Lady wiped a piece of dried mud off Larxene’s cheek and the blond woman frowned, slapping her hand away. 

 

“What are you doing?” She hissed, green eyes flashing. 

 

“Do you want to have dried mud on your face forever?” Lady frowned, she pushed a tray of food towards her and began to pour her a cup of tea. “You hungry?”

 

“No.” And suddenly as if on cue, her stomach began to grumble and announced her bluff. 

 

“Mhm,” Lady had an amused smile on her face as she began to slide the food closer to her. “Just eat and stop being so stubborn.”

 

Larxene’s eyes remained squinted even when she scooped a spoonful of rice and grilled fish into her mouth.

 

“It’s salty,” the blonde muttered. 

 

“So is your personality,” Lady poured herself a cup of tea, herbal essences filling her nostrils. “Use that sauce to dilute the flavor,” she pointed at the saucer with darkened amber liquid sloshing within it.

 

Larxene did so, drizzling it over her bowl and taking another bite. Her eyes widened slightly and she began eating at a faster pace. The silence and lack of snide remarks was enough to tell Lady that she actually enjoyed it. Sitting back, she crossed her legs and sipped her tea. She had the sliding door opened so they had a view towards the stone garden and the full moon that rose high in the sky. The door had a lattice of dark wood with thickened squares of paper in between them, allowing a wash of starlight to come through into her room. 

 

Placing the spoon into the now empty bowl, Lady looked over her shoulder and at the now empty tray of food. 

 

“You liked it?” Lady started to pour her another cup of freshly brewed tea and Larxene looked away, nodding. “Must you always be like that?”

 

“...Thank you.”

 

“What was that?”

 

“Forget it!” Larxene crossed her arms, “...I just said thank you.”

 

Lady stacked the bowls into the tray and got up, a satisfied smile on her face. “I’ll get you a bed to sleep on and probably some new clothes.”

 

“What makes you think I’m staying here?” 

 

“I’m not. I’m just assuming you wanted to rest, you don’t have to stay.”

 

Larxene stayed silent as Lady walked around the corner, her silhouette still visible through the sliding doors and her footsteps growing more distant. Tucking in her knees and wrapping her arms around it, she looked up at the white moon that showered the courtyard with its soft ethereal light. Resting her chin on her arms, her gaze softened and she almost felt peaceful. This moon was nice. It was comforting and only sought to illuminate her way. 

 

As opposed to the ones she would see when looking out from the Grey Area back in the Castle. The artificial and cold moon made from stolen hearts of innocent people. It was inhospitable and filled her with a false sense of hope. What was the point of that, of all this? Why why why. Those words kept bouncing around her head. 

 

She moved her forehead down on her arms, hiding her face away completely. “Don’t be stupid,” she muttered to himself, gritting her teeth. Her thoughts were cut short when she heard footsteps tap across the wood. Looking up she saw Lady poke her head in with bundles of cloth in her hand. 

 

“I got you a robe if you wanna-“ she pointed up and down at her black coat. “-change outta that. And I got you a bedroll too.” She set down the robe in front of her and began rolling it out. 

 

Larxene took the clothes and walked behind a changing screen, unzipping her coat and letting it slide down her shoulders. The heavy leather leaving her skin and replaced with the cool night air, allowing her body to breathe in the fresh air properly. Her boots were already off since Lady was adamant on both of them removing their shoes before they stepped onto the raised platforms of the estate house. Sliding off the tight pants, she shrugged on the robe and used the sash to tighten it against her waist. 

 

The robe was a soft green with white flowers decorating the sleeve and hem while the sash was a baby blue, complementing the overall aesthetic of her clothes. Stepping out, Larxene had her black coat folded up in her arms and set it down next to her rolled out bed. 

 

Lady looked at her, finger poised on her cheek, “It looks good on you!” She grinned.

 

“Shut up..” Larxene muttered, tossing the blanket away and climbing in. “I’m leaving first thing in the morning.”

 

“Sure,” Lady hummed.

 

“After breakfast.” 

 

“Uh-huh,” Lady smiled, beginning to close the sliding door. “Goodnight, Larxene.”

 

*******

 

Lady walked the empty grounds of the estate, formally referred to as Heron Point due to the amount of birds that flew past every season- looking for a new place to rest and migrate to. Informally, this place was called the ‘Nest’, due to the owner being a motherly figure to all who seeked refuge and the overall sense of home that permeated every square inch. It was expansive, the grounds covering the pathway to the mountain as well as the road down to the coast. To the bird’s eye view, one would assume this place a village. The community was tight enough to believe if that were the case, each person hoping to make the place better with every passing day. Together, they formed a sanctuary for wayward souls seeking rest. 

 

It was almost two years ago that she first stumbled into this place, how could she ever forget that fateful meeting? Because of Mana, she was alive today.

 

Stopping, she looked at the stone lanterns that flickered with fire- watching the flames smooth down with stray winds. They surrounded a stone pavilion in a semicircle, the other half was surrounded by trees. Stepping in the middle, she admired the carved designs in the stone; the way it swirled so seamlessly, almost like they were etched onto dirt and not solid stone. 

 

Leaves rushed through the trees and rolled through the wind in front of her. 

 

Another set of footsteps on the stone caught her attention, expecting to see another worker but instead she saw a figure with a black coat. 

 

_ Another of the Organization lackeys? _

 

The shoulders on this one were too broad to be Larxene just playing a prank on her.. yet they were slimmer than anyone else she could remember that were members. 

 

_ So.. someone new? _

 

She looked at the person apprehensively, not knowing if she should be hostile or friendly. 

 

The hooded figure raised their gloved right hand as if to reach for something, then a flash of black lightning surged through their fingers and a beam of pure blue energy shot forth from both hands. The figure moved into a stance; one arm raised over their hand, the other was held towards her and Lady scowled. 

 

Bending her knees, she cursed.  _ Definitely hostile. _

 

The figure jumped towards her and she dodged, bringing her hand up and throwing a bolt of fire at their side. In response, the figure only twisted their body- the fire missing them by mere inches. Both of them landed meters away from each other. 

 

Lady wasn’t given a second to rest as the figure crossed energy blades, and formed a glaring x that flew towards her. Jumping up, she readied her own attack; opting for a wave of ice that emerged from the ground and formed stalactites that followed the figure as they dodged the chilling stabs. 

 

Landing, Lady brought her hands up to block their attack. The energy blades almost grazing over her forearms as she pushed them back. Balling her fist, she aimed for an uppercut towards the figure’s stomach. Stumbling backwards, they launched a shot of energy towards her and she jumped back again- watching her footing carefully. 

 

The figure raised their weapon and she watched as it began to stretch until it formed something similar to whip; it began to fly towards her and she grabbed onto the end. Pulling the figure towards her, she aimed for the face concealed by the hood, launching her attack at full force but the figure moved up and made her punch hit their stomach instead. A quiet and barely intelligible grunt was heard as they pulled their weapon back. 

 

A flash of light temporarily blinded her and she squinted, eyes widening when there were more hooded figures that launched towards her. Ducking and sidestepping their attacks, Lady’s eyes constantly switched between the multiple enemies that were swinging at her. 

 

Grabbing onto one of their arms, she elbowed them and they let the blade slip out of their hand. Using her newly obtained weapon, she began to slice through them and she frowned when they merely began to disappear and fade when her weapon made contact with them.

 

_ Clones?  _ She looked up at the figure.  _ Just who the hell are you?! _

 

Just as the last figure disappeared, as did her weapon and leaving her with just her martial arts and magic once more. The figure rushed towards her and began to hit her with a flurry of attacks from their blades, Lady barely had enough time to raise a barrier to block the finishing combo. The cuts on her arm inflicted by their blades started to break and the blood began to come through in an almost delayed reaction. 

 

_ They’re fast-!  _ Lady conjured up her magic.  _ Gotta hit them hard.  _ She felt her breaths became strained, she panted.  _ How long can I keep this up? _

 

Going forward, she raised her arms up and held down the figure in a solid block of ice to keep them from moving. Finally, she felt her fingers tingle as she hit them with a cloud of fire that surrounded them. Melting the ice as the flames made contact, a puddle of water formed around the figure and she summoned forth a barrage of lightning that struck the puddle- watching as it began to shock them. 

 

Wisps of smoke emerged from their coat as they fell to their knees and Lady let out a sigh.  _ Is it over? _

 

She frowned when a glowing circle appeared over their head and the hands of a clock appeared. The minute hand began to spin counter-clockwise and the wisps of smoke from the figure looked almost like it was reverted and expelled from their body; they then stood up, as if unharmed. _ As if the fight never happened _ . The clock faded away from existence and their blue energy blades appeared back in their hands, assuming their stance from earlier. 

 

_ The hell was that? Did he turn back time or something?!  _

 

Lady looked down at her own wounds, although shallow they were piling up and her energy was getting low. The figure combined their blades and bent their knees. 

 

_ Here they come- shit!  _

 

The figure came fast and knocked her back with another onslaught of slices, effectively knocking her back. The weapon in their hand stretched out again and formed the whip, aiming it for her. She panted and gritted her teeth when it wrapped around her waist and brought her forward slightly. Looking up, the figure began to walk towards her with the handle of the whip held firmly in their hand. Lady stepped back every time they came closer until she felt her back hit the trunk of a tree. 

 

_ Nowhere to run.. think think think! _

 

She felt the whip tighten and felt warm against her skin, her arms were stuck to her side and every passing second sowed more anxiety within her. Options were limited and there wasn’t much else she could think of that wouldn’t make the current situation worse. 

 

The figure was much closer and her back pressed further into the wood, hoping that somehow the tree would absorb her into its essence. Frowning, she looked up at the figure. “Who the hell are you?” Her fists tightened. 

 

A gloved hand grabbed her chin, turning her cheeks as if to observe her. When she would try to move, the whip tightened around her stomach and she would gasp for air. Their other free hand rested against the tree trunk and they came closer. She squirmed against her restraints, not fully expecting what was going to happen next. 

 

Much to her surprise, her lips were covered by theirs as they leaned in for a kiss. Her eyes widened and she tried to pull away, but their hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed tightly. The cut off on her airways made her mouth open to struggle for any bit of oxygen and this proved an opportunity for them as their tongue penetrated past her lips. Swirling around hers, their tongue licking around as if she was an item on a tasting menu. 

 

“Mm,” a deep voice emerged from the hooded figure as he pulled away, his lips only millimeters from hers. “Fascinating.” 

 

She frowned, looking up from under the hood and seeing a set of golden-yellow eyes that looked down at her- framed by small strands of silvery white hair. 

 

_ Xemnas? Wait.. no. He looks.. younger? _

 

The whip around her waist disappeared and both of his hands now rested on her hips, pushing her back against the tree. Leaning his head down, she pushed her hands up against his chest to try and stop his advance but he reached up and took her hands in his. Fingers intertwining as he slammed them up against the bark. 

 

“Don’t resist, you’ll just make it harder for yourself,” he whispered against her mouth then nipped her bottom lip. “They were right, I think you’ll do nicely.”

 

“What?” She looked up, her eyes feeling heavy as she felt her back slide down. Her failing body being supported by the young man in front of her. 

 

The man began to pick her up into his arms but was stopped when he saw green smoke emanate from her body. Frowning, he looked up at her face and saw her eyes were half-lidded and glowing purple. Her head raised up as she looked up at him, her pupils dilating into slits. 

 

**“Get your own vessel, this one’s already taken.”**

 

He jumped back as she lashed out a flow of mako energy from her body. Standing up straight, she moved towards him slowly- her movement being akin to that of a doll being held up on string. Mechanical and rigid, she held up her hand and blackened mako swirled around her fingers. 

 

The hooded man conjured a corridor behind him, looking at her with eyes flashing in interest. 

 

“It’ll only be a matter of time,” he laughed, grinning wickedly before disappearing into his portal of darkness. “This is too good to pass up.”

 

Lady blinked and her eyes returned back to normal, falling onto her knees. She scratched the ground, the loose rubble getting caught under her nails. Holding her chest, she panted. Finally getting up, she stumbled back to her room. 

 

*******

 

“Little sparrow, are you up?”

 

Lady jolted up, a line of dried saliva running down the side of her mouth. She looked in the direction of the noise, “Huh?”

 

“I need your help, the upcoming festival has us flooded. Can you help the kitchen with serving customers?” Mana looked at her with a soft smile, pointing at the corner of her lip. “You might want to wipe that before you head out.”

 

“Yeah, coming right away!” Lady tossed her blanket to the side and jumped up to change. She ran to the bathroom and quickly splashed her face with a stream of cold water, putting on a dark magenta robe with small pink irises dotting the bottom hem as well as a crimson sash to tie around her waist. Brushing her teeth, she wiped the foam from her mouth and quickly combed through her hair to tie it back with the ribbon she kept wrapped around her wrist. Spritzing a bit of perfume on her wrist and dabbing it onto her neck, she made sure she looked presentable before she ran out the door.

 

Sprinting across the courtyard she saw Mana in front of the kitchen, telling staff what to do as she arrived out of breath. 

 

“There you are, I’ve already told your friend what to do so you’ll just be doing the same as her,” she said. 

 

“Friend? What friend?” Lady frowned.

 

“The blonde one who frowns a lot and a bit of a temper.”

 

“Oh.”  _ Larxene.  _

 

“I guess this festival will be more crowded this year, huh?” Mana grinned. “But that just means more money for us.” 

 

“You never change,” Lady laughed. “Where do you need me.”

 

“I need you to serve house nine, there was a large party that arrived this morning so you need to see to them immediately.”

 

“Yes, Mana,” Lady bowed her head and ran up into the house kitchen, waving away clouds of steam that hit her face as she grabbed a tray from a shelf and looked at the diagram where it displayed guest locations. Counting a total of seven guests, she stacked seven cups onto her tray along with a pot of tea that was still hot to the touch. Slowing down her pace so that the ceramics on her tray wouldn’t come tumbling down. 

 

Stopping at house nine- which was really a series of rooms where guests could relax and eat while enjoying the peaceful environment; each were in a subdivision where it allowed privacy for whoever stayed. 

 

Inhaling sharply, she exhaled to make sure she didn’t appear out of breath. Sliding the door open, she gave her best customer servicing smile, “Hey there! Sorry for the wait-“

 

She stopped when she saw the “guests” sitting around the table and on the fluffy pillows laid down on the smooth wooden floor. 

 

“Lady, hey, didn’t know you’d be our server!” Axel waved to her from the table. 

 

It took all of her inner strength and self-discipline to stop herself from chucking her tray at them. 

 

She stood there, staring at them. Almost not believing in what she was seeing. 

 

Footsteps walked towards her and she looked to the side, looking as Larxene held her tray by her hip. Her mouth downturned into an unpleasant scowl, “Why am I stuck doing this?”

 

“Ew, Larxene!” Demyx frowned. 

 

Larxene looked back, the vein of irritance almost visible on her forehead, “Eugh, Demyx.”

 

“The hell are you doing here?” Roxas leaned back on his arms. 

 

“Don’t ask,” Larxene shot back. She turned her attention back to Lady, “Are you serving them?”

 

“Hell no,” Lady turned away. “You do it.”

 

“Gross, I’d rather die,” Larxene crossed her arms. “We gonna get some breakfast?”

 

“Yeah, probably after,” the two women proceeded to ignore the group behind them as they walked off together even after the two of them.

 

“Woah, hey, what about us?” Xigbar called out to them.

 

“Someone else will serve you,” Lady looked over her shoulder at him. 

 

“‘Cause we’re not,” Larxene repeated her action before the both of them walked away.

 

“This is terrible,” Demyx massaged his eyes with one hand. “Larxene brainwashed her!”

 

“Or she might still be furious,” Zexion mumbled. 

 

Xion stood up, “I’m going to talk to her.” Running out, she followed after the two women. 

 

“Is that a good idea?” Axel asked the remaining members.

 

“Better her than you,” Saïx said with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

 

Lady felt a headache coming on, massaging her temples as she walked by Larxene. 

 

“They really piss you off that much?” She asked her.

 

“It’s not that,” Lady mumbled. “I don’t know how to explain it.” 

 

“Lady!” Xion ran towards her and they both turned to greet the black haired girl. 

 

Lady’s face softened and she felt slightly more at ease. “What’s wrong, Xion?”

 

“Yeah, whaddaya want brat?” Larxene looked down at her and stopped when Lady shot her a warning glare. Crossing her arms, she made a ‘hmph’ sound and turned her face away. 

 

“We’re really sorry about causing you so much trouble,” Xion bowed her head. “We just wanted to make it up to you.”

 

Lady looked at the young girl as she massaged the back of her neck. How could she be mad at that face? Putting her hand down on her shoulder, she sighed. “It’s okay, As long as you didn’t tell anyone else, right?” 

 

Xion tensed up and Lady frowned, “Xion..” 

 

It was then that two server girls walked by with them hugging their trays to their chest, giggling. 

 

“Did you see those guys in house fifteen? They’re so handsome. The blond one was really cute! He kept taking pictures of everything.”

 

“No way, house seven had better looking guys. I was so nervous serving them, they’re just so.. mmm. Their eyes alone could totally undo you.”

 

“What about those others that are at the beach? Them too! Did you see them holding giant keys or was that just me?”

 

“Ooh, yeah! We’re so lucky that we’ve finally got some eye candy.” 

 

Lady tensed up, looking down at Xion who had a nervous smile on her face. Handing her the tray to hold, Lady bolted past house nine which contained the ex-Organization members. Running to fifteen, she skidded to a halt and opened the doors. 

 

“Ah- oh, Lady, hey!” Prompto looked up from his camera that was aimed at the food displayed carefully on the table. “How’s it going?”

 

She looked at Noctis who looked up from his phone. “Hey,” he greeted her, giving a casual wave. 

 

“The coffee here is pretty good, Iggy, did you try?” Gladio slid a mug over to Ignis which the latter then took a sip of. 

 

“Exceptional,” Ignis said as he inhaled the aroma. 

 

“You-“ Lady started, then shook her head. Before she could properly register what she was seeing, she ran off to find house seven. 

 

_ This couldn’t be happening, this is NOT happening.  _

 

Her feet carried her over the raised wooden platforms, feet slapping against the floor as she once again halted. 

 

_ There’s no way.  _

 

Her hand raised up, fingers almost trembling when she reached for the sliding door. Inhaling sharply, she opened it and looked inside. 

 

“You know the door is see-through, right?” Vincent had his elbow on the table, tapping his other hand against it. 

 

“Hey Lady!” Zack waved at her, the ever present grin on his cheerful face. 

 

“But,  _ why? _ ” Lady slapped her forehead.

 

“We heard there’s a lantern festival coming,” said Genesis, on his face was that  _ smirk _ . “So we thought it might be fun.”

 

“I thought you were on vacation, why are you working?” Angeal asked her, prying his cup from Zack’s hands. 

 

“Oh, y’know, because  _ someone  _ has to pay for the damages at home,” Lady said through gritted teeth. 

 

Lastly, Sephiroth looked at her, “Should we not have come?”

 

“No, it’s just- ughhhh,” she shook her head and closed the door, walking away. The headache in her head increasing with each step she took. 

 

“Unbelievable,” she kicked a rock away from her. “Un-fucking-believable. I can’t be left alone for one minute, now can I?”

 

“Hey, Lady!” 

 

She turned around and looked as Sora ran towards her. He held out his hand and procured a colorful conch shell with a white outer layer that had a rainbow sheen. 

 

“I got this for you down at the beach,” he grinned and his smile was absolutely blinding. “Riku and Terra are down there still, wanna hang out with us?”

 

Taking the shell, Lady sighed. “Not now Sora, I’m sorry. I still got work to do.” 

 

“Let’s go to the shallows later then!” He waved at her as he ran back off. 

 

Lady pocketed the shell, hanging her head and walked off. 

 

*******

 

By the time she was done with her chores, the sun was already setting far below the horizon. She watched her tenants and others enjoy themselves from her spot behind the scenes; toiling hard while they relaxed- not even knowing what she was up to. 

 

Running her fingers through her hair, she inhaled deeply. The stress was just now starting to strain her and she didn’t know how to comprehend with this sudden surprise. Pleasant or not? She couldn’t decide just yet.

 

As she walked back to her room, she was stopped when she looked at the figure of Axel, Roxas, and Xion walking together. Then she remembered:  _ the guest rooms are past mine, shit. _

 

Hoping she wasn’t seen, she started to backtrack but was stopped when Saïx appeared behind her. 

 

“Dear Astrals,” she cried, clutching her heart. “Don’t do that.”

 

“And here I thought you didn’t scare easy,” he had a sly smile on his face, tilting his head as the wind blew through his hair. 

 

She held her hands up in prayer, eyes pleading. “Don’t tell the others I’m here-“

She was interrupted by hands wrapping around her waist. Turning around, she looked down at Roxas who looked up at her with saddened blue eyes. Her face softened as she ruffled his hair and ran her thumb across his cheek. “Hey there Rox,” she said softly. 

 

“Has it been that bad?” She said. 

 

“Can you come hang out with me for a bit?” He pleaded. 

 

“No hoggin’ the landlady,” Axel said as he walked up with Xion by his side. 

 

“Guess I got no choice,” Lady huffed, trying to pry Roxas’ arms off her waist but the Keyblade wielder remained steadfast. Moving, Xion and Roxas each held one of hands as they walked towards their guest room. 

 

When they arrived, the door was already slid open to let the air in the rooms as all of them were positioned in the room one way or another. 

 

“Hey, how’s it going?” Xigbar waved at her with the open fan he held in his hand. 

 

“Don’t get casual with me,” Lady let go of both Roxas and Xion’s hand. “What’s the deal, why is everyone here?”

 

“Look, we felt bad. That’s all,” he shrugged. 

 

“I don’t have time-“ Lady massaged her temples. “Nevermind, I don’t care just make sure you don’t do anything stupid here either. I need to work up to foot the bill of the damage.”

 

“We didn’t mean to destroy the apartments, we’re deeply sorry,” Zexion’s mouth was downturned into a small expression of shame. 

 

“But.. not everything was completely burnt,” said Demyx. “..Or destroyed. So..”

 

“Is that the true reason why you’re here, little sparrow?”

 

Lady tensed, a large wave of overwhelming agitation filled her as she slowly turned around to face one of the most fearful women she’s ever encountered. She looked at the elderly woman and swallowed. 

 

“Answer me,” Mana commanded, her eyes hardened. 

 

“Yes, ma’am..” she twisted her thumb in her other hand. “It is.”

 

“Why did you lie to me?”

 

“I don’t have an answer for you..”

 

“Only excuses then?”

 

Lady nodded, twisting her thumb harder. 

 

“Why’re you upset?” Axel asked and Lady shot him a wide-eyed glare, wanting to climb his mouth shut with her hand. “They’re her apartments, right?”

 

Mana turned her gaze to Axel and he felt the searing chill that filled him, “And who do you think gave her the land and money to build those apartments?”

 

A hush fell over them and Lady felt as if she were ready to rip her thumb right off her joint. 

 

“You should know better than to lie to me, little sparrow, for that I expect you to work thrice as hard tomorrow,” Mana clasped her hands behind her back and walked away. 

 

Lady buried her face in her hands and rubbed her temples, her palms muffling the quiet groan escaping her. Walking away with her face in her hands, she looked up and back at them with quiet displeasure. “Thanks a lot guys,” she frowned and left them, hanging her head and dreading the coming workload. 

 

Getting further and further away, she looked up when she saw signs of movement and the sounds of the trees rustling with heavy winds. Frowning, she looked up in front of her- hand reaching for the leaf that was frozen mid-air. Looking around her, she noticed how the constant movement of nature seemed to stop. Even the wind seemed stale on her tongue. Upon closer inspection, the environment distorted and shimmered with a strange greenish-blue tinge. 

 

A hand creeped up around her waist and she moved around to see its owner, but stopped when her body declined her request to twist. 

 

“I came to see something,” a deep voice whispered to her. 

 

Another hand moved her hair and traced along the back of her neck in the shape of a small x and Lady shivered when she felt his tongue run down across her skin. 

 

She wanted to move, but every part of her body seemed as if it were moving in thickened sand if she were able to move it at all. 

 

His hands moved to grip her hips, bringing it close to him. Leaning in close to whisper against her ear, “Give into that darkness within you.” 

 

Lady gritted her teeth, trying to break through the spell that held her. “Get.. fucked.”

 

He let out a chuckle that echoed in her ear, “Yes.. fight against it more. It’ll only give all the more pleasure when I rip the light out of your heart.” 

 

His lips ran across the back of her neck once more and left her with a lingering kiss as he dug his nails into her hips, “I’ll be back to check on you, dearest Lady.” 

 

The air around her began to move again and she turned around quickly. 

 

“How do you know my-“ she stopped when she realized she was alone. 

 

His laugh echoed into the night air as she looked around for the hooded man, shaking her head her hand ran up to the back of her neck; still feeling the remains of his kiss on it. 

 

“You okay?”

 

She jumped and turned around, balling her fists- only relaxing when she looked upon Terra’s concerned face. 

 

“Yeah-yeah, I’m fine,” she gave him a smile. “You guys here for the festival too?”

 

“Well, that.. and the fact that Sora insisted we go to see if you’re okay,” he said.

 

“Thanks.. but you didn’t have to.” 

 

Terra approached her, coming closer as his blue eyes searched her face, “You sure you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

 

“I’m fine, please don’t ask me anymore,” she frowned and exhaled sharply when she felt the severity of her own tone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be- sorry, I need to rest.”

 

Running past him, she sprinted towards her room and slid the door close behind her. Massaging her closed eyes, she knelt down to lay down on the bed rolled onto the floor. Her forearm laying across her eyes while the other was over her chest where her heart was and she felt it’s heightened rhythm. 

 

“Calm yourself,” she said aloud. Breathing in slowly and deeply, she allowed herself to bring her pulse back to normal and before she knew it, she fell asleep. 

 

*******

 

She was woken by the sound of her door sliding open, squinting at the silhouette illuminated by the moonlight behind them; she sat up on her elbow. 

 

“Who is it?” She mumbled. 

 

“It’s me,” they stepped in and she squinted to see the soft blond spikes.  

 

“Roxas, what’s wrong?” 

 

“I’m here too,” Xion popped up from behind him. Both of them carried their sleeping bags rolled up in their arms. “Can we sleep here with you?”

 

“‘Course,” Lady motioned to the area next to her. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

 

The both of them laid out on either side of her and she waited till she could hear their breathing reduced into slow, steady rhythms. She couldn’t help but smile at how quickly they knocked out. 

 

Letting herself fall back asleep, she dreamed of falling water beneath an onslaught of dark waves; in the depths, her feet landed on a surface. Looking down, the floor formed into white birds that flew up with ease despite being underwater- light flooding her vision from under her. She then found herself looking down at a large circular mural constructed of what looked like stained glass in geometric designs. In the middle, she looked at a large portrait of herself comprised of the glass. 

 

Her body was curled up in an almost fetal position, her eyes were closed as if she was asleep.  Above her head was three sets of wings, two black and one white. To the left of her, was a large heart-shaped moon that threatened to eclipse her body; to the right was what looked like a dark geode with blue illuminated crystals within its pocket and encased in light. 

 

Stepping closer to the middle, she noticed the pure white heart that glowed in the midst of her chest. Walking towards it, cracks formed from within the heart and made fissures that stretched to all three parts of the circular mural- affecting the wings, the crystal, and the moon. 

 

Finally, the glass gave in and she plunged into the darkness of the depths below. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorrryy for the long delay for this next chapter, doing my best here with school lmao.


	39. XXXIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you find inspiration, trashsith.

Lady stepped out of the bathroom squeezing her hair with a microfiber towel, carefully wringing out the wet strands as she positioned herself to sit in front of the mahogany vanity. One large oval mirror sat in the middle with two smaller mirrors hanging off on either side. The chair she sat on, was cushioned with red tassels dangling at each corner of it. Throwing the towel over her shoulder, she began to brush through her hair and watched her reflection as the wide-toothed comb went through the strands. 

 

From the mirror, she could see Roxas still sleeping. His leg had now crossed over to her sleeping roll with his arms hugging a pillow tightly. Above his figure, the door slid open and Xion tiptoed in with a tray of three glasses with orange juice and a plate of food. 

 

Setting it on a nearby table, she grabbed a glass and proceeded to set it in front of Lady. 

 

“Thank you,” Lady smiled, setting the comb down and taking a sip. The tang of the citrus acid hit the roof of her mouth before sliding down into sugary bliss down her esophagus. 

 

“Can I watch you?” Xion asked, looking as Lady began to pull out multiple brushes and makeup products from the drawers of the vanity. 

 

“Of course, pull up a seat,” she replied and the young girl did so, sitting beside her and watching as she began to brush through her brows with a spooly; filling them out with a tinted eyebrow gel. Her skin was already primed with moisturizer and eye cream- her saving grace from how the stress made her skin react lately. 

 

First applying a medium layer of skin tint, she tapped it on with her middle finger and ring finger- watching as it spread out to provide her with a fresher and more even complexion. Using a crease brush, she blended a light brown shade of eyeshadow onto her lid and diffused the color; deepening the outer corners with a darker cool-toned brown. Reaching into the holder on her vanity, she took a pencil liner and lined her eyes with black to make a small wing that flicked out from her outer corner. Cleaning it up with concealer and applying two coats mascara to her bottom and top lashes, she then moved onto the rest of her face. 

 

Taking a slightly tapered fluffy brush, she began to tap the apples of her cheeks with a light mauve blush. Finishing her face with a dusting of translucent powder, she put on a darkened crimson lipstick.

 

“Now for the finishing touch,” she grinned at Xion, holding her hands up for the young girl to see. A light coating of ice covered her palms and Xion watched with widened eyes as Lady brought her hands up to cover her face. The chilled fog billowing from her hands as she released her face, letting out a refreshed sigh. “That helps lock in my makeup,” she winked. 

 

“I never figured out how to do makeup,” Xion whispered. “The most I’ve seen was Larxene putting on lipstick.”

 

“Want me to teach you?” She offered, handing Xion a brush to apply powder. “Your skin is so already so clear, maybe just a little blush on the cheeks and lip rouge would be better suited for you.”

 

“Um, can you do it for me?” Xion asked, fingering the brush and dusting it against the back of her hand. “I don’t think I’d be very good at it.”

 

“Okay,” Lady nodded. “What look are you going for?”

 

Xion paused, looking down at the brush she still held in her hand and looking up. “Can you do mine like yours?” 

 

“Alright,” Lady nodded. “I’ll do everything except your foundation.”

 

Starting off with a simple base of moisturizer; she began to brush through her brows, admiring how defined they already were as well as being thick in color. Nonetheless she applied the tiniest bit of gel to make her brows stay uniform. “Close your eyes and don’t open them till I say so, okay?” 

 

Xion nodded, closing her eyes and allowing Lady to brush on a light brown transition then shaded it in with a darker brown and finishing it with a bit of black powder liner- essentially mimicking her own eye look onto her. 

 

“Perfect, now open your eyes for me and look up at the ceiling,” she waited till Xion did so to apply a coat of mascara on her lashes with another disposable spoolie. 

 

Tapping a fluffy brush to diffuse mauve blush on the apples of her cheeks, she diffused the rouge on her cheeks and stopped to lean back. “Did you want lipstick?”

 

Xion nodded, “Can I try the color you have on?”

 

“Sure thing, pout your lips for me,” Lady took out the tube of lipstick, rubbing it onto her ring finger and tapped it onto her lips. Letting the color slightly fade on the outer edges to give it a youthful pout affect.  Frowning, Lady tilted her head and swapped the lipstick for a clear gloss, applying a thin layer onto Xion’s lips. Finally smiling, she motioned for Xion to take a look in the mirror. 

 

When her small face came into view in the reflection, Lady could see her blue eyes widen slightly and her fingers reaching to touch her cheek. 

 

“I look.. pretty,” she grinned, turning her face in the mirror. 

 

“Xion, you were already very pretty without makeup,” Lady smiled at her. “It only enhances one’s beauty, it never compensates. Or as Mana says, there’s only so much makeup in the world to cover up a nasty personality.”

 

Xion turned back to her, “Then why do you wear it? I don’t think you need it.”

 

“Because I want to, makes me feel good,” Lady winked. “Plus I’m sure I’ll be helping with guests today so I want to look my best.” 

 

“Can I help?” 

 

“No, you stay and have fun with the guys, I’ll be around though,” Lady started to put away her brushes in the drawer and stopped when she saw a lavender colored ribbon hidden underneath an old journal. Taking it out, she dangled it in her fingers, feeling the silken yet sturdy texture between her fingertips. At the ends of the ribbon were numerous embroidered flowers, oval periwinkle petals surrounding the bright yellow center. 

 

Looking at Xion, she smiled and brought the ribbon to her lips- whispering a spell and the girl watched as the fabric of the ribbon began to glow with warm light before disappearing into the silken sheen. 

 

“Know what these are?” Lady pointed at the flowers decorating the ribbon. After Xion shook her head, Lady explained, “These flowers are called shions, they belong to a genus of asters. In the language of flowers, shion means ‘I won’t forget you.’” 

 

“Really?”

 

Widened blue eyes looked up at Lady as she took a strand of Xion’s black hair and wrapped the ribbon around the section, tying it into a bow. 

 

“Yeah, you can have this. It used to be mine, but I forgot it here- ironic, huh?” Lady laughed.

 

“Can I really have this?” Xion looked at the mirror and tentatively touched her new hair ornament that decorated the right side of hair. 

 

“Yeah, if you promise to keep it safe for me,” Lady watched the girl admire herself. 

 

“I will, you can count on it. I’ll wear this everyday!” Xion turned back to her with a bright grin and for a second Lady felt as if her smile blinded her with radiance- almost like how Sora’s did yesterday. “What spell did you put on it?”

 

“A protective charm, so always keep it with you, okay?”

 

She nodded and Lady smoothed down her hair, “Good girl, now I gotta work.” 

 

Leaving her in front of the vanity, she stood up and downed the rest of her orange juice- which was now an unpleasant texture of tepid room temperature. Going behind her changing screen, she slipped off her bathrobe and changed into a black robe with white lilies sprouting at the hem. Today she opted for the same crimson sash that matched her lipstick, tying her hair up with a clip and let the air expose her neck. 

 

Her hand raised to feel the spot where the hooded figure kissed her, frowning she waved away the idea. She had more important things to do right now. Stepping out, she gave Xion’s shoulder a squeeze as she walked by and towards the table where a plate of toast was laid out. 

 

Taking the bread and holding it between her teeth, she walked over to ruffle Roxas’ hair and smiled when he stirred slightly. Exiting, she slid the door closed behind her and began her routine. 

 

The early morning sun greeted her shyly from over the peaks of the mountain and she inhaled the fresh air.

 

“Come on, we gotta get going.”

 

She looked to see Larxene already dressed in a bright yellow robe and aquamarine-colored sash. 

 

Lady couldn’t help but grin, “You look great in those, y’know?”

 

Larxene squinted, crossing her arms and turning away, “I know I do, I don’t need your approval.”

 

Walking up, Lady clasped her hands behind her back and leaned over to the side of her, “Surprised you’re still here.”

 

“I can leave.”

 

“Not a chance! We need all the help we can get!”

 

*******

 

“Thank you for coming,” Lady waved. “You’ll come back to see me right?”

 

“Yes, of course!” The man grinned nervously, handing her a handful of money. “Here’s your tip, sorry that’s all I got.”

 

Lady shook her head, taking the money graciously from his hands while holding them, “I appreciate this so much. Thank you!” She gave him her best smile, “I sincerely hope I see you again. Take care!”

 

She turned away just as the man had a heavy blush appear on his cheeks, stuffing the money in her pocket and walking over to the next table. 

 

“Hello! Have you all been served yet?” She knelt down besides the table with her tray hugged to her chest. 

 

“Not yet, no,” a man responded. 

 

“I’m so sorry about that, let me be your server today okay? You can call me Lady, it’s so nice to meet you!” She shook all four hands of the men seated. “Now what would you like to drink?”

 

“She sure is hard at work,” said Prompto. “It seems like she’s having more fun here than with us.”

 

“No way that’s true, who would have fun working?” Noctis scoffed, sliding the empty glass in his hands side-to-side. 

 

Ignis adjusted his glasses, observing her as she walked table-to-table to check on guests. “I can assume she’s putting forth her best effort to get those tips.”

 

“Yeah, her smile seems genuine but it’s definitely only for show,” said Gladio as he downed the rest of his drink. 

 

“How do you even know that?” Prompto looked at him with a frown. 

 

“You still got plenty of stuff to learn, kid,” Gladio shot him a wink.

 

“I can just ask dad to send more money? Or.. should we get jobs too?” Noctis wondered aloud.

 

“Let’s not be too reliant on daddy dearest, Noct-o,” Prompto nudged him. 

 

“Hey guys, did you enjoy your breakfast yet?” Lady knelt down besides Ignis and handed him a fresh cup of coffee. “It’s not Ebony, but I hope you still like it,” she said to him before turning her attention to the others. 

 

“It’s still quite good,” Ignis sipped his freshly acquired drink. 

 

“I made it ‘specially for you,” she grinned, eyes beaming on the account of his enjoyment. 

 

“We ordered a couple minutes ago,” Gladio looked at her.

 

“I’ll check on your order,” she tapped the table and got back up, running off towards the kitchens. 

 

Prompto held his hand up and whispered to them harshly, “We’re tipping her right? _Right?”_

 

His question didn’t get answered as Lady came back to set down plates of food in front of them.   


“Ooh yeah, here it comes,” Noctis had his fork at the ready and smiled when the steaming plate wafted into his nose. 

 

“What?” Lady hummed. “No tips?”

 

“Yeah, here’s a tip,” Noctis stabbed the skewer. “Make sure you turn the rod towards the fish when it’s fighting against you.”

 

“Noooocttt!” Prompto cried. “What the hell are you doing?”

 

“Thanks, Noct-ass. I’ll keep that in mind,” she ruffled his already unkempt hair and he sighed, trying to fix his strands quickly. 

 

Dropping off another drink in front of Gladio as well as his plate, she gave him a squeeze on the shoulder before going back towards the kitchen. 

 

“Lady,” another server approached her. “Mana said to have you serve the guests who ordered room service.”

 

“Got it,” Lady nodded, picking up the order and heading towards the designated area. Her feet carrying her lightly over the slick wooden floors as to not disturb any of the guests that were possibly still sleeping. The guest areas were divided into three areas depending on which area they preferred: the ocean view sitting high on the west cliffs, the mountain view that was close to the shrines and springs, and of course the forest view near the gardens where she was currently staying. 

 

Walking up the stairs while weaving in between other workers who were busy putting up decorations around the hall and hand polishing the floor. She almost regretted not just taking the elevator.

 

Checking the floor she was on to make sure she was right, she made her towards room forty-nine which she admitted had one of the best views towards the ocean. Each room on this section of the building had a balcony where they could see the vast blue body of water that greeted them with a new fresh breeze every morning. It also should be noted that this was one of the more expensive rooms to stay in, so she had to make sure her customer service was top notch. For Mana’s sake and her reputation. 

 

Knocking, she cleared her throat, “Excuse me, you ordered room service? May I come in?”

 

The door opened and she wasn’t fully prepared for the hand that grabbed her, pulling her in. Gripping the tray to make sure it didn’t completely tip over, she felt it being pulled away from her and heard it get set down before lips came crashing down on hers. 

 

“Mmph,” she pushed away and frowned. “Genesis, what’s the big idea? Is this how you’re going to greet every server?”

 

“Of course not,” the auburn haired soldier gripped her hips and pushed her against the door, kissing her neck. “I recognized your voice so I knew it was you.” 

 

“I can’t stay here long,” she whispered, biting down her lips to hide her moan when his tongue slid up her skin. 

 

“I’ll just order again,” he muttered, reaching down to pick her up by her thighs and hoisted her up against him as he carried her away. Tossing her down on what she assumed was his bed as there were two more visible.

 

“Where’s Angeal and Sephiroth?” she tried to ask him between his assault of kisses. 

 

“Out there somewhere, don’t ask about them,” he leaned back, flexing his arms over his head to take off his shirt. “Just focus on me.” 

 

“Always the spoiled brat, eh Rhapsodos?” she grinned, running her finger down the center of his abdomen. 

 

He took her wandering hand and pinned it above her head, his other hand beginning to fondle her breasts through her robe. “I always feel as if I’m fighting for your attention,” he bit the lobe of her ear. “If it were my way, I wouldn’t let you near any other guy. You’d be just mine.”

 

_Oh, goodness._

 

“Genesis,” she panted, feeling his hand slide up the slit of her robe and run up against her inner thigh- squeezing when he stopped at her hip. “I have to work.” 

 

“Let me work on _you_ ,” she felt him smirk against her skin as he nipped. “You still taste as good as I remember.” 

 

“You act like it’s been years since we last-”

 

“It felt like it, let me enjoy my meal in peace,” he whispered, running his middle finger against her slit and this made goosebumps start to form over her arms. 

 

Regardless of the time in between, she could feel his desire with how his hands ran up and down her body as if she would suddenly turn into smoke that would escape through the cracks between his fingers. Sliding one side of her robe down, he kissed the tip of her shoulder and continued until he was interrupted by his phone ringing. 

 

She waited for him to answer but when his lips continued their attack, she wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled their bodies over so she sat her butt directly over his crotch. Reaching in his pocket, she pulled out his phone to see Angeal’s name pop up in the caller ID. Showing him the screen, she slid to answer and held it up to his ear. 

 

He frowned at her, perplexed but still answered the phone. “Hello? What do you want?”

 

As he began to talk, she stretched her hips more over his crotch and reached down to move his zipper down to take out his cock. 

 

Genesis cleared his throat, looking at her with a raised eyebrow as he continued to talk. “Huh? No, I don’t-” he choked on his queued words when she brought his tip to slide against her slit- giving it a quick flick. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold her hips to prevent her from moving any more. “Sorry, what, what were you saying?”

 

Slapping his hand away, she sighed when she slowly sat down enough for the head to be buried slightly within her and quickly took it out. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus while his exhales came out in concentrated puffs through his nose. 

 

“No, why would I be working out right now?” Genesis growled, his breaths short as she continued her teasing movements. “No-no, I’ll meet you. Don’t bother coming to get me! ... Sephiroth said what?”

 

Leaning down, she suckled gently on his neck, her hand still flicking his length against her. Touching it only so he could feel her blossoming folds but not enough so that he penetrated. 

 

“Okay, yeah yeah I’ll see you in a bit,” he cleared his throat, finally hanging up and tossing his phone to the side. His hands finally clamping down across her ass cheeks and he began to massage them. “Now.. where were we?” 

 

Placing her hands over his, she leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Thanks for ordering room service.” 

 

He frowned, “What?”

 

Taking his hands off her, she jumped off of him and ran to the door before he could fully process what was going on. Before she shut the door, she winked and blew him a kiss; giggling when he looked at her from the bed with a look of pure scorn and frustration on his handsome face. 

  


*******

 

“Thanks for working so hard for us, Larxene!” 

 

The blonde looked at her hands as a server girl placed star leaf-shaped cookies wrapped in translucent rice paper. To top off it was a slim pink ribbon that held it together. 

 

“I-“ Larxene took a deep breath. “...Thanks.” 

 

“No problem, hope we get to see you for the story theater later!” The server girl grinned, waving as she ran off. 

 

Going in the opposite direction, she walked till she found a secluded bench by a set of trees that concealed her; it faced a cliff that looked down below at the guest quarters near the forest. Sitting down, she stared at the bag of cookies in her hand and unwrapped it. Plucking one of the cookies, she popped it into her mouth and chewed. 

 

The taste of sugar and tempered frosted chocolate almost made a smile appear on her face as the sweetness permeated throughout her mouth. Her eyes looked over the west ocean guest rooms and the way the black thatched tile roofs curved up at each angle, towering five-stories above the ground. Gilded gold-leaf decorated the sides along with the darkened wood walls and around the balconies of the rooms, adding to the elegance of it all. 

 

Closing her eyes, she swallowed the remains of the cookie only to toss in another one in her mouth and savored it. 

 

An all too familiar sound of wind whooshing and a vortex forming caught her attention; as well as a voice that was equally as familiar. 

 

“So.. this is what you’ve been doing.”

 

Opening her eyes, she crossed her legs and motioned to the open seat next to her. “Hey there, partner.” 

 

Marluxia sat down beside her, looking down at the cookies and reached to pick one. Larxene quickly moved the bag out of his reach and the pink-haired man scowled. 

 

“Stingy, aren’t you.” 

 

“Hmph,” Larxene broke a cookie in half, handing him the other. 

 

Shrugging, he tossed it in his mouth and chewed. Swallowing, he leaned back against the bench frame, “Your whereabouts have been asked for.”

 

“It’s reconnaissance,” she muttered.

 

“It’s not befitting of you to lie,” he looked at her. 

 

“Marluxia,” she looked down at her hands. “What even is the point of all this?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Why are we here, why are we following Xemnas and being his lackeys.”

 

“You know as well as I do, to gain a heart.” 

 

Larxene placed a hand over her chest and she remembered the sensation that filled her when Lady carried her to safety, filling the night air with all of her stupid stories.. some eliciting a small smile from her. 

 

“Yeah yeah yeah.. you really believe Xemnas when he says that?” She muttered. “I trust him as far as I can throw him.”

 

“Hm,” he looked up at the sky. “As of now, we don’t have enough strength to overpower him if we wanted to finish this coup. We would need help..” He turned his face towards her, “I find it odd, may I ask what made you have this frame of mindset?”

 

Larxene stuffed the leftover confectionaires in the hidden pocket of her robe and stood up, her feet close to the edge of the cliff overlooking the courtyard below. Her eyes following as Lady emerged from the building, watching as she stopped to twirl on the heel of her left foot before continuing her walk. 

 

Marluxia stood beside her, following her gaze and his blue eyes flashed when he saw what she was looking at. 

 

“With not a care in the world,” a small smirk appeared on her face. “Would it not be too far off to assume she’s the reason for your change of _heart_?”

 

“Remember what Xemnas said,” Larxene mumbled, eyes still following Lady. “By being near her, our hearts could be completed.” 

 

“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t trust him as far as you could throw him?”

 

“I know what I felt,” her head snapped toward him, scowling. “Maybe if you didn’t creep her out, I would tell you to try it.”

 

“I don’t ‘creep’ her out,” Marluxia had a small frown on his face.

 

Larxene looked up at him, rolling her eyes, “Keep telling yourself that.”

  


*******

 

Lady picked up a stray stick from the ground, a fallen limb from a grand oak tree that took a tumble down. She tossed it up in the air and caught it in her hands, repeating the motion again and again until she heard a bark. 

 

Turning her ear to wherever she heard the noise, she saw a flash of light honey brown and white bolt towards her. The fluffy projectile launched towards her stomach and she wheezed as she fell onto her butt. Holding herself up, she looked at her attacker with a huge grin. 

 

“Uni!! Who’s a good boy!” She cooed, taking the large head of the dog in both of her hands. Scratching behind his pointed ears, her voice reaching a higher pitch, “You missed me buddy? Huh? Huh? Oh, you’re such a good boy!”

 

Pushing the dog off enough for her to stand up, Uni circled between her legs- standing just above her knees and nudging her lower thigh with his head. His tail wagged as his tongue hung out, panting in excitement. 

 

Lady knelt over to rub his head again, watching as his black-brown eyes shimmered with happiness. Her hands felt the collar on his neck, just a red handkerchief with a white paisley pattern. 

 

“You wanna go for a walk, boy?” She grinned. Uni barked, tail wagging faster at the word ‘walk’ triggered his overdrive. 

 

Lady picked up the fallen stick again and walked on the path towards her room with Uni following her loyally at her heels. 

 

“I missed ya Uni,” Lady hummed. “Did you miss me?... I’ll take that as a yes. I wish I could take you home with me but Mana would kill me.”

 

Uni barked. 

 

“You’re right. You got a shrine to protect.. and I suppose I have to as well,” she looked up at the sky, fringed with the autumn leaves. “We’re both just too busy, eh boy?”

 

Uni barked again. 

 

“Let’s play fetch,” Lady waved the stick in her hands. “You deserve a day off!” 

 

Uni jumped up and twirled around to wait for his reward. 

 

Giving a light toss, the stick flew in the air and Uni followed it- jumping up to catch it in mid-air then running back to hand it back to her. 

 

“Good! That was just practice though, ready for the real deal?” 

 

Uni made a stance with all four paws firmly planted on the stone, tail wagging.

 

“I like your spirit buddy! Ready?” She angled her arm back, “ _Fetch_!” The stick flew high up in the air and over the tree line, disappearing down below as Uni barked and followed. His medium-length tail sinking into the bushes as he ran in. 

 

Lady tapped her foot against the ground, she remained silent as to hear any noises indicating his return. Whistling a low tune, she waited for Uni to respond and she crossed her arms- beginning to worry. 

 

“Uni?” 

 

Not wanting to wait another minute, she jumped through the bushes to follow the path of disturbed leaves to find the happy dog. Twisting and turning, she panicked when the trail started to disperse. 

 

She cupped her mouth with her hands, “Uni? Uni! Where are you!” 

 

A bark was heard from the east and she ran towards the noise, low hanging branches hitting her while she moved through falling leaves. The bark echoed again, this time much closer and she burst through the bushes; panting as she looked around for the dog. 

 

Her eyes spotted Uni, sitting down with a wagging tail in front of someone who was knelt down rubbing the dog’s head. 

 

“Saïx,” she breathed, her chest still rising up and down with frantic sighs. Walking over, the blue-haired man stood up and turned to look at her. 

 

“Lady,” he acknowledged her, his eyes appraising her current condition. He looked amused as he reached up to pluck a leaf hanging from her hair and bringing it down to show her before flicking it away. 

 

A flush of warmth rose to her cheeks and she patted down her hair, clearing her throat, “So.. you a pet guy?”

 

Saïx looked down at Uni who looked back up at him with earnest eyes; the animal reminiscent of a toasted marshmallow with fur. “I was fond of dogs.. once,” he replied. 

 

“Seems like you’re fond of dogs now,” she said. 

 

“Hmph,” he tilted his head. 

 

A flurry of leaves flew through the wind around them and Lady looked up at him, breaking into a tiny laugh. 

 

“What’s so funny?” He asked. 

 

Reaching up, she carefully plucked a golden colored leaf from the tresses of his blue hair. Bringing it down in front of him in a similar fashion as he did to her and  flicked it away. “Your hair is soft,” she exhaled. 

 

He raised an eyebrow at her. “I wish I could say the same about yours.”

 

Lady almost choked on her inhale and she frowned, cheeks slightly puffed, “Why is everyone being so mean to me lately.”

 

“..I was joking.”

 

“Is that your idea of a sense of humor?”

 

He looked down at the dog again, replying quietly, “I’m trying.”

 

Lady’s frown relaxed into a soft smile, “You’re doing great.. hey, you’re coming to the story theater later tonight right? You don’t wanna miss it- trust me!”

 

“Tonight?” He repeater, eyes turned up to look at the sky; narrowing when he saw the almost limpid crystalline shape of the lunar deity ruling overhead, almost being waxed to its fullest; barely visible with the sun’s harsh light overpowering it. “I.. can’t.” 

 

“Why not?” Lady looked at him worried, following his gaze and looking at the sky to notice what his eyes trained on immediately: the moon.

 

“Saïx..” she reached for the sleeve of his robe, courtesy of the cloth mill nearby that provided guests with more traditionally styled clothes- if the guests wished to wear them, of course. The Luna Diviner’s robe was simple: dark indigo with a full white circle at the right edge of his sleeve. The v-cut of the robe was low enough so that she can see the beginning of his collar bones and a little bit of his chest. In fact, it almost looked like it might’ve been too small of a size for him as his torso looked defined. 

 

She continued. “If you need help with _that_ , I can.. you know..” 

 

“I don’t think Axel would approve if anything were to happen to you,” he replied. “Again.”

 

“I thought you had it under control,” Lady whispered. 

 

“If I were human, maybe,” Saïx smiled, his amber eyes shimmered with sadness, the orange flecks in them becoming more prominent. “But I still am just a Nobody.”

 

“You can overcome this, I’m sure of it!”

 

“Your faith is admirable, but-” 

 

“But nothing, you’re here with us now and I want you to have fun with everyone too,” Lady frowned, not letting go of his sleeve. “I didn’t know.. that you were still dealing with this. I’m sorry.”

 

“You’re sorry?” He exhaled nasally, an amused quirk of his eyebrow appeared. 

 

“Yes! Because- because, I want you to be happy too,” she averted her gaze. “Have I been that ignorant that I haven’t noticed everyone else is struggling too..?” _Of course, you’re not the only one with problems here._

 

A hand patted her head and she looked up, his wrist covering the mid-section of his face as he rubbed her similar to how he did Uni. 

 

“Axel would say ‘you’re being too hard on yourself, relax,’” he said. 

 

She pouted, “But what would _you_ say?”

 

“Probably something just to irritate you,” he retracted his hand, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Giving one last scratch to Uni, he walked off alone into the direction of the deep forest. 

 

Lady wanted to reach out to him, her hand raising but she stopped herself, fingers curling in. 

 

She looked down at Uni, “Come on boy, let’s go.”

 

*******

 

“Come on! Is that your best?” Riku tossed the ball in the air, catching it and tossing it up again. “You guys are lame.”

 

“Shut up, that was just luck,” Noctis panted, bringing up the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his brow. 

 

“Behold, our future King. Can’t even serve a ball properly,” Gladio muttered from his spot under a large beach umbrella, taking a swig from his bottle. His shirt was off, completely exposing his torso and he relaxed with his pants rolled up to his mid-calves. Besides him sat Ignis who shared the towel to sit on, avoiding the grainy annoyances of sand. He wore slacks with suspenders to hold them over his pin-striped shirt, the sleeves of them being rolled up to his elbows. 

 

“Is your wrist, okay Highness? Do you need a band-aid?” Ignis called from his spot. 

 

“No commentary from the peanut gallery, thanks!” Noctis frowned, looking at Prompto. “Let’s try this again.”

 

Riku tossed the ball to Terra who caught it, his shoulder armor was tossed aside as the heat from moving around was starting to catch up to him. He was tempted to almost take off the tight shirt hanging onto his body. Almost. 

 

“Why can’t I play?” Sora called from the sideline. 

 

“Because they don’t have three players,” Riku replied. “They’re already struggling enough as it is.”  

 

“No, we’re not,” Prompto stretched his arms above his head, his jacket was off and all he had on were shorts and a red sleeveless shirt. “Like we said, just luck! Next time we’ll totally destroy you guys!”

 

“Drinks are here!” Gladio announced, his eyes spotting Lady walking towards them with a tray of cool drinks in hand. 

 

“Heya guys,” she smiled, kneeling down besides Gladio and handing him a glass. “Having fun?” She handed Ignis a drink with a smile. 

 

“I’ll leave the rest here for when they’re done playing,” she said as she placed the drinks on a cooler. Getting up, Prompto flagged her down so she walked over to him. “Hey sunshine,” she greeted him, bringing up her sleeve to wipe the sweat off his forehead. 

 

“Hey, wanna play?” Bringing up his fist to clear his throat and grinned. “We need another team member.”

 

“I can’t,” she looked at him apologetically. 

 

“Why not? Just one game!” Noctis ran his fingers through his hair, forcing the strands stuck to his forehead to move. 

 

She shook her head, “I’m sorry, I have other orders to deliver.” 

 

“Hey, why doesn’t she play with you guys so Sora can play?” Riku called from behind the net that divided the playing field. 

 

“She just said she can’t!” Noctis turned back to answer him. 

 

“Why not?” Sora frowned. 

 

“Oh my gods, they can’t hear us- SHE JUST SAID SHE’S BUSY,” Prompto yelled, enunciating every word with exaggerated vowels. 

 

Lady gave them a sorry wave and turned away to walk back up to the main building. 

 

“She busy?” Riku shouted, enough for everyone within vicinity to hear him clearly. “ _Or is she just too much of a chicken wuss to play against us_?”

 

Lady froze, the words echoing in and out of her ear as if a speaker were rotating around her in eight dimensions. 

 

“Cut it out,” Noctis made a motion with his hand going left-to-right at his throat. “It’s fine with just the four of us, c’mon, pass us the ball.” Catching the ball from Terra, Noctis threw it up high in the air. His hand was ready to hit the ball as it was coming down when a flash appeared in front of his eyes, jumping high in the air to slam the ball down to the opposing side; the sound of the plastic outer layer of the ball being slapped harshly. 

 

A flurry of sand rose in the air and the Keyblade wielders raised their hand over their eyes to protect it from the cloud. Slowly blinking, they squinted as the sand settled and looked to see the incoming player. 

 

And there, standing in the midst between Prompto Argentum and Noctis Lucis Caelum was their lovable (and irritated) landlady. Her eyes flashing and nostrils flared as she inhaled sharply, straightening herself up she had her nose in the air with a hand on her hip while the other was raised towards the opposing team. Forefinger and middle-finger sticking together as she curled them as if to say ‘come here’. 

 

“You’ll eat those words,” Lady huffed, taking a couple steps back from the net. “Prompto! Noct! Cover the left and right, those are your sections!” 

 

“Now we’re talking,” Riku grinned. “Sora, get in here!” 

 

Sora threw off his jacket to reveal a sleeveless black tank as he bounded in, an eager look on his face as he held his hands together to ready himself. 

 

“Here it comes!” Riku tossed the ball in the air and ducked as Sora jumped high over his head and slammed the ball with the palm of his hand. 

 

“Watch out!” Prompto yelled, holding his arms together for Noctis to step onto them and used it to launch himself up to meet the ball before it could cross over the net to their side. 

 

As it bounced back over to the other side, Terra eyed the ball and ran over to where he pinpointed the trajectory. Holding his wrist out to have the ball bounce on it to toss it back in the air, he jumped up to meet it for a second hit. 

 

Over the edge of the net, Lady jumped up to meet him just over the topside of the net. Both of their chests almost meeting as their hands were raised in the air to try and reach for the ball before the other could do it first. 

 

“Not this time,” Terra grinned at her, his taller frame reaching the ball and slamming it down over her head. She landed, looking back down at the ball that was buried in the sand. She groaned aloud.

 

“Woohoo, that’s a point for us!” Sora pumped his fist in the air. 

 

“Come on guys,” Prompto ran over to Lady to dust off the sand on her back. “We can do this!” 

 

“Hell yeah we can, just gotta get our heads in the game,” Noctis moved up closer. 

 

Lady tossed her hair back away from her face and tied it up tighter, she slipped her sleeves down until she could tie them around her waist. Underneath her robe was a black bikini top that strung up around her neck, “I was just getting warmed up!” She bent over to pick up the ball, the slit of her robe revealing her right leg from the thigh down- the black string of her bikini bottom barely visible. 

 

Prompto stared at the exposed part of her leg with a gulp, only snapping out of it when he heard Gladio’s gruff voice bark at him. “Prompto! Focus! You’re making us look bad!” 

 

Terra tossed the black fingerless gloves off his left hand over his already discarded armor. Taking the bottom of his shirt, he peeled it off from his abs and brought it over his head to throw it to the increasing pile of his clothes. 

 

“What is this, a stripping contest?” Riku muttered as he proceeded to take his short-sleeve jacket off. 

 

“Shut up and get ready!” Lady snapped, tossing the ball in the air and jumping up to slap the ball down. 

 

**Thirty minutes later…**

 

“You guys.. are.. pretty good..” Riku panted, his hands on his knees as his back hunched over. 

 

“What was that?” Noctis wheezed. “Can you say it louder?”

 

“I said you guys suck!” Riku replied louder then exhaled, regretting exerting his voice like that. 

 

"Man it's hot," Noctis fanned himself with his hand.

 

"Then lose the shirt," Gladio called to him. "Or are you too scared to show off your scrawny body?"

 

" _Hey_ , I've got muscle!... You just.. can't see them," Noctis retorted, rolling his eyes. 

 

Lady collapsed onto the sand, her heart pounding against her chest with the intensity of the match. The soft white foam of the ocean’s waves lapped against her feet and she looked as Terra walked past her towards the water. Bending down to scoop water into his hands, he brought it up to splash his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair to move the bangs up. 

 

Walking back, he plopped next to her and leaned back on his arms. 

 

“Good game,” he breathed. “It was fun.”

 

“ _You_? Having fun?” She chuckled. “Thought you were always a word hard and work harder type of guy.”

 

“I like to play too,” he replied. “Sometimes.”

 

“Wonder what you do for fun,” Lady hummed. 

 

“.. Do you really wanna know?”

 

“Just show me.”

 

Terra turned his face towards her, eyes widened in mild surprise then softening to a small smirk. “Hmph, sure, why not.” 

 

Looking up at the sun, “I gotta go back to work.” Groaning, she got up; fixing her clothes and hair. She looked at Terra, “Do I look okay? And not like I just had an intense workout?”

 

“Of course, you look good,” he replied, smiling up at her. 

 

Bowing her head, she grinned and patted his head as she walked away. 

“Bye guys, make sure you’re there for the story theater later!” She looked at them, hands on her hips. 

 

“What is that?” Sora asked her.

 

“There’s a reason this place hosts the lantern festival and the story theater explains why, so you don’t wanna miss it- I better see you guys there,” she grinned, waving to them. “Now I’m off.”

 

As she walked past, Ignis stood up and met her. “May I accompany you?” he asked. 

 

“Yeah, what’s up?” She tilted her head. 

 

“I need to see where the kitchens are,” he said. 

 

“Yeah, come with me,” she nodded and they both walked towards the path to exit the beach. 

 

*******

 

“Top notch equipment,” Ignis hummed with approval, inspecting the stainless steel burner tops of the stoves. He opened an oven and nodded, looking around him as if he were formulating a plan of attack. For a moment, she could see his hazel-green eyes shine with excitement like a kid in a toy shop. 

 

“This is more of a test area, the other kitchens are the ones that dish out the food and desserts. Mana is pretty wealthy so she keeps everything up to date whenever she can. Nothing short of perfection is her motto,” Lady leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “So what did you wanna make in here?”

 

Ignis opened up the right side of the double door fridge, taking out two sticks of butter and gave both of them a quick flick of his middle finger to check the firmness. 

 

“It’s called-” he stopped to chuckle as he placed the butter on the island counter. “-I’ve dubbed it the ‘Memory Lane Pastry’. It’s real name is yet to be discerned as his Highness has terrible memory.”

 

“Did Noct make the dish?” 

 

“Heavens no, it was a dessert he’s tasted from Tenebrae when he was a child. I was tasked to try and recreate it for him,” he replied as he took out two steel mixing bowls, one large and one small. “So far my attempts have proved futile, so here I am again.” 

 

He looked at the counter, figuring out what else he needed then he turned to her, “Do you bake?”

 

“Uhh if you give me a recipe I can try to follow it?” She hoped that answer would suffice, the way his steely eyes bore into her made her feel as if she were being scrutinized by a school teacher when she forgot her homework. She keeps forgetting what soft interior that exterior hid and so she remembered again when his face softened. 

 

“Would you like to help me?” He asked. “If I’m not going to take up any of your time-”

 

“Yes, I’d love to!” She wanted to slap herself. She sounded much too eager. But the promise of freshly baked sweets were too good of a prospect to pass up. 

 

“Heat up that oven for me at three hundred and seventy-five degrees for me, please.”

 

She did so, using the touchpad to type in the numbers 3-7-5 on it and waited for the oven to start a gentle hum to make sure it was actually on. Turning back, she noticed an assortment of berries laid out in bowls- separated by color and shape. “Do you want me to cut these?” She asked. 

 

“If you’d be so kind,” he slid over the cutting board with a fruit knife laying on it, the blade turned away from her. “Cut them into thin slices.”

 

“Okay,” she nodded, running to the sink to fold up her sleeves and wash her hands- she walked back and began to cut the fruit. She was focused on holding down the small berries with her forefinger, but she could still hear him move around the kitchen. And hoo boy, does that man move with purpose. Not a single movement was wasted, every part was just a part of his plan that he aimed to execute. 

 

The movement stopped and she felt eyes on her and her nerves were starting to get back at her. 

 

_Oh Astrals’, am I doing something wrong?_

 

He moved closed to her and she could smell his cologne that wafted into her nose. A refreshing blend of cardamom, bergamot, and some other type of ingredient that reminded her of fresh sea-salt.. of a seaside village with rich green herbs that floated in the air. It was a change of pace from the typical heavy musk that most guys wore. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know of any other man that looked that good in suspenders-

 

“Lady.”

 

“Yes!” She jumped, looking to the right at the man. 

 

“You’re cutting them too thin,” he said, his eyes focusing on the flaccid bits of fruits leaking on her cutting board. “You do it like this, allow me.” 

 

She moved to step to the side, watching as he quickly dispatched a fruit as he would an enemy on the battlefield. He then stepped back and motioned for her to try. Nodding, she tried it again, although very slow. 

 

“Allow me,” he repeated and she mentally screamed, she couldn’t be this bad right.

 

Instead of moving aside, she then felt his hands go over hers and he guided her hands. “Feel the movement of the cuts and let the knife do the work,” he whispered, and his cologne smelled stronger, clouding her head. His hands were warm. And has his voice always been that relaxing?

 

“You’ll see cooking is no different than combat, see how easy it is?” He let go of her hands. 

 

She nodded, chuckling nervously, “I feel like you’d already be done without me slowing you down.”

 

“Nonsense,” he mixed the dry ingredients together. “Your assistance is invaluable.”

 

“You’re exaggerating, good sir,” she laughed, finally pouring the chopped fruits in a bowl and starting on another. “Did you already talk to Mana about cooking here?”

 

“Yes, she approved as long as she gets to taste whatever it is I’m making,” he smiled. “She’s a kind woman.”

 

“Yeah, she is. I’m sure I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her,” she replied. 

 

“How do you mean?”

 

Lady finished putting the fruits into a bowl and set the knife back on the board, “She rescued me a long time ago.” 

 

“Surely that’s not all to the story is it?” He handed her a bowl for her to mix more dry ingredients and began cracking egg yolks into his. 

 

“It’s a long story, I don’t want to bore you.”

 

“We’ve plenty of time and I want to know more about our esteemed landlady.”

 

Lady let out a breath, mixing in the chopped cold butter into the mixture. “A long time ago, a little over two years ago- I stumbled upon this place and she took me into her care. She’s about as patient as you seeing as how I was comatose for almost a week and I didn’t talk to anyone for days after I woke up. She nursed me back to health and when I got my strength back- she gave me the means to start up the Alstroemeria.”

 

“That was kind of her.”

 

“That’s an understatement,” Lady laughed, the notes being laced with bitterness. “She’s been more of a parental figure than-” She stopped, biting her tongue and clearing her throat while she continued to mash in the butter. “What else did you need me to do?”

 

*******

 

Lady woke up when the smell of baked sugar closed in on her, she sat up quickly- remembering where she was. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she blushed. “I thought I could close my eyes for a bit I didn’t mean to fall asleep-”

 

“Calm yourself,” Ignis smiled, pouring a glass of milk in a glass and setting it besides her plate. “You’ve worked hard today, so you deserve the rest. Want to try the fruit of your labors?” 

 

She looked at the baked pastry and her mouth began to salivate at how the powdered sugar sprinkled delicately over the soft upper layer. Turning her body on the stool, she picked it up tentatively and bit into it; her teeth breaking through the delicate confection’s crust. 

 

Ignis sat on the stool adjacent to hers and he smiled when her eyes lit up as the melted butter flaked into her tongue, greeting her like an old friend and then delivering the tang of the berries followed by the sweetness of the syrup it was coated in. 

 

She had almost forgot to swallow before she began to shower him with praise, “This is so amazing, Iggy. It’s delicious, it’s fantastic, I could eat ten of these!” 

 

He chuckled, “Make sure to save some for Noct, he’d throw a fit.”

 

“He snoozes, he loses,” Lady finished the rest of the tart, even the aroma surrounding it was absolutely flavorful. 

 

“That would be a shame,” said Ignis. “Since it was supposed to be his late birthday treat.”

 

“It was recently?”

 

“It was on the thirtieth of last month.”

 

“Oh.” _She had missed it by just days._ “I didn’t know, I need to get him a gift!”

 

“Noct isn’t really one for public celebrations,” he said. “He prefers to celebrate with those closest to him.. but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a gift from you.”

 

“Of course he wouldn’t.” Lady chortled, picking up her drink. 

 

“Are you going to the story event now?”

 

Lady almost choked on her drink, setting the glass down. “Has it gotten that late?!” 

 

He looked at the watch on his wrist, “It’s going to start in a little over fifteen minutes.”

 

“Astrals’, I have to get out there now!” She stood up, ready to clean up the mess she made but noticed the kitchen was already spotless. 

 

“Take one of these with you,” he wrapped one of the tarts in a napkin and handed it to her. 

 

“Thanks Ignis,” she carefully took it, smiling gratefully up at him. “You’re the best. I really had fun helping you, but I’m sure you wouldn’t want me as a sous chef again, huh?”

 

“Perish the thought, you’re excellent help,” he replied and she felt at ease. 

 

“I’ll see you out there, okay?” She called to him before running out towards the door.

 

*******

 

Jumping the flight of stone stairs two at a time, she stopped when she was at the top and put her hands on her knees and panted. Standing upright, she walked to find a seat but was disheartened when most benches, tables, and standing areas were filled with guests and workers alike. The sheer amount of people created a cloud of body-generated heat that was counterbalanced by the cool night air that swept down from the mountains. 

 

Looking around, she squinted to see if there were any open spots for her to go to. There were paper lanterns that hung around the courtyard and above the verandas that formed a long rectangular area surrounding the center. At the far end was a raised platform with heavy red curtains that concealed the back so the actors could get ready. 

 

She was still looking around when a hand wrapped around her shoulder. 

  
“Hey princess, need help finding a place to settle down?”

 

She looked up to see Xigbar and smiled, “Yeah! Do you guys have an extra seat?”

 

He wore a dark aubergine robe tied loosely by a small grey sash and he almost reminded her of some type of crime boss with how he looked with his slicked back ponytail and eyepatch. 

 

“Nah, I was going to sit on the roof. Wanna come with me?”

 

“I’m down, let’s go.” 

 

He held out her hand for her and she held it as he pulled her towards him tightly. Their bodies phasing out of existence and appearing back on the tiled roof lateral to the stage. Sitting down on the flat top where the thatches met, she brought her knees up close to her chest while he settled down next to her. 

 

“You hungry?” She pulled out the tart, breaking it in half and handing him the other. 

 

Xigbar took a bite, giving a nod of approval before devouring the rest and dusting his hands together to wipe off the powdered sugar. “Damn, that was pretty good.”

 

“I know right?” She said, her cheek filled with the pastry. “Aw man, I’m so excited, this is one of my favorite parts of the festival.”

 

“Oh yeah? Why?”

 

“Because this is one of my absolute favorite stories, it’s sooo good. You’ll see,” she wrapped her arms around her knees. The wind started to pick up and she shivered slightly. 

 

“C’mere,” he murmured, bringing her close to him and she let him move against him, her head falling on his shoulder. 

 

Her eyes scanned the courtyard and she could see the blonde spikes of Roxas as well as the fiery red of Axel’s, sitting in the middle was Xion with Zexion and Demyx. No sign of Saïx anywhere and she couldn’t help her shoulders drooping in worry. 

 

On the verandas, sitting down at one of the tables was Vincent sitting next to Sephiroth and Genesis. Zack was swinging his feet over the edge with Angeal next to him.

 

Ignis walked over to where Prompto, Gladio, and Noctis sat. The prince waving him down as he scooted over for Ignis to sit next to him, his face lighting up when the wrapped pastries were revealed to him. Terra, Riku, and Sora were sat down beside them; talking to themselves as they adjusted in their seats and waited. 

 

In the corner of her eye, she saw a head of bright blond hair and she turned to see if it was Larxene. In the darkness she could’ve sworn she saw a bit of pink hair as it disappeared behind a corner. 

 

Her fingers tapped against her arm, “Hey Xig, where’s Saïx?” 

 

“He went to the forest by the springs, why?”

 

“Nothing.. hope he’s okay.”

 

“He’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

 

His words didn’t do anything to quell the rising tension in her stomach. She would make sure to check up on him later, she really wanted him to see this part of the festival. She paused, wanting to ask him about the hooded man from the other day, was he also part of the Organization?

 

“Ladies and gentlemen!” 

 

_Too late, just stop worrying about it for now._

 

“Thank you all for coming tonight for what we assure you will be an unforgettable story!”

 

She felt tingles of excitement go up her spine and she sighed with content as Xigbar rubbed her arm, protecting her from the cold. She watched as the curtains drew back by heavy gilded rope, someone stepped out in white traditional costume- their face concealed by a fox mask. 

 

“Once, when this land was occupied by all manner of magical creatures, roaming around forests that floated in the sky and stars can be found suspended in the deepest pits of the planet. The very area we all inhabit today was the site of a once prosperous kingdom that housed a lovely princess with a heart of pure light.”

 

The lights dimmed and the fires in the braziers started to glow white, sparkling orbs lifted from them and twirled up into the air to form a large heart overhead before dispersing and changing into a castle with spiraling towers. 

 

“One fortuitous day, she met a prince from a neighboring kingdom and the two fell in harmonious love. Meeting each other at the banks of the river that separated their kingdoms every day at sundown.”

 

Groups of light swirled up, exploding high in the air and forming a shimmering waterfall that cascaded down into a flowing river. Two figures appeared on either side, a woman with flowing hair and dress in front of a man wearing what appeared to be armor. 

 

“Soon the princess and prince decided to marry and unite their kingdoms, under the approval of their kings and queens. The union was to bring everyone together and not just them- their two countries would prosper from such love.” 

 

A semi-circle formed over the two figures who had their hands intertwined with each other.

 

“...But such peace was short-lived as a war had affected their world. A darkness plaguing lands over yonder and threatened to choke the planet, plundering whatever light it could reach.” 

 

Swirls of darkness creeped up on the princess, restraining her and pulling her away from the prince as she reached for him. The prince unsheathed his sword, hacking at the darkened tentacles that attacked her- his arm raised over her protectively. 

 

“So, to try and quell the calamity that seized their countries, the prince set out to find a way to stop it.” 

 

Lights formed until it created a magnificent ship with sails ruffling in the makeshift winds. The prince stood at the helm, his sword raised above as a group of soldiers all raised their swords to him in fealty. 

 

“Leaving the princess behind, he went about his quest.” 

 

The lights fell down, forming numerous grains of sand and flowing waves that hit the shore. The princess stood looking out at the ocean, hands clasped together in prayer. 

 

“Every day she waited at that beach, scanning the horizon for the sails of the ship that carried her beloved.”

 

Clouds of dazzling light floated over a horizon with the princess still standing at the shores, looking over with her hands still together. 

 

“Weeks passed, then months, then a year with nary a sign of her prince’s return.. so the fair princess with her heart sweltering with light did what any good princess would do.”

 

The princess now stood with a sword in hand on the beach. 

 

“She took up a sword and swore she would find her prince.”

 

The princess took her sword in one hand with a handful of her hair in the other and in one fell swoop, she lopped the length off. Her hair now hanging off her shoulders.

 

“Handpicking the finest soldiers that remained in her kingdom, she and her crew boarded a ship to journey out into the foreign lands in search for her lost love.”

 

Soldiers marched onto a ship with the princess at the helm, holding her sword up- her soldiers bowed their heads. 

 

“They traversed treacherous oceans, festering jungles, and arid wastelands. Searching tirelessly for any clues as to pinpoint the whereabouts of the prince. Although their journey wasn’t easy, the princess had to fight many enemies- leading her soldiers battle after battle. Their trials and tribulations aplenty.. but after months of searching and sailing and walking and fighting- the princess saw that her soldiers were weary. So she set a course for home.”

 

A ship sailed through the sea of light, the princess at its helm as the soldiers marched about. In the horizon, their kingdom was within sight. 

 

“The loyal soldiers disembarked, overjoyed to finally see their loved ones after so long.. but the princess only looked from the deck of the ship. Watching their long awaited reunions with their families and friends. The soldiers expected the princess to come down.. but instead she turned ship and sailed back to the ocean by her lonesome- still determined to bring her prince home.”

 

Small clouds of thunder rumbled over the ship, the hull being battered with torrential rain.

 

“Now alone, the princess had to fight harder. This exhausted her, tiring her out and pushing her to the brink of her limits, but nonetheless she carried on to fight and to find.”

 

Fire from the braziers streamed forth over the crowd and formed a sharp-scaled snake that towered over the small figure of the princess. The crowd gasped as the snake reared its head towards the princess, revealing the large fangs before diving down. The princess brought her shield up, slashing at its eyes with her sword and its decaying body exploded into a spiral of fire before forming another beast. A massive behemoth with three heads and eyes of red blaze, throwing them back to howl at the moon before it spat fiery projectiles at the princess. 

 

The crowd watched as the small-scaled princess dodged, blocking with her shield before she was tossed back by a swipe of the beast’s claws. Before the claws could impale her, she jumped onto the paw; injecting her sword into the flesh as it climbed up onto the head and bringing her sword down to thrust at the three-headed behemoth.  

 

There was a round of applause and victory cheers as the princess hopped off the corpse of the monster, the body disintegrating into fire that swirled back into braziers and leaving only the light that hovered over the courtyard- waiting to form the next scene of the story.

 

“When at last, finally-”

 

The princess, using her sword to hold herself up, looked up to see the floating body of the prince suspended in a bubble. 

 

“She had found him at long last!” 

 

Another round of cheers came from the crowd again and Lady smirked. _It’s not the end of the tale just yet._

 

From the bottom, Axel sighed, “Lemme guess, something bad’s ‘bout to happ- oof!” He frowned when Xion elbowed him.

 

“Shh!” She had her finger over her lips. 

 

The storyteller continued. “But it was not that easy.”

 

A darkness clouded over the princess and she held her sword up, looking around her at the unseen enemy. The dark miasma forming another woman with yellow glowing eyes and flowing dark tresses. 

 

“A witch had the prince captive, eager to see if his light would be worth harvesting. The princess looked to the comatose prince and struck a deal with the witch...”  

 

The princess sheathed her sword, hand over her chest as she talked to the witch. 

 

“...Her light in exchange for his.”

 

The princess held out her hand, a glowing white heart appearing and hovering over her palm. 

 

“The witch considered her offer carefully but opted for something else entirely. You see, the witch liked games and so the witch offered the princess a test. If the princess can achieve this test, she could go home with her prince back to their kingdom.”

 

The witch pointed at the prince as a portal opened up underneath him, his body falling from suspension and towards the darkness below. Without hesitation, the princess ran and jumped in. A cloud of darkness filled the courtyard with a shining light that illuminated the princess as she had her arms reached out for the prince; diving deeper and deeper to get closer to him. 

 

Grabbing at his arms, she pulled him towards her as they descended down. The scene disappeared and the darkness became more opaque with nary a light until a spark appeared. Dimly illuminated were the two figures of the lovers, the princess holding the prince to her chest and cradling him. Finally, she staggered up, supporting the prince as she looked up to the never ending void that surrounded them, looking for a way out. 

 

“The witch told the princess: if she really loved the prince, then this trial would prove menial. Sending them both into an endless labyrinth embedded in shadow where darkness prevailed, her heart would be her guiding key.” 

 

The princess limped with her prince’s arm draped around her shoulder, she kept looking around for some sort of indication of their saving grace. 

 

“But the burden was starting to edge at her hope, her spirit beginning to wane under the false pretense of ever seeing home again- the despair beginning to devour her. She and her prince would be doomed to wander in oblivion forever.” 

 

The princess was now lagging behind more than usual, trying to keep herself up as well as the prince. Her movements becoming more sluggish and wobbly. The lights illuminating the stages as well as the courtyard were now extinguished completely, shrouding everyone in complete darkness. 

 

“And that is why-” the storyteller raised his arm up to reveal a lantern; a soft glow illuminating his mask as he gave it a gentle push, enough where it started to float up towards the middle of the courtyard. “-every year, at the height of the autumnal moon, we set out these lanterns for our lost prince and princess.”

 

Sounds of audible amazement, of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ rippled through the crowd as the lantern floated up and illuminated orbs appeared in the dark. Appearing in a similar fashion to the lantern as the flickering lights multiplied, creating a sea of stars that swirled softly against the darkness that looked like a miniature galaxy hovering over the lovers and streaming eastward. 

 

Lady felt goosebumps run over her arms. 

 

“In hopes, that we can help guide them safely back home to us.” The storyteller bowed and the scene changed to the prince and princess holding hands- their bodies kept alit with the princess’ glow, walking towards the direction of the lanterns that illuminated their path. 

 

Applause erupted in the crowd and Lady closed her eyes, hearing a faint singing with the rush of wind that blew through her hair. She felt Xigbar pull her in closer and she leaned her head back on his shoulder, watching as the scene of the prince and princess slowly dissipated. 

 

*******

 

Lady followed the trail of trees that lead up to the springs in the mountains, behind her from afar she could hear Xion talk giddily about the tale they just heard. She also heard Roxas asking for her whereabouts and she uttered a quiet apology to her blond before continuing up the trail. 

 

She looked at the trunks of the trees as she ascended, her eyes stopping on one in particular. Reaching out, her fingers traced along the scratch marks going around and she swallowed. Turning back towards the trail upwards, her pace grew faster as she tried to look for more clues. A chill of tension arising on the back of her neck as she soon heard the distinguishable sound of  water moving around with the wind. Running past the standing gates that marked the entrance, she noted the fires in the braziers were completely extinguished, only having the moonlight to light her path. 

 

The stone cliffside rising over the pond was smoothed from years of being battered by liquid and winds. A stone circle surrounded the pond, almost reflecting the shape of the moon as it illuminated the surface of the water. 

 

She saw no one in sight and was about to turn around to leave but saw the reflection in the pond started to ripple and the water broke. Lady watched as Saïx emerged from the depths, his blue hair heavy and dripping with water- hanging over his face. He brought a hand up to move his hair back up as he rolled his neck, quietly adjusting himself. 

 

“Saïx..”

 

He turned around to look at her and her breath hitched. His eyes were glowing like burning stars and betrayed his innate hunger on his otherwise calm face. His body stood in the middle of the moon’s reflection, giving him another layer of ethereal glow that added to his almost other-worldly state. 

 

To her surprise, he held out his hand to her and she hesitated; remembering the last encounter ending in a brutal manner. Steeling her nerves, she looked to the man on the moon and lifted up the ends of her robes. Stepping into the water, she almost slipped when the actual depth of the pond was revealed to her. 

 

Wading over to him, she felt herself slow as she neared him, feeling his chaotic energy that emanated from him in small releases. Placing her hand in his, her body was suddenly pulled towards his chest, his other arm holding her waist tightly against him. 

 

Whether it was a trick of the dim lighting or her imagination, she could see his eyes glowing fiercely as well as the scar on his forehead growing in size and more jagged. His irises becoming completely eclipsed by light. 

 

The hand on her waist moved up her hip and to her neck, moving her hair and sliding down the collar of her robe to expose her flesh to him. His eyes scanned hers and his mouth opened slightly, his sharpened canines making her gulp. 

 

“Forgive.. me,” he let out a low growl, his voice a noticeably deeper octave than before- sounding more guttural and that of a beast. 

 

Before she could contemplate what he would possibly apologize for, he brought his mouth down on her neck and she could only grab at him to stabilize herself. She felt fangs graze over the skin of her neck and she let out a shaky breath, fearing what would come next. His tongue darted out and licked her flesh, nibbling softly at her for a split second before biting down completely.  

 

Her mouth opened, letting out a strangled grasp as she felt the skin breaking under his bite as well as his hands groping her tightly. She felt his nails grow sharper and beginning to dig through the fabric and into her body. 

 

A whimper escaped her as he raised his head, pulling the sash that held her robe together and ripping it off of her- letting out a growl as more of her skin was exposed to him. She took this opportunity to back away, his steps following her until she felt the edge of the stone against her back. A lump formed in her throat when she saw that he slipped off his robe as well, revealing his torso glistening wet with water. 

 

With her stolen sash still gripped in his hand, he trapped her in between his arms to ensure slim chances of escape. Her front was completely exposed to him now and his hand moved through the water to palm her stomach, sliding down until he ran a finger down her slit with a quick flick of his finger. Eyes flashing, he picked her up by her waist and sat her on the stone- repeating the motion of stroking her and bringing his finger up to taste. 

 

As his tongue slid over the sharpened nails, a feral grin appearing on his lips to expose more of his fangs. 

 

Fear and lustful anticipation filled her and she didn’t know which filled her more as she was pushed back, her back feeling the cool stone and she shivered. 

 

Saïx pulled her legs towards him and she balanced herself up on her elbows just in time to see his mouth dive down onto her. His tongue running around her clit and she couldn’t help the tingles that ran down her legs. Wrapping his arms around her legs with nails digging into her thighs, he held her steadfast against him as his mouth continued his assault. 

 

Teeth bit down gently on her clit as his tongue ran circles around it, going down and eating at her as if she was a delectable morsel. She felt heat rise up from her pelvis and to her cheeks, watching his face being buried in between her legs as the man gave her undeniable pleasure. 

 

Everytime his tongue flicked at her labia and swirled deeper into her, she could feel his fangs and her fight-or-flight response would respond violently. The logical portion of her brain screaming at her to pull away, but another part told her to grab at his hair and push his face deeper into her pussy. 

 

The latter won and her fingers intertwined with his hair; the earlier affirmation of it being soft was confirmed once more. He let out a low growl as she tugged on his strands, pushing his face towards her. He responded in kind and pulled her legs towards him, his motions becoming more urgent as he listened to her quiet mewls. His nails dug into her as he tongued her clit once more, sucking on the nub harshly and releasing her with a loud smack. 

 

Leaning back, she could see his mouth glisten with her fluids and he leaned down towards her right thigh. Tongue licking the flesh before biting down and sucking and she could already see the bruises that would decorate her body come morning.

 

Taking her legs again, he slid her into the water and sliding the robe off her body to toss aside. Her body now completely bare to him, he bared his fangs and he twirled her around to push her onto the stone. He grabbed her arms and held them down on her back, tying it with her sash into an almost painful knot. 

 

Leaning over her body, she could feel his bulge that pressed against her butt. Whispering into her ear, he snarled, “Prepare yourself.” 

 

Her anxiety ran into a high, feeling his member stretch atop her butt and she dug her nails into her skin to prepare herself. If it really was the size she felt it to be.. she would be in for one hell of a ride.  

 

Water moved around her thighs as he positioned himself behind her. 

 

_Please be gentle, please be gentle, please be-_

 

Her breath was stolen from her when he penetrated her, not easing himself at all and her body struggled to quickly accommodate to his size and girth. 

 

“Saïx-!” She bit her lip to muffle the screams that she wanted to let out, but the last thing she needed was to wake up any of the guests in the resort. 

 

Digging his fingers into the crevice between her thigh and ass, he didn’t give her a moment to relax as he started his savage rhythm. The water sloshing around them as he pounded into her, low growls and grunts leaving him as he buried his stiffened cock within her. 

 

Peeking over her shoulder, she saw his eyes were now glowing even more brightly- with a luminescence to rival that of the sun. The aura surrounding his body was leaving in pale yellow wisps and his teeth bared fangs everytime he snarled. As of right now, he seemed more animal than man and this fact seemed to turn her on even more. Pressure built up inside her lower abdomen as she struggled to mute her pleasured screams, biting her lips- a mixture of incoherent moans and his name. 

 

His thrusts grew more forceful, pushing himself as much as he could deep within her so that his tip hit her cervix hard; causing her knees wanting to buckle and fall. She took it a step further and pushed herself against him, this making his cock rub against her clit and sending more jolts of pleasure within her. Her climax arriving shortly as she felt her ass bounce against his thighs, stroking his dick with her pussy and becoming entranced. 

 

He let out a howl as he pushed himself into her, leaning her chest over her back as he scratched her thighs downward. She felt him spill into her just as she came, the warm drops of semen leaking out of her and into the water and she sighed, letting her body fell limp against the edge of the pond. Pants left her lips as her orgasm rode into a high, reverberating within her body. 

 

_Was it done? Are we-_

 

Her body was flipped over and she looked up at him with widened eyes. “You.. you’re not done?” she winced as she was dragged closer to him. 

 

His eyes moved up to look at her and a sadistic smirk played on his lips, a spot of blood decorating the side. “What do you think?” He responded in that low tone once more.

 

He lifted her leg over his shoulder and pushed himself in again. The entrance being much easier due to the slickness of her first orgasm but his thrusts did not lose power as he entered. To her surprise, he was much more eager than before- his cock pulsating within her in tandem with erratic pushes. 

 

His hand reached up, grabbing at her throat and constricting her airways. As he was right now, completely lost in the throes of lust, he could not care for her well-being. Using her body as a mere pocket to release his pent up sexual desires. 

 

And for a moment he felt it, a spark. And it was enough to drive him over the edge as he quickened his pace, ignoring her pleading screams for him to slow down. His head clouded up and his own body commanded him to continue his conquest of hers. 

 

Another ripping orgasm emerged from the both of them and he let out another howl while he pushed himself within her to finish for the second time. 

 

Slipping her leg off of him, he let her coil up on the ground, panting and wrapping her arms around herself. Saïx looked at the results of his advances, her body shivering under the pale moonlight and her cheeks flushed with pleasure- her eyes looking up at him shyly as he undid her binds. 

 

The aura around him dying down and his eyes returning back to normal. For a split second, she swore that they turned a shade of the loveliest sea-green before reverting back into his orange-amber flecked eyes. She blinked, making sure her orgasms weren’t making her delusional. 

 

Getting up, she dangled her legs in the water and held her arms out for him. He hesitated for a moment before approaching and wrapping his arms around her waist; much gentler than he did earlier. 

 

“You missed the story earlier,” she stroked his hair, moving it away from his face. Her thumb grazing the scar that marred his face. 

 

He let out an amused chuckle as he leaned into her touch, eyes half-lidded as he enjoyed the sensation, “Is that really the first thing on your mind after I’ve just fucked you?”

 

She puffed up her cheeks, “I really wanted you to hear it though.” 

 

“Then tell me,” he whispered, kissing the spot on her neck where he bit her. 

 

“It might take a while though.”

 

“I’ve got all night with you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe this one was 13.01k words. 
> 
> It's definitely to make up for my lack of updates, with school it's weird finding the sweet spot to fit in writing for this fic so I hope you all can forgive me!
> 
> Btw if you want to read a siiinful Org XIII fic, def check out trashsith and send her some kudos!


	40. XL

“Mister, are those marks under your eyes real?”

 

A small boy with cartoon fish dotting his swim trunks stopped and stared up at Axel. Innocent eyes widening as the boy appraised the tall flame-haired man. 

 

“Yeah.. why wouldn’t they be?” Axel frowned. 

 

“You look like a clown!” The boy grinned triumphantly, as if he just discovered the secret to the world’s problems. 

 

Axel choked on the popsicle in his hand, sputtering out the strawberry flavored ice. “What?! Why you-”

 

“Axel!” Xion looked up at him from the book in her hands. “He’s just a little kid, calm down!”

 

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” he sighed, hanging his head and turning back to the boy. “Beat it, kid or you’ll find out how I got these marks.”

 

The boy’s eyes widened even more as he ran away, kicking sand behind him as he did. 

 

“Unbelievable, kids these days!” Axel plopped down on his beach towel, reaching into a cooler to unwrap another popsicle. 

 

“What happened?” Saïx approached them. 

 

“Some kid just called Axel a clown,” Xigbar hummed, he was laying down with his sunglasses shielding him from the sun’s harsh rays. “Because of-” he pointed at the spots under his eyes.

 

“It was pretty funny,” Demyx snickered and stopped when Axel turned around to shoot him a glare. 

 

“It’s not like the kid was lying,” Roxas added and Xion tried to hide her smile by concealing her face with her book. 

 

Saïx faced Axel, “You’re not a clown-”

 

Axel grinned, “Aw, thanks man. I knew you’d have my back-”

 

“-you’re the whole circus.” Saïx finished. 

 

Zexion choked on his drink and turned his face away as his shoulders shook with laughter. Xigbar let out a loud guffaw and Demyx and Roxas joined him in their conjoined merriment at the Flurry of Dancing Flame’s expense. 

 

“Ouch,” Axel frowned. “Come on, is that necessary?”

 

Saïx reached down and swiped the melting popsicle from Axel’s hands and gave it a tentative lick, turning to look at the ocean and its inviting white-foamed blanket coating the sand. 

 

“Hey.. you seem like you’re in a better mood than usual. What’s up with that?” Axel poked the side of the bluenette’s knee. 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Saïx responded, his eyes still transfixed on the waters. Watching the sun’s lights reflect on the surface and diffuse within the crashing waves. 

 

“It’s good to see you so relaxed,” Xion looked up at him almost shyly, fearing his possible harsh comeback. 

 

Saïx turned back to the girl, a small smile appearing on his face, “Thank you.. Xion.” 

 

Roxas and Axel turned to look at each other with their faces contorted in mutual confusion. Was this really the same man that was the lapdog of the Superior of the In-Between?

 

“Alright, who are you and what have you done with the real Saïx?” Roxas tilted his head. 

 

“Don’t be absurd,” Saïx sighed, taking a seat besides Axel. 

 

As Roxas began to attack him with more inquisitive questions, Xigbar pulled down his sunglasses just to see him over the rim. 

 

“Hmph,” he smiled to himself, before pulling them back up and relaxing back on his makeshift pillow of stacked towels. 

 

“What is it Xigbar?” Zexion whispered to him. 

 

“Nothin’, don’t worry ‘bout it.” he replied

 

As Zexion wanted to ask him another question, a burst of chatter caught his attention as he turned his attention to the source of the sound. Moving the small towel he covered his head with, he squinted until he saw two figures. 

 

“C’mon, c’mon, just one race! It won’t hurt ya,” Zack stepped in front of Terra, barring his path and holding his hands up as he begged. “Where’s your competitive spirit?”

 

“Sorry, didn’t bring it with me,” said Terra. 

 

“Look man, it’ll be fun I promise. Just one!” 

 

Terra sighed, looking to the side and back at the big blue puppy eyes of Zack’s. “Fine, where we racing?”

 

“Awesome!” Zack fist pumped the air and jutted his thumb behind him towards the docks. “They got jet skis, how ‘bout it?”

 

“Is there a prize for the winner?”

 

“Er, haven’t thought that far into it yet. But at least we’ll have fun right?”

 

Terra shook his head, “Alright, just one race.” 

 

Walking towards the docks, they continued to chatter as Lady and Larxene passed behind them quickly and towards the group of Nobodies. Their robes were both shorter than the original design, coming down to their lower thighs with a larger sash holding it together at the waist. As they approached, they were intercepted by another guy who cleared his throat and addressed his attention to Lady. 

 

“Hey, um, I’ve seen you around, are you by any chance single..?” He smiled at her with a hopeful glint in his eyes. 

 

“Sorry, I have a boyfriend,” she gave him an apologetic smile and his shoulders drooped. 

 

“Oh..” he looked at Larxene who shot him a glare strong enough to penetrate a thick sheet of ice before walking away in defeat. 

 

“Hey guys, you ordered?” She knelt down besides Xigbar and he got up to take his drink from her. 

 

Larxene stopped in front of Axel and held her tray towards him, motioning her head for him to grab it. Taking it, he frowned and gave the drink a quick sniff, “Did you poison it?” 

 

“I rather just kill you with my bare hands,” she hissed, as she passed out the rest of the drinks. 

 

“Not gonna get any tips with _that_ attitude,” he rolled his eyes, sipping the drink first and tasting to make sure it was safe before taking another large gulp. 

 

“When do you get off work?” Zexion asked, receiving his second ordered drink with both hands. 

 

“Whenever Mana decides she’s done wearing me out,” Lady muttered, standing up and holding her tray to her chest. “I want to have fun too..”

 

“Come onnn, play hooky for today and come hang out with us!” Xigbar got up, resting his arm on his knee. 

 

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be your vacation after all,” Demyx piped in, leaning forward as his legs crossed under him. 

 

“I would love to, but I can’t,” she replied, walking over and stealing the popsicle from Axel’s hand before he could eat it. Taking a bite from it, she placed it back in his hand. “Besides, I’m trying to earn money too, y’know.” 

 

Her eyes looked down at Saïx and he met her gaze, a sly smirk appearing on his lips as he tipped his chin up to take a sip from his glass. His eyes on her the entire time as the liquid entered his mouth to swallow. 

 

“Lady,” Roxas jumped into her view, blocking Saïx. “Do you really have a boyfriend?” 

 

“No!” She denied the accusation a little too loudly. “What gave you that idea?”

 

“But you just told that guy-”

 

“Yeah, it’s called a lie,” she deadpanned. 

 

“We gonna head back or what?” Larxene put a hand on her hip, tapping her foot against the sand impatiently. 

 

“Yeah, sorry!” Lady looked back at her and followed until a voice called for her. 

 

“Hey!” Zack clamped his hand on her shoulder. “We need an officiant for our match, mind doin’ the honors?”

 

“Match? What match?” she frowned. 

 

“Between me and big man himself over there!” he pointed at Terra who waved from the docks. “We’re doing just one race, come onnn, please?”

 

She looked to Larxene and back to Zack, “Uh, I suppose. It’ll be real quick right?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” he grinned and pulled her towards the docks and she shot Larxene an apologetic look as she handed her the tray in her hand. Larxene groaned, stacking their trays together and holding it to the side. 

 

Xigbar waited until Lady was out of earshot before he spoke. “So.. Marly was here yesterday, right?” 

 

Larxene turned back towards him, a scowl on her face, “How did you know that?”

 

“I wasn’t sure, but thanks for confirming it,” his eye narrowed. “You guys wouldn’t be up to no good, right?”

 

“No, I’m-” Larxene stopped, trying to find the next set of words to say. What _was_ she here for? Why was she here serving drinks to a bunch of losers? “I’m not doing anything.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Demyx scoffed. “You and Marly? That’s a combination for trouble. 

 

“You finally using your brain?” She sneered. “But that doesn’t mean I’m planning anything right now.”

 

“Sorry if we don’t believe you,” said Xion, trying to match everyone else’s level of hostility but ultimately resorting to plain passive-aggressiveness. 

 

“Yeah, just because Lady trusts you doesn’t mean we do,” Axel added. 

 

“Not like I need any of your garbage opinions,” Larxene’s scowl deepened, averting her eyes with the second portion of her sentence said in a hushed tone. “I’m not here to hurt her.” 

 

“We’ll believe it when we see it,” Roxas looked at her, his eyes cold.  

 

“One move outta line and you’re done for, Larxene,” Axel finished. 

 

“Whatever, you guys are pathetic,” Larxene rolled her eyes and flipped them off before walking away to find another place to wait before getting back at her part-time job. Impatiently waiting for Lady while she fanned herself with the trays. 

 

“Curious,” Zexion muttered. “This is worrisome, if Marluxia is here then that means..”

 

“The rest of the Organization can’t be too far behind,” Saïx finished his thought and Zexion nodded. 

 

“We can take them on though,” Roxas leaned back on his arms. “It’s just a couple of ‘em left, nothing to worry about.” Closing his eyes, he rolled his neck, “I just wish they would leave her alone.”

 

“We can never be too careful,” Xion reminded him, giving him a gentle nudge. “Especially against Xemnas, let’s try to make sure we don’t fall for any possible traps.” 

 

“Ugh I thought we were over that, what’s the big deal?” Demyx massaged his eyes and plopped back down on his towel. 

 

Xigbar leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. “We’ll be fine,” he simply said and a cold breeze ran through them, touching their skin and leaving a wave of goosebumps in contrast to the warm sunlight that bathed them prior. 

 

*******

 

Lady stood knee-deep in the water a distance away from Zack and Terra. They revved the handles on their jet skis as she raised her hand up; signaling them to ready themselves. 

Looking to both of them, she took a deep breath. 

 

“Ready..?” 

 

Zack and Terra both hunched over, looking at each other with narrowed eyes before facing the ocean. A floating orb of light courtesy of Terra represented their midway mark, the finish line being where they started. 

 

“Set.”

 

Zack exhaled sharply and Terra’s fingers played with the handle, ready to pull it at any time. 

 

“Go!” 

 

Water spurted behind them in torrents as they both left their starting positions. Lady waited for them to pass before she could walk back to the shore- instead she was grabbed by the waist as Zack leaned over and picked her up. She looked at him with widened eyes as he gave her a cheeky wink. 

 

“You’re my lucky charm, I need you with me!” His arm was under her back while her legs dangled over his lap, feeling the rushing water splash onto her heel. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, leaning against his bare chest. 

 

“What are you doing?” Terra looked at him, specifically at Lady who looked as dumbfounded as him. 

 

“This is how I’m gonna beat you!” Zack laughed as he sped up. 

 

“Not so fast!” Terra shouted over the waves, matching the soldier’s speed. 

 

Lady could only hang onto Zack’s neck as she buried her face into his neck, her body moving with the chaotic jerking of his driving. 

 

“You okay?” He asked.

 

“I think I’m gonna die,” she replied.

 

“Don’t do that, Angeal would kill me!”

 

“We can both be angels then,” she laughed. 

 

“Nah, you’re the only angel here,” he grinned. 

 

“Hey! You forget who you’re racing against here?” Terra shouted over the roaring winds and Zack looked up as they approached the orb of light hovering over the water. 

 

“Hang on tight!” Zack yelled, turning his jet ski to the left as Terra turned his to the right. Forming a large u-turn as they passed each other. Passing so close that Lady could reach out and brush her fingers against Terra’s shoulder. 

 

The brunette had a flash of mischief in his eyes and in a second, his hand reached out to grab her arm and she felt herself being lifted off Zack’s lap and landing in Terra’s. 

 

“Wha- hey!” Zack exclaimed at the newfound emptiness on his lap. 

 

“Gonna borrow your lucky charm,” Terra laughed as he zoomed off in the direction of the beach, Lady now hanging onto his neck looking at Zack from over his shoulder. 

 

Engines roared over the surface of the ocean and she let out a fit of laughter, powered by their shared adrenaline. Bouncing up in his lap as the jet ski sailed over the water, the top of her hair touched his neck and could feel the damp strands of his hair touch her forehead. 

 

Terra and Zack were neck-in-neck as they both raced near each other, battling the water and time as they approached the beach quickly. Lady held her breath as the two guys were now focused on finishing first. Inches were increasing and decreasing between their distances and Terra’s grip on his handles were tighter as he picked up the pace. Using the momentum from the water to increase his speed, she held her breath at which skilled racer would come first. 

 

Zooming past Zack at the last possible minute, Terra pulled his jet ski just where the sand met the water and looked at Zack with a triumphant grin. 

 

“Looks like it’s my win,” he boasted. 

 

Zack pouted momentarily before his blue eyes picked up on that child-like enthusiasm again, “Good race man, I had fun!” 

 

“I did too,” Terra held out his fist and Zack put up his, both of them bumping each other. 

 

Carrying her in his arms, Terra lifted Lady off the jet ski and carried her back to the beach to have her avoid touching the water any further. Setting her down, she gratefully planted her feet firmly in the sand. 

 

“Great job guys! What does the winner get?” She asked. 

 

“Erm, we haven’t really decided,” Zack rubbed the back of his head, turning to Terra to ask him. “Is there anything you have in mind?”

 

Terra met her gaze first, lingering before looking at Zack, “I’m okay with just the win.”

 

“You know Terra, you got the real makings of a hero,” the black haired man said. 

 

“Me? No way,” it was Terra’s turn to rub the back of his head, looking almost bashful. 

 

“You are a hero,” Lady smiled at him. Looking at Zack, she continued, “And so are you. To me, you both are!”

 

“Hey, I believe it if you’re the one saying it! Thanks, Lady!” 

 

“You guys done yet?” 

 

Lady turned around to see Larxene with her arms crossed, tapping her foot against the sand. 

 

“Oh, yeah, sorry!” Lady bowed her head, putting her hands up with an apologetic smile. “Did you wait long?”

 

Larxene shook her head, “Just hurry up, will you?”

 

Leaving the two men behind, Lady ran and grappled onto Larxene’s arms and put her head on the blonde’s shoulder with a small giggle. “Thanks for waiting for me, Larx!”

 

“Don’t call me that!” 

 

“But why? It’s cute!” 

 

“You’re so weird,” Larxene grumbled, but didn’t fight off Lady’s grip on hers. 

 

*******

 

Lady stepped out of the kitchen, stretching her arms over her head as she felt her muscles loosen. Limbs coming back down, she scanned the horizon and spotted a tall figure walk towards the path to the mountain portion of the resorts. 

 

“Ignis!” She called out and ran towards him. 

 

He turned, nodding his head to acknowledge her, “Milady.”

 

“Did Noct like those pastries the other day?”

 

“They were gone in minutes,” he answered. 

 

“Great, I was hoping I didn’t mess them up too much! Sooo, uh, where ya going?” She asked. 

 

“Back to our rooms, I just got done with a little light reading so I want to rest my eyes for a bit.”

 

“Whatcha reading?” They both began to walk up the stone stairs leading to the rooms. 

 

Pulling out a magazine, he opened to the page he was skimming and showed it to her. “‘Renowned restaurants and pâtissières in Altissia’?” She looked up at the man, “Is Altissia..”

 

“Near the Kingdom of Lucis,” he answered her. “After taking a ship from Galdin Quay, one can find themselves near Altissia within the next hour or two.” He proceeded to show her pictures from the city: the gondolas on rivers that were constructed on marble aqueducts high above the city level. Waterways split the city into sections with boats being the main source of transportation between buildings that storied over the ground. Cascading down around the main portion of the grand city were waterfalls that added another layer of elegance and sophistication. Towards the middle was a palace with domed roofs and statues of angels that dotted around it, acting as stone guardians. 

 

A heavenly city that appeared to levitate effortlessly over endless pools of the clearest water she’s ever seen, it was alluring her- almost as if the stone angels were strumming their harps and beckoning her to come see them in person. 

 

“Wait-” she gasped, taking the magazine from him and holding the pictures closer to her face. Looking up at Ignis, her eyes were shimmering in awe. “This is so beautiful, I never really seen till now but-” her own excitement kept cutting her sentences short and Ignis looked down at her with a smile. 

 

“What do you think?” He asked. 

 

“It’s.. remarkable,” she murmured, eyes hungrily scanning the pictures. “I should’ve moved there instead.”

 

“Maybe you’ll get the chance one day.”

 

“What about you?” She looked up at him. “What’s your interest with Altissia?”

 

“Hm,” Ignis paused before he gave her an answer, eyes lost in careful thought. “You may think me silly.”

 

“No, I won’t! What is it?”

 

Looking at her eager eyes, he finally relinquished his answer, “I was imagining what it would be like to own a shop there. But it’s nothing more than a mere fancy, I’ve other duties that are much more important.”

 

They resumed their ascend to the mountains, steps in tandem with each other as they continued their conversation. 

 

“Duties like..?”

 

“I am the future King’s retainer,” he glanced at her, replying without missing a beat and she remained in awe over his straight-to-the-point answer. Even for one being so young as him, it’s impressive how much discipline he had. But also in a way, it left her feeling a little sad- his life was not his to live. 

 

“Ignis.”

 

The way she said his name ceased his walk, stopping and looking back at her. Her eyes were steadfast and she still held the magazine close to her side as she approached him. Being inches away, she inhaled deeply and smelled that same cologne he wore yesterday. 

 

“If you weren’t taking care of Noct.. if you weren’t his retainer. What would _you_ want to do?”

 

“I..” And for once, the articulated man of many words and vocabulary that could stretch for miles was at a loss at what to say. “I’m not quite sure how to answer that. I haven’t given it much thought.”

 

Silence passed between them until he glanced at the magazine in her hands, “I suppose I would start in Altissia. Perhaps start up a café, spend my mornings with a can of Ebony and look out to the gondolas during the sunrise.” 

 

“That’s a beautiful dream,” she smiled. 

 

“But nothing more than that,” he turned away. 

 

She ran around, stopping right in front of him. “One day, it could be a reality for you, I would come help you!” 

 

“That’s kind of you,” he gave her a grateful look. 

 

“No, I’m serious! And maybe-” she looked down, toeing the cobbled stone with her foot. “-maybe I could be a cashier, or server, or maybe you need a sous chef?... But seeing my incompetence from yesterday, probably not..”

 

A chuckle caused her to look up as Ignis had his fist to his mouth, trying to hide his amused smile. “It would be a joy and honor to have you as my sous chef.” 

 

Her eyes lit up, “Really? Okay it’s settled then!” She brought her hand up, pinkie extending out. “Me and you, we’ll open up a bakery in Altissia one day!” 

 

“But, Noct-”

 

“No buts!” She shook her head, still holding her pinkie up. “Noct has to let you go someday, and he can just visit us anytime he wants!”

 

“Fair enough, if destiny permits,” he brought his pinkie up and wrapped it around hers gently.  

 

Bringing her hand down, she had a wide excitable grin on her face as they walked. Finally seeing the guest rooms as they approached their destination. 

 

“I’ll let you go,” Lady stopped. “I took up enough of your time.” 

 

“It was a pleasure talking to you, as always,” said Ignis. 

 

Before handing him back his magazine, she stopped and turned her back to him. Taking out a pen hanging onto her robe, she clicked it and began writing on the pages where it showed aerial shots of Altissia. Giving herself an assured nod, she pocketed the pen and handed the magazine back to him. 

 

“Seeya, Ignis!” She gave him a salute before running back down the stairs. 

 

Ignis held up the magazine, a faint smile on his lips when his eyes read the words scribbled hastily onto the margins of the text. 

 

_‘I’ll think of possible names for the bakery, don’t forget our promise!’_

 

*******

 

“Zexion.” 

 

The steel-haired Nobody looked up, frowning when he didn’t see any immediate persons that could indicate the source of the noise. 

 

“Zexion!”

 

He looked up again and saw Lady poke her head out from behind a corner of a building.

 

“Lady,” he couldn’t help the smile on his face as he walked towards her. “What’s the matter, why are you hidin-”

 

His sentence was cut short as she pulled him behind the building, shushing him. 

 

“I, um,” she blushed. “I have a question.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Can-” she paused and looked up to the sky, inhaling sharply before looking back at him. “Can-” She stopped again to bury her face in her hands, letting out a strangled low-pitched squeal. 

 

“Are you.. okay?” He tilted his head. 

 

“Zexion,” her tone grew serious and weighted. “What I’m about to ask you, you’ll not breathe a word to anyone.”

 

“Of course,” he whispered back, a sense of fear rising on his neck on the cusp of finding out what had gotten her so rattled. Someone so strong-willed, so fierce, so independent, so-

 

“Can Nobodies get pregnant? Or impregnate somebody else?”

 

“I- excuse me?” His eyes widened and he felt heat flush in his face. 

 

She waited for him to answer, chewing on her bottom lip in anticipation of his answer. 

 

“I, uh, can’t say that I know… It seems unlikely,” he put the side of his curved forefinger to his chin, looking up at the sky in thought. “We Nobodies maintain regular bodily functions as any other human. But to get someone pregnant or become impregnated.. it seems- wait. Why are you asking?”

 

“I’m just- just curious!” She choked out, her face becoming evidently more red. “Never mind! Forget I asked!” 

 

“Ah, wait!” Zexion grabbed onto her hand before she could run off. “I want to show you something.” 

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s better if I just show you,” he didn’t let go of her hand as he pulled her along. 

 

Walking till they approached a circular flowerbed near their guest housing, he kneeled down into a squat and she mimicked him. With his other hand, he pointed at the stem of one of the lilies that dotted the outside portion. 

 

“I’ve noticed the flowers here grow in more of an abundance and at a much faster rate than back at-” he stopped when he noticed her disappointed pout. “-not that I’m saying the Alstroemeria doesn’t have an exceptional garden! I’m just saying that these flowers seem remarkable.”

 

“Probably something special that Mana does to keep them looking fresh longer,” Lady muttered. “I tried to get her to tell me what her secret was once, but she ignored me.”

 

“I’m sure with proper inspection and time, I can see what makes them so unique. Perhaps the soil? Or is it possibly due to the fact that it’s imbued with some sort of magic that has the anther and filaments of the plants that make them such an easy receptacle for pollination?”

 

Lady let out a small chuckle and Zexion looked at her, “What is it? Did I say something funny?”

 

“It’s not that, it’s just I didn’t know you were so into flowers and plants like that,” she said. 

 

“I’m not,” he admitted. “But.. you are, right?”

 

His answer caught her off guard and she stared into his steel-blue eyes. She could feel his fingers tightening around hers and his eyes shimmered with emotion she couldn’t decipher- and one that he couldn’t yet discern himself. 

 

“I.. um,” he swallowed.

 

“Heya, you two. Mind if I borrow her for a sec?”

 

“Axel,” Zexion turned to him as the man looked down at the both of them. 

 

“Lady, I need to talk to you,” he said to her and she nodded. Releasing Zexion’s hands, she stood up. 

 

“Sorry, Zexion, I’ll see you later okay?” She smiled at him while he stood up as well. 

 

“Alright,” he gave her his best smile and she walked off with Axel. 

 

Sighing, he knelt back down to examine the flowers, stroking a petal between his thumb and forefinger. Determined to find what makes them so exceptional, he turned to look at Lady’s distant figure and back at the subject he was examining. 

 

*******

 

“Soo.. what’s up?” Lady looked at Axel. 

 

Once he was sure no one was within earshot or in sight of them, he stopped walking and turned to face her. Surrounded by a semi-circle consisting of trees and lanterns, she looked down at the scuff marks on the center of the carved stone floor. They were back where she had fought with that mysterious figure in a black coat. 

 

“It’s about Larxene,” he crossed his arms. “You sure you wanna trust her after all they did?”

 

“She wasn’t exactly the mastermind behind that, ya know? She’s fine, if she didn’t like it here, she wouldn’t have stayed. “

 

“Fine, but what if that’s just some coy play?” He countered. 

 

Turning around, she sighed and blocked the sun’s rays that had blinded her. Walking towards the shade of the trees, she heard him follow her until she was nearing shelter from a generous amount of leaves that took in the sunlight for her. 

 

“It’s not, there were plenty of times where she could’ve just attacked me- but she didn’t. That should tell you something, right?” said Lady.

 

“You’re too trusting, that could be a mistake,” he frowned, nearing her. “You don’t know Larxene like I do. I’ve seen the way that woman is-”

 

“And people change, Axel,” she enunciated his name as if to remind him of his hypocrisy. “I doubt anyone would want to act like a henchmen for the rest of their human or non-human lives.” 

 

She tugged on the collar of her robe, fanning herself with her hand and that’s when he saw it: the bruising red bite mark on her lower collarbone, shaped like a sickled red moon. 

 

Reaching to pull her collar down some more, his eyes narrowed when it became more visible. Lady froze, realizing her mistake and looking up at him. There was no possible way for him to know where that bite mark came from though, right?

 

Pushing her back gently until her body was met with a solid tree trunk, he placed his left hand beside her head as he leaned in. 

 

“Did Saïx do that?”

 

_Haha, shit._

 

She didn’t answer, instead averting his gaze to which he put a finger on her chin to force her to look at him. 

 

“Did he hurt you again?” He asked, his voice low. 

 

“No! He didn’t..” 

 

“I know last night was a full moon,” Axel continued. “And I know how he gets.. so do me a favor and don’t lie to me.”

 

“I’m not,” she said. “He didn’t hurt me, we just- I just helped him calm down.”

 

His thumb grazed the mark decorating her skin, “Would explain his good mood today, I guess.. but something about it still pisses me off.”

 

“Why are you so pissed off? I thought you wanted the best for your friend.”

 

“Don’t give me that,” he growled and Lady froze, his voice usually never sounding that hostile. 

 

His other hand went up to rest on her shoulder, leaning in close to her ear. “Remember what I said before?” His hand slid down to rest on her shoulder and thumbed at the fabric of her clothes. “I told you I wasn’t done with you yet.” 

 

Lady bit down a gasp when his mouth went down on her neck, suckling on her skin loudly before nipping at it with his teeth. Her hands flew up to grip his hair, trying to control her whimpers. But being so close to her throat, his ear could hear every sound that she tried to conceal while his tongue ran in circles on the surface of her neck. His hand slipped from her shoulder down to her waist and gripped her skin, bringing it towards him some more.

 

His mouth released her with a loud pop and he looked at his handiwork: an equally bruising mark shaped in an almost perfect circle. Moving his head back, he could still see the crescent-shaped bite mark on the adjacent collarbone with his freshly made one that was now on her other. The sun rising high and eclipsing the moon.

 

Licking his lips, he noted the flush on her face as she looked away embarrassed. 

 

_Damn it, not you too._

 

Her hands were pressed against his shoulders as he leaned in, his lips pressing softly against the side of her forehead in a surprisingly loving gesture. Turning her face back at him with mild shock in her eyes, he took the opportunity to meet her lips with his. His tiny nips causing her to pry open her lips slightly enough for him to have his tongue meet hers, swirling around each other as his hands explored her body. 

 

The first initial sensation she felt was heat- and lots of it. It was everywhere: her body, her face, her neck, her mouth. It almost felt like she was flying too close to the sun and that fervor of his made her feel as if she was about to melt right into his arms. 

 

Pressing her closer against the trunk, his hands were now both on her face to hold her still as they kissed. But the notion wasn’t necessary as she was glued to the spot, completely entranced with the way his tongue danced with hers as well as how he could detect where she wanted him next. A flurry of attacks, imbued with his latent passion, kept coming at her and it was evident in everything he was doing. 

 

Leaving her mouth, a trail of saliva glistening from her bottom lip to his- a mischievous glint was in his eyes as he tilted her head so that her neck was exposed to him. Biting softly against her skin, she could only clutch onto his shirt as he worked on her. Each bite feeling like a newborn star landed on it, brushing her gently yet stinging her with a small nip of his teeth. Going downwards, he left a trail; sucking and licking, gently and roughly seemingly at the same time. 

 

It felt like a rush of fire was going to consume her. _A flurry_ _of dancing flames._  

 

Her knees were trembling and she held herself up by wrapping her arms around his neck, mewling gently with eyes shut. Finally he stopped, holding her by her waist with a satisfied grin on his face. 

 

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” he shamelessly admitted. His finger tracing along the blooming pink that flushed in the apples of her cheeks. “You’re so cute when you blush, you know that?”

 

Her blush deepened and she could feel the evidence of her arousal beginning to gather up in her legs. _Seriously?_ She thought. _Don’t be so pathetic._

Axel’s fingers drummed on her skin before moving down dangerously close to her posterior and she snapped out of her daze. Grabbing his hand before it could move any closer.

 

“Wh-what are you doing?” She hissed. 

 

“Don’t tell me that didn’t turn you on even the slightest bit?” The emeralds of his irises flashed, his voice lowering, “I can _feel_ how warm you are down there.” His knee riding up in between hers, splitting her legs and her robe. 

 

“We’re in public!” She protested. “Someone’s going to see us!” 

 

“Want to go somewhere private?” He offered. “Personally, I don’t care who sees us, but I’ve got at least ten spots on the top of my head where I can take you.. literally.”

 

“Axel!” She dug her nails into his shirt, squealing internally.

 

“That’s my name, get it memorized,” he winked. “Make sure to scream it at the top of your lungs, ‘kay?”

 

“N-not now,” she whispered. “I’ve got to work..”

 

“Mmm, you’re not declining the offer so I’ll take that as a yes,” he mused. 

 

“Don’t be silly!” She ducked under his arms and backed away, still averting her eyes from his with her face feeling hotter. “I-I don’t know. I’ll just see you later okay?” She shook her head and turned on her heels to run away. 

 

*******

 

“Look I promise this thing’s real, okay?”

 

“That honestly looks like it was ripped out of a children's storybook.” 

 

“Dude, just trust me.”

 

Prompto flashed the piece of paper above his head triumphantly, slapping it down on the table in front of Noctis, Demyx, and Xigbar. 

 

“I’ve seen some treasure maps in my time,” Demyx narrowed his eyes at the yellowed parchment. “But that looks kinda fake, my guy.” 

 

“What would you know about treasure maps?” Prompto scoffed at him. 

 

“A lot more than you think,” Demyx retorted. “Back me up on this, Xiggy!” 

 

“You’re on your own, kiddo,” Xigbar hummed, a bored expression on his face. 

 

“Whatever, anyways, c’mooonnn Noct. You said you wanted an RPG for your birthday, well here ya go!” Prompto pushed the map towards the prince. 

 

“I meant as in a video game format, not in real life!” said Noctis. 

 

“But this is so much cooler! And there might actually be some real treasure for us to find!” The blond whined. “I already set up a crew and everything for you!”

 

“You’re setting us up for something that could be a waste of time,” Noctis traced the dotted lines with his finger. “Who did you even manage to convince?” 

 

Prompto held out his hands, using his index finger to point as he started listing people off the top of his head, “Let’s see, I got Gladio, of course. If he said no, I woulda asked Angeal. Um, Sora was eager so he’s on board aaand I got Roxas in on it too. Now that I think about it, Vincent seemed interested and asked me to keep him updated.” 

 

“Vincent? You mean _our_ Vinny?” Xigbar perked up. “How the hell did you manage to get him on board?”

 

“I _know_ , right? It took me forever,” said Prompto. 

 

“Heya guys, whatcha looking at?” Lady stopped, leaning over Prompto. “Oh, a treasure map! Did you get this from the souvenir shop?”

 

“No,” Prompto groaned, slumping down onto the table, “This was supposed to be for Noct-o’s birthday, now everything just sucks.” 

 

She placed a hand on his hair, stroking the back of his head, “I’m sure he appreciates the gesture, right?” 

 

“Yeah, don’t sweat it Prom,” Noctis agreed. “Just the thought is fine enough.” 

 

“Um, excuse me miss?” 

 

Lady turned to the man who addressed her with a smile, “Yes, how may I help you?” 

 

“I was wondering if you could join me for  dinner?” He asked and Prompto looked at him with a seething glare. 

 

“Sorry,” she said, trying to mitigate the amount of sarcasm that dripped into her tone. “My husband is fighting a war right now.”

 

“Oh..” the man replied with heavy disappointment. “Wait- which war?” 

 

“Hey bud, she’s married, leave her alone,” Xigbar called from his spot at the table. 

 

The man turned to face him and Lady left them to their banter, wanting to avoid any more suitors. As she was walking away, she saw a rush of black in the corner of her eye. Turning to where she saw it, she saw a black coat disappear behind a set of trees in the far distance. Inhaling sharply, she quickly made her way towards the movement, she passed sets of trees- running farther and farther away. Groups of people slowly diminishing until she was the only one left within at least a mile radius. Looking around, she tightened her fists to ready herself.

 

“Where are you..” she breathed, eyes scanning the shadows casted by the large oaks. 

 

“Did you miss me already?” A voice whispered behind her, mere inches away from her ear. 

 

Turning around, swiftly, she was met with nothing but solace. No one was behind her and she looked around for traces of movement to indicate where he would strike next. 

 

A gust of wind blew her back and she threw up her arms in front of her face as she tried to withstand the torrents. Not being able to plant her feet firmly on the ground, she flew back until she hit a tree. The back of her head colliding with bark and she began to feel dizzy, the world looking disoriented around her. 

 

Reaching up to feel the back of her head, a hand pulled her up and shoved her down on the ground. Catching herself with her hands, she looked up just as the man with the black coat knelt down and trapped her in between his outstretched arms. 

 

“You knew it was me and yet you willingly followed, is that supposed to tell me something?” He said, his amber eyes barely visible under the shade of his hood. 

 

“It’s supposed to tell you-,” she moved her hand up to aim a hit for his face. “-that I want you to fuck off!” 

 

Catching her hand, he slammed it back onto the ground and a flash of blue made her look up. Watching just as a beam of light protruded from his hands and fleshed out into a whip. Bringing her other hand up, he wrapped it around her wrists- effectively disarming her as waves of energy emanated from the binds and made her feel drowsy. 

 

His hands now free to touch her without having to worry about any more incoming attacks. Squirming under him as she felt his fingertips brush against the exposed part of her legs and she tried to knee him. Only proving futile as he caught her leg just as it was brought up and pushed it back down, slightly apart as he resumed his exploration. 

 

“Who are you?” She hissed. “You’re not Xemnas, right?”

 

“Would you have wanted me to be him? Would it make you more willing?” A smile appeared on his lips. His finger moving her collar down to see the two bite marks displayed on her chest. “It seems you enjoy being marked, Lady. Shall I give you another?”

 

“Leave me alone, creep,” she struggled against her binds, but the more energy she exerted, the quicker it depleted. “Who are you, what do you want?”

 

His hand reached up to grapple her neck, his mouth near her skin and she felt his breath breathe along her. “What I want..” his tongue traced up the side of her neck till it reached just under the lobe of her ear; the saliva feeling warm on her skin and despite that she still shivered. “..Is something you can’t possibly comprehend.”

 

“You’d make for a fine vessel,” he murmured, his right hand outlining the curvature of her hips. “And for an even more powerful Heartless.” A finger tapped at her chest where her heart beat just below it. “You’ve the ability of absorption, as demonstrated when you wielded the Keyblade. A power granted by the thing that sleeps inside you.” 

 

“What..?” She stopped struggling, trying to comprehend his words. _Absorption? I can take in mako sure, but- does he know something about Project SIREN?_

 

“If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.. that is if I even decide to let you go.” He stroked the side of her cheek with the back of his hand. 

 

“Who are you! How did you know about that, please, tell me!” She was almost on the verge of tears, frustration rolling inside her as more questions piled up within. More questions that she lacked the answers to and it was becoming overwhelming. 

 

“I suppose I can introduce myself, “ he hummed while his thumb grazed under her eye and catching the welling tears. “My name.. is Xeh-”

 

“Lady!!” 

 

Her head turned to the side as a flash of light blinded her, shutting her eyes- she could feel the cloaked man jump off of her to avoid an incoming attack as large streams of magical flares flew just above the tip of her nose. The binds slithered off her wrists and she rolled onto her stomach to push herself up after the magic subsided. Just as she struggled to stand on her feet, she looked up to see Terra jump back as he threw his Keyblade in the air. Watching as the Keyblade transformed into a large cannon, its front end spinning in circles until a bright beam of light shot forth and blinded her once more. 

 

As the light died down, she squinted and could see Terra run towards her. His hands on her shoulders as she gripped onto his forearm to stabilize herself. 

 

“Hey, you okay?” He asked as he looked up and down for any wounds on her body. 

 

“Where did he go?” She asked, almost dazed. 

 

“He ran off.”

 

Lady shut her eyes and exhaled nasally; disappearing along with that man were her hope for answers. Letting go of him, she sank back onto the grass on her knees. Her body feeling heavy and her head clouded with misery. 

 

Kneeling down beside her, his worried look didn’t diminish, “Hey, I can carry you back to your room if you want?”

 

Shaking her head, she replied, “No, if any of them saw me being carried they’ll just want to know what happened too. Let’s just keep this between us.”

 

“But, what if he comes back?”

 

“That wasn’t my first time being visited by him, he’s attacked me before. I’m sure I can survive another surprise if he does,” she said. “I’ll just be prepared.”

 

Terra sighed, eyes hardening, “Fine, I won’t carry you back.” He extended an arm down for her, “But at least let me walk you back.” 

 

“My hero,” she gave him a weak smile, taking his hand and lifting herself up. Once standing, her legs began to wobble and she leaned against his arm for support. “I’m sorry, can I use you like this for a bit?”

 

“Not a problem,” he held his arm bent for her so she could grip it easier. He slowed his pace to match hers while they walked. “Lady..” 

 

“Yes?” She replied in a hushed tone, trying to walk faster than her body would allow her to.

 

“What was he doing to you?” 

 

She sniffed, fingers feeling the muscles of his arm. “He.. he wants to make me a Heartless- Terra.” Her eyes looked up at him, “Didn’t you tell me that Heartless are made out of the darkness out of one’s heart? He said mine would be powerful, so does that mean-”

 

“Stop.” Terra turned to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking her slightly. “You shouldn’t listen to him. He doesn’t seem like a guy that plays fair.” 

 

_Yeah, he seems like he would use ropes and ball-gags and consider that vanilla._

 

“Thanks,” she offered him a grateful smile. “I’ll try to be more careful.”

 

“Hey, I’m here to protect you too, don’t forget that.” 

 

“I’m sure the world needs Keyblade wielders more than just one person,” she laughed. 

 

“Depends on the person,” he replied without hesitation. 

 

Hand over heart, she could only look into his blue eyes- unsure of what else to say. Instead, resorting to look away to see Angeal walk from an adjacent pathway. 

 

“Angeal!” She called, waving her arm and his attention turned to her and he walked over to where they stood.

 

“Hey,” he greeted them, eyes looking over how she gripped onto Terra’s arm. “Everything alright?”

 

“Yeah, um,” she turned to Terra. “I can go with Angeal so you don’t have to worry.”

 

“You sure?” Terra asked her. 

 

“She’ll be fine with me,” Angeal replied for her, firmly. Walking over to him, Lady limped over and fell into his arms. 

 

“Can I get a piggy-back?” She asked him. 

 

Angeal looked at her with disbelief, shaking his head with an amused snort as he bent his legs for her to climb onto his back; holding her legs firmly in his arms. 

 

“So you let him carry you but not me?” Terra crossed his arms, a smile on his face. 

 

“Angeal doesn’t mind, right?” She poked the black-haired man’s cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’ll see you later, Terra!”  

 

The Keyblade wielded hesitated before nodding, turning to walk down a different path away from them. Once alone, Angeal adjusted his grip until he gripped her lower thighs. 

 

“Where we going?”

 

“Um..” Initially her destination was her room, but right now she didn’t want to be alone. “Can we go to your room?”

 

He walked towards the path leading to the ocean-side guest rooms. “You’re going to make me climb stairs with you? Didn’t know I would be working out today,” he scoffed. 

 

“Gotta do something to keep your body in check,” she nuzzled her face in his hair, giggling. “This reminds me, this is exactly how you carried me-”

 

“-back in Wutai,” they both said in unison. Right after, they both laughed at their own harmony. 

 

“You remember that?” She asked. 

 

“How could I not, you were incoherent for an hour when I carried you,” he grinned. "So.. that guy. He's the one who beat Zack this morning." 

 

"Oh, you heard about that?" 

 

"Zack wouldn't stop talking about how close he was to winning, kept going on and on about how he would've won if he just focused enough." Angeal looked up at a flock of birds flying south from the shrine sanctuary in the mountains. “That reminds me, I haven’t sent a letter to my mother in a while.”

 

“Ooh, can I write her a letter too? Do you think she still remembers me?”

 

“You’re kind of hard to forget.”

 

“Hey! Is that a good or bad thing?”

 

“I’ll let you decide,” he gave her thighs a small squeeze. “As long as you get that letter written by tomorrow, otherwise I’m sending it without you.”

 

“Ugh. So mean,” she pouted, burying her face in his shoulder and played with the ends of his hair that dangled near her fingers. 

 

*******

 

Stirring, she blinked a couple times to adjust to the darkness of the room. Sitting up, she felt a blanket slide off her shoulders as she sat up on her legs- crossing them. Looking over the couch, she could see the three beds in the room were filled. Each breathing softly as the night air permeated the room. 

 

Pushing herself off from the couch, she carefully stepped past the beds. Looking upon the sleeping faces of Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth respectively. Walking past them, she stepped onto the balcony that looked over the ocean and the stone pathways below. 

 

Leaning over the balcony with her arms resting on the wooden rail, she inhaled the sea-salted air. Opening her eyes, she looked down a figure caught her eye. Squinting again, she swore she could make out a familiar set of spiky and unruly black hair. 

 

Turning to look at the sleeping soldiers behind her, she took out her phone and dialed in Noctis’ number. Holding it to her ear, she watched as the figure stopped and rummaged in their pocket. The dim glow of the phone slightly illuminating them as they answered. 

 

_“Hello?”_

“Noctis, where are you?” She answered in a whisper.

 

_“Taking a walk. Couldn’t sleep. Why, what’s going on?”_

 

Lady grinned. “Look up.”

 

The figure, now confirming their identity as Noctis, looked up as she waved. He waved back and turned his body towards her spot on the balcony. 

 

_“Can’t sleep either?”_

 

“Bingo.” 

 

_“Come walk with me then.”_

 

She looked at the sleeping men again and at the heavy wooden door that would most definitely make noise if she tried to sneak out. Turning back towards Noctis, she held her phone close to her ear, “I’m coming down. Catch me?”

 

_“Wait, wha-”_

 

Hanging up, she gripped her phone tightly as she launched herself over the rail and descended down. Gusts of wind softening her landing as the tips of her toes touched down before flattening the rest of her feet against the ground. 

 

Pocketing her phone, she bowed slightly, “Reflexes like a cat.”

 

He gave her a small round of applause, “Impressive. I give that a nine out of ten.”

 

“Why not the full ten?” She scoffed. 

 

“Minus one because of your bedhead,” he pointed at her hair. 

 

“If that’s the case, then you would lose points everyday because you never fix your hair.”

 

“Doesn’t derail the fact that your hair is still a mess.”

 

Both of them sharing a serious look before bursting into quiet laughter.

 

“Hey, were you paying attention to the story the other night?” She asked. 

 

“Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool,” he put a hand on his hip. “Is that story true?”

 

“That’s up to the listener,” she grinned. “Want to see something cooler?” 

 

“Hell yeah.” 

 

“Wait, do you think you can warp the both of us?”

 

“Pretty sure, why?”

 

*******

 

Touching down on the ground with a small grunt, Lady stumbled forward on the grass and turned back to him. “Nice landing, Noct-ass.” 

 

“Hush now,” he patted her back. “Are we there yet?”

 

“Yeah,” she looked up past the overgrown trees and bushery. “We’re close.” 

 

“So what is this thing you wanted to show me?”

 

“Secret,” she shushed him, motioning for him to follow her through a tight squeeze in between two tree trunks. Slipping past, she walked towards a group of rocks being lapped by water. The grass ending as it broke through the crevices of the stone. 

 

Noctis burst through the crack in the tree, brushing himself off before looking up. “Woah..” he was taken aback by the view in front of him. 

 

In front of them was a circular lake in the midst of a group of mountains that casted another round of shadows over the water’s edge. The water reflected the stars with clarity he would only see in remote parts of the world, the stillness holding an almost perfect mirror image of the sky above with the full moon lighting up the darkness. 

 

Floating in the middle was a medium-sized island with a dilapidated and overgrown castle- vaguely concealed by the large amount of trees surrounding it, the thing giving it away was a  single spiral tower piercing the sky. 

 

“Watch your step,” she warned him, stepping down into a bridge that had a shallow layer of water covering it. “It’s hard to see here.” 

 

“Yeah, no kiddin’,” he muttered as he hopped down onto the bridge, the water lapping up on his legs. 

 

Walking towards the island in the middle, Noctis followed from behind. Looking at how the water rippled around her as she walked; almost appearing as if she was merely walking on the surface and not wading through. 

 

“Look,” she stopped, casting a ball of light from her hands and letting it drop in the water.

 

Noctis leaned over and watched as the ball of light illuminated it’s immediate circumference during it’s slow descent. Lighting up a group of even more broken down structures that looked like they were once a village. 

 

“Is that.. a city?” He asked. 

 

“Yeah, strange, right? How did it get down there?” she mumbled more to herself than him as they resumed their trek. 

 

He jogged to catch up with her. “How did you find this place?” 

 

“I explore a lot,” she looked at him over her shoulder with a smile. “Especially when I stayed here before.” 

 

When they finally reached the island, Lady pushed aside the large ferns that barred their path. Noctis followed until they reached a clearing with the castle doors looming over the crescent-shaped pavilion in front. Lady ascended the stairs and pushed the doors, the wood creaking loudly and echoing as she did. Opening it only to create a space for both of them to squeeze through, she closed it as Noctis passed her. 

 

“Cool,” he looked around at the dusty foyer and the chandelier that hung overhead. Some of the crystals were cracked but looked immaculate for the most part. 

 

“Come this way, but close your eyes,” she instructed him. 

 

He did so and she leaned in close, waving her hand in front of his face to make sure. She then grabbed onto his hand to guide him through another set of doors. Only feeling the tile making noise against the steps of his boots. 

 

“Okay, stop here,” she whispered. 

 

Noctis listened once more, still having his eyes closed. He could hear her steps getting more distant from him and echoing on the quartz floor, the sound of another doors opening and he could feel cool wind whip against his cheeks. Her steps approached him again and stopped once more. 

 

“You can open your eyes now.”

 

Blinking, he looked down at the raised platform he stood on with a set of semi-circular stairs leading down to a long ballroom. The lengthy walls decorated with aged and ripped tapestries as well as crystalline chandeliers hanging from the vaulted ceilings that caught the moon’s light. Cracked pillars with arched windows in between were in equal sets down the room until it reached the end, the wall comprised of glass that was mostly broken down with some vines wrapping around the rusted iron grates. Just outside was a balcony gave a view over the lake. Finally, he looked at Lady who knelt down on one knee with a hand over her heart. 

 

Looking up at him, she took a deep breath, “Introducing his Royal Highness, Noctis Lucis Caelum, 114th in line to the throne of Lucis. Here we welcome him to our humble abode in the momentous occasion of his birthday!”

 

Noctis grinned, turning his chin up and putting his hands on his hips, in true striking fashion of his blue-blooded lineage, “Thank you, you may now stand.”

 

Doing so, she smiled up at him as he descended down the stairs. 

 

Once in front of her, he put his right hand across his stomach with the other behind his back before bowing. “May I have this dance?”

 

“With me?” She put a hand over her mouth with a mock gasp. “I’m but a mere peasant.” 

 

Holding his hand towards her, they walked side-by-side towards the middle of the ballroom. 

 

“Tonight you’re a princess.” 

 

“Who gave you the right?” She grinned, turning to face her body towards him. 

 

“Me, and this is my birthday, right? So I get to decide the rules.” 

 

He put one hand on her hip while holding her hand up with his right. To meet his stance, she wrapped an arm around his neck, hand holding his firmly. Taking the first step, she stepped back to allow them both to build up momentum and get used to the other’s rhythm. 

 

Stopping, he brought her hand up and twirled her then resumed their starting form. Both of them dancing over the dusty floor, with the tiny particles kicking up into the air to swirl around them. Noctis could only look into her eyes as they circled around each other, their hands or at least one part of their bodies always constantly touching. 

 

Inhaling, she brought her face close past his cheek to whisper in his ear. “Happy birthday, Noct.” 

 

Leaning back, her eyes shimmered under the starlight when they neared the open windows of the balcony. Noctis swallowed to alleviate the dryness clouding his mouth, he could only smile back as he dipped her; hoping action could make up for his embarrassing lack of words. Her head going back as he supported her body, bringing her back up and putting his hand on the small of her back. 

 

“You dance pretty well, my prince,” she chuckled. 

 

“I could say the same about you, princess,” he murmured, pressing her waist closer to him. Noticing how an ethereal glow of light illuminated the top of her hair, almost as if it was a crown. 

 

“Is it strange for you to do this without music?” She asked quietly. 

 

“I’m playing some in my head,” he admitted. “Helps me with my timing.” 

 

Laughing, she rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes as their steps slowed. “I can hear your heartbeat. I suppose that’ll have to do for me.” 

 

Bringing her head back, she now wrapped both of her arms around his neck while his rested on the curve of her waist. Now resorting to a more intimate and up-close dance in exchange for the formal one prior. 

 

The floating dust and crystalline reflections of the chandeliers above them glistened onto the floor below. Almost as if the spectral spirits of those who once inhabited this castle danced around them while they twirled and swayed. 

 

“When will this fairy tale end, I wonder?” She said aloud. “When does my gown turn back into rags?” 

 

“Usually it’s at the stroke of midnight,” he answered. 

 

“Let’s make it till we can see the sunrise then.”

 

“If that’s the case, I don’t want this night to end.” 

 

Pale light illuminated both of their bodies as they matched each other steps, embracing each other gently while they enjoyed the unconventional music that was comprised of the harmonious consonance of their beating hearts. 


	41. XLI [Special]

Set down in front of Lady was a steaming plate of what appeared to be a sort of mushroom soup or stew; the fungi still giving off smoke as well as the pieces of croutons that had its edges that was just the slightest bit burnt. Looking up at the aspiring chef, she gave him a wry smile, “Uh, thanks Sora.”

 

“No problem!” The brunette grinned, sitting down in front of her with his face in his hands. His blue eyes eagerly waiting for her to taste his creation. 

 

“You want me to eat this, now I mean?” She breathed, those blue eyes of his wavered with resolve. 

 

“Yeah, tell me if it’s good or not,” he pouted, playing with the tips of his brown spiky hair. 

 

“A-alright,” she gave him a strained smile, taking the spoon and looking down at the murky liquid that sloshed in her bowl. It didn’t look _that_ bad… _But why are the mushrooms this color?_ “Here goes nothing!” She gulped, tapping the spoon against the side of the ceramic before bringing it up to tip into her lips. Immediately a wave of garlic punched her palate and she resisted the urge to choke in front of him; strong earthy flavors mixed with a mix-match of herbs she couldn’t quite put a finger on. Finally, bits of mushroom entered her mouth and she chewed on them tentatively; the center being slightly more al dente than she would’ve preferred. Strangely, the fungi left an almost sweet taste in her mouth that counteracted with the savory notes of beef broth. 

 

Swallowing, she nodded, “It’s uh.. It tastes pretty good! A little heavy on the seasoning though but the mushrooms taste fantastic.”

 

“Really? Would you say you could finish it??” His eyes glowed with the prospect of a new recipe she would favor and she was absolutely blinded by his dazzling smile. Who could say no to that face?

 

“I’ll just eat the mushrooms,” she carefully picked some of the remaining bits and ate them. Chewing quickly and swallowing to satisfy the budding Keyblade master before her. “Thanks for the meal.”

 

“You’re welcome!” He grinned with that oh-so-radiant expression of his, even as he took the bowl back from her. 

 

Excusing herself, she stood up and as she did- the blood began to rush to her head and the world around her seemed to spin while her body remained solid and still. Blinking a couple times, she took another step and that’s when the ground beneath her felt as if it swayed and she fell face forward into the dirt.  

 

Her world went dark, echoes of voices yelling above her. 

 

“What did you do?!”

 

“Nothing! I just fed her some soup!”

 

Silence, and then: “Sora, these mushrooms aren’t meant for human consumption..!”

 

The voices faded out and she remained still on the ground. 

 

*******

 

Lady awoke to the sounds of birds chirping, blinking a couple times she turned her head towards the open screen door that let the sunlight in. Groaning, she put her hand on her head. Why was it pounding so much? She felt like she was sucker punched right in her cranium. 

 

Sitting up, she winced when the pain intensified and she got up to step outside. The sun’s rays doing more to intensify her headache as she leaned on the screen door for support. Looking around, she couldn’t see a soul in sight. It was just her and whatever of nature’s critters came out to play. 

 

A flash of white caught her attention and she looked at its direction to see a white rabbit near a row of trees that stared right back at her. It’s snout sniffed the air and its left ear twitched, watching her carefully as she walked over to it. Surprisingly, it made no motion to run at the sight of her. 

 

_Huh, odd._

 

Taking it a step further, she knelt down and attempted to pet its' head. It surprised her even more when the rabbit let her, even doing so much as to press its head against her hand. 

 

“Hey little guy.. or girl,” she smiled, feeling the velvet texture of its’ ears. “Got somewhere you need to be?”

 

At the end of her sentence, the rabbit’s ears perked up again and it let out a squeak. Turning its body to run into the forest and Lady stood up, “Wait!” 

 

She wasn’t quite sure why she felt compelled to run after the albino creature. She just wanted to. It was a relief that the rabbit ran in a pace where she could jog after it comfortably, never losing sight of its fluffy white tail. 

 

The rabbit stopped once it reached a rather large tree, the knots and whorls on the bark marking its’ old age. The rabbit looked at her then jumped into a large hole that rested just below the roots. She heard an agitated squeak coming from down below and she ran towards the hole. Poking her head in, she tried looking for the white coat to see if the rabbit got stuck. Crawling in, she felt the damp earth beneath her palms suddenly give out and she tumbled down. Feeling as if she was falling to the planet’s very core as roots whipped across her cheeks and dirt flew into her face. Suddenly the sturdy ground beneath her gave out and she frowned when the darkness around her transformed into a whirlpool of light that funneled down. The light’s brilliance surrounded her and she squinted through the luminescence to see grassy plains right below. And how quickly she was approaching. 

 

With no time to panic, she held her hand out to summon an aero spell but her anxiety arose when no magic came to her. Gulping, she cursed herself for her own stupidity for all of her life choices that lead to this very moment. To her ending up as human paste on the ground, as jelly, as jam, as _spreadable butter made with her flattened-_

 

Just as her nose was about to collide with the ground, she felt her body being suspended in the air and she blinked before falling back down at a much softer landing than she anticipated. 

 

“You must be more careful, silly girl!” 

 

Rolling onto her back, she sat up and looked at who addressed her. Her eyes widening when she saw the owner of the voice. 

 

“Zexion?”

 

It _was_ him.. except for the fact that he had two white rabbit ears poke up from his steel-blue hair. A silver monocle hanging around the sapphire blue eye that was visible to her through his bangs and he was wearing a dark blue coat with the collar popped up to display intricate white stitching. His undershirt was a simple white button-up with the bottom hem fading into a bright fuschia. At his neck was a velveteen black bowtie and his grey pants were tucked into a pair of shining black boots. 

 

“Do I know you?” He asked, head tilting and adjusting his monocle. 

 

“Yeah, what do you mean? It’s me, Lady!”

 

“I’m afraid I don’t know of any creatures by the name of ‘La-dy’,” he enunciated the word as if to test on how it tasted in his mouth. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a silver pocket watch and his eye widened when he inspected it closer. 

 

“Oh my, I’m going to be very late!” He let out an exasperated sigh as he tucked it back in and began to run towards the woods. 

 

“W-wait! Zexion!” She called to him, pushing herself up and following him towards the dense thicket. 

 

Zexion looked back at her briefly, “Why are you following me?”

 

“Tell me what’s going on here! Where are we!” She yelled, panting as she tried to keep up the pace. Has he always been this fast? 

 

He stopped and she collided into his back, pushing herself away as she rubbed her nose. “I’m going to see the King of Hearts!”

 

“‘King of Hearts-‘, the hell? Who?” She frowned. 

 

“Everyone knows the Red King,” Zexion huffed, looking at his pocket watch. “I must go to his council immediately.”

 

“Wait!” She grabbed onto his coat to prevent him from speeding off. “Can I, uh, see this Red King too?”

 

“Dressed like that?” He scoffed. “It’s not attire worthy of royalty, but it’ll have to do.”

 

“What do you mean,” she muttered as she scratched her head and froze when she felt something that wasn’t her hair. Her fingers parted against the unknown fabric and both of her arms shot up to feel the large bow that sat above her head at an angle. Looking down, her bewilderment increased when she noticed her change of clothing. 

 

Instead of the robe she wore earlier, she was wearing a light blue dress with white frills on the bottom that came just above her knees. The dress was short-sleeved and wrapped around her arms with a single white ribbon weaving in and out of the cloth. Around her neck, hung a white apron with a peculiar heart design decorating her breast pocket and her legs were covered by black and white striped stockings and black ankle-length boots. 

 

She pinched the fabric and swished the bottom of her dress. When did she even change into this? _It looks like I just got done working a shift at a maid café._

 

“Hurry now, we must get to the Red King with haste!” He pulled on her hand and she followed until he stopped abruptly once more. 

 

“Zexion, are you on your way to the castle?”

 

“Ugh, must I be bothered with more fools today?” Zexion shook his head. “Come out already, you two.”

 

At his bequest, Lady saw two heads poke out. Both having the same shade of fiery red as they stepped out from behind the shadow of trees.

 

“Oh, hell-o, who’s this lovely creature?”

 

Lady blinked. “Reno!” She gasped. “You’re here too?”

 

“She knows my name, brother,” Reno turned to his other half and she couldn’t believe who she saw next. 

 

“Axel? You too?!” 

 

“She knows my name too, brother,” Axel grinned circling around her. “Who are you, creature?”

 

“It’s me, Lady!” She cried. “Are you guys just pulling another prank on me?”

 

Reno cleared his throat. “We don’t pull pranks on those-“ 

 

“-we’re not very acquainted with.” Axel finished. 

 

Both of them wore a black and red striped long sleeves with buttons going down the v-cut collar; except Reno’s sleeves were folded up unevenly at his elbows and his collar was unbuttoned to expose a third of his chest. Axel’s sleeves were ripped off and the bottom hem of his shirt had rips and holes in it. Their pants both had numerous rips and tears with the fibers sticking out of them and their matching boots were scuffed and caked with mud.

 

Both of the markings on their faces remained the same as well as their hairstyles.. and unfortunately, so was that permanent mischievous glint in their eyes. 

 

“Another Alice maybe?” Axel leaned over to inspect her, feeling the fabric of her dress between his fingers. 

 

“Alice? No that’s not my name, it’s-“

 

“We call every one who stumbles in here Alice,” Reno cut her off. 

 

“What if it’s a guy?” She scoffed and batted away his hand as he tried to pull up the skirt of her dress.

 

“Still an Alice to us,” he shrugged. 

 

“That doesn’t make any sense?” She frowned at the both of them.

 

“Doesn’t have to, not here,” Axel grinned. 

 

Lady paused, “And where is ‘here’?” 

 

Zexion let out another sigh, “You followed me down here without knowing the destination, foolish girl?”

 

“You’re in Wonderland, sweetums,” Reno threw an arm around her. 

 

“Come, La-dy, we don’t have all day!” Zexion looked at his pocket watch again, tapping his foot to the moving second hand.

 

“Lady?” Axel nodded, throwing his arm over her shoulder to cross with Reno’s. “Come on then Lady Alice!”

 

“That’s not my na-,” she couldn’t finish her sentence as she was pulled along with Reno and Axel hanging off her arms and Zexion in the lead. 

 

“What do you two want with the Red King?” Zexion asked the brothers. 

 

“Dunno yet-“ Axel hummed. 

 

“-we were just hoping to get some sweets,” Reno snickered. 

 

“Don’t let the King hear you say that,” Zexion frowned. “He’ll have you beheaded.” 

 

“Yeah yeah, as if he would ever do that to _us.”_

 

“Don’t challenge him,” Zexion muttered, picking up his pace. 

 

The deeper they walked into the forest, the darker it became. At first she thought it was due to the leaves hanging overhead becoming denser, but she was soon proven wrong when she noticed whatever sunlight was penetrating through the top layer grew dimmer and dimmer. Branches overhead began to disappear and the only thing she could see were the gnarled trunks of the large oak trees that seemed to close in on them. Soon the gravel path beneath them split into two, the sign post erected in front of it was faded and rotted. 

 

Zexion’s steps seemed to slow, his rabbit ears peeking up as he looked left and right. He kept looking back and forth and his shoulders slumped. 

 

“Y’lost?” Reno asked him. 

 

“No,” Zexion answered him quickly. “Merely misplaced. Give me a minute.”

 

“It won’t be our head that’ll get lopped off if we’re late,” Axel laughed. 

 

“Shut it, Tweedle idiot!” Zexion hissed, looking back and forth between the two roads. 

 

“Need some help, Rabbit?” 

 

Lady looked up to see a glowing yellow eye look down at her from the darkness, next was an alluring grin containing pearly white teeth that looked as if it were upside-down. 

 

“Ugh,” Axel groaned. “We don’t have to ask help from _him,_ right?”

 

“Rather him than the stupid Rabbit,” Reno piped in. 

 

“Hush!” 

 

The lop-sided smile turned around as a flash of black appeared before her. 

 

“Hello there, who might you be?” 

 

“Xigbar!” She exclaimed. 

 

The black cat ears on his head perked up at the sound of his name and his face leaned in close to hers; a black tail with a grey tip curled up behind him in pleasure. 

 

“You know my name?” He purred. 

 

Axel frowned, trying to push him away but Xigbar swiftly dodged all of the redhead’s attempted assaults. “She knows all of ours.”

 

“Another Alice, then?” He leaned back cocking his head. 

 

“Lady Alice,” Reno corrected him. 

 

“Weird name, but I’ve seen weirder,” Xigbar shrugged, turning around to face Zexion with his tail whisking side-to-side. He wore a black coat with tawny color fur-lining with a greige pinstripe suit shirt underneath. A gold chain linked the collar of his coat together and his light grey slacks were hanging over his suede shoes. “So.. you’re lost.. again, may I add.” 

 

“Shut it! Just help me and I’m sure the Red King will reward you,” Zexion sniffed, fixing his monocle. 

 

“I don’t give a hoot about the Red King,” Xigbar sighed. “But sure I’ll help you, I’m in a generous mood.”

 

He phased out of existence and Lady looked around for the man until the air in from rod her hummed as he appeared again. 

 

“It’s northwest bound, so thatta way,” he pointed at the path leading left. 

 

“You sure?” Zexion frowned. 

 

“Take my help or perish in this forest, Rabbit,” Xigbar rolled his eye, his finger adjusting the eyepatch covering his eye. “I don’t care either way.”

 

“Damn you, Cheshire scum,” Zexion grimaced. “I won’t have you be so rude-“

 

“Can we go already, I’m starving,” Reno pushed forward to the left, pulling Lady with him. 

 

“No way! We can’t trust that cat,” Axel pulled her towards the right.

 

With the both of them tugging at her, she struggled as her body was pulled back and forth. 

 

“This way Lady Alice!” Reno pulled her left arm. 

 

“Don’t trust that idiot, come this way!” Axel pulled her right arm. 

 

“We’re twins, dumbass! You’re insulting yourself if you’re insulting me!”

 

“Owowow, stop you guys are too rough!” She exclaimed, gritting her teeth as she tried to steady herself. 

 

“Ugh I can’t stand this noise,” Xigbar shook his head walking towards Lady and pulling her away from the twins. Turning to Zexion, he spoke, “I’ll take the Alice to the castle, I’ll see you there Rabbit.” 

 

“W-wait, that’s our Alice!” Axel reached for her and Xigbar moved her out of his reach. 

 

“Too late, you snooze you lose Tweedle dolts,” Xigbar grinned as he embraced Lady and phased out of existence with her with the twins yelling unintelligible insults after him. 

 

*******

 

“Open your eyes, princess.”

 

Lady did so and looked up, Xigbar’s face close to hers and she noticed the pupils of his eye was slightly dilated like a cat’s. He tilted his head to the side, his tail curling up over his shoulder as he inspected her. 

 

“Hmm, I haven’t seen an Alice in a long while, but you’re pretty to look at,” he mused, and she swore she heard him purr. When he saw her disgruntled look, he corrected himself, “Sorry, it’s Lady Alice, right?”

 

“I guess,” she muttered. It wouldn’t do trying to fight with everyone on her correct nickname, much less her actual name. “Where are we?”

 

“Near the Red King’s castle,” he pointed at a large gate that had a drawbridge over a moat with shimmering blue water. “It’s open so we can waltz right in.”

 

Walking across the wooden bridge, they stopped when two guardsman pointed their spears at her. Opening her mouth to defend herself against any incoming accusations of trespassing, she felt Xigbar wrap an arm around her and squeezed. 

 

“Xaldin, Lexaeus, she’s with me.” He said. 

 

“Hmph, you’ve a knack for picking up strays, Cat,” Xaldin sneered, retracting his spear and standing it upright beside him. He donned a suit of chainmail with an iron breastplate covering his chest, an emblem of a red heart with a rose sitting in the middle decorated the front. The rest of his armor matching as his shoulders straightened, revealing just how tall and imposing the man was. 

 

“Strays beget strays,” Lexaeus hummed, resuming his original position; he was wearing a matching suit that was similar to Xaldin’s. His azure blue eyes looking down at Lady as they walked past. 

 

“It’s okay, princess, they’re nicer than they look,” Xigbar said loudly enough for both of them to hear back at the gates. His arm never leaving her shoulder as he stuffed his other hand in the pocket of his coat. 

 

“Why are we here again?” She whispered, her eyes gazing at the large garden courtyard they entered. Extensive hedges rose high above her and to the left and right of them were entrances to a maze; she could already see herself getting lost in the mere expanse of the leafy labyrinths and waved away any idea of entering. Another thing that stood out to her were the roses- the _large_ amount of red roses, of rose bushes, of rose trellises. The floral scent was almost overwhelming and she opted to breathe out of her mouth instead to avoid the rosy stench. 

 

Walking past multiple arches that lead towards another clearing, the ground covered with checkered tile with a round of stairs leading up to an alcove overlooking the garden. Large crimson curtains binded by thick ropes of threaded gold revealed a portion of the ballroom just beyond the alcove. Looking through the arched windows that had a heart emblem decorating every top, she could see the size of the castle within. There was no way one person would have lived here alone. 

 

“Xigbar!” 

 

A voice commanded the man to look towards the noise and he growled, “Well if it isn’t the Duke. What brings you here?” 

 

“Same as you, Cat.”

 

Lady poked her head over Xigbar’s shoulder. “Marluxia?” 

 

“Who are you to address me so casually?” Marluxia’s light blue eyes narrowed, his pink hair spread over the shoulders of his burgundy damask frock coat- the buttons glittering with opals embedded in gold. His vest underneath was a darker shade of pink with a lavender puff-tie pinned with another large opal. Everything about him exuded flamboyancy and normally that would’ve elicited a small giggle from her- but with the way he carried himself with such confidence told her to not do such a thing. A golden rose was tucked into his coat pocket, the petals shimmering when he crossed his arms to look at her. His black slacks and boots were the only thing that were monochromatic about him. 

 

“I-,” she forgot her current situation. “-sorry.”

 

Marluxia stepped closer, looking down at her with cold reception. “Who are you?” He repeated his initial question. 

 

“Uh,” she looked to Xigbar. “Lady.. Alice?”

 

Marluxia’s eyes snapped up to Xigbar, “An Alice? Here? After so long?”

 

“Interesting, isn’t it?” Xigbar mused. “She followed Zexion down the rabbit hole and here she is.”

 

“It is..” the pink haired man smirked, holding his hand out for her and she carefully placed hers in his. Inhaling sharply when he brought the tips of her knuckles to his lips to place a chaste kiss upon her hand. Looking up at her from the flutter of his lashes, he smiled against her knuckles and pulled back. “It always makes for an interesting day when an Alice arrives.”

 

“Thank you?” She gave him a wry smile. 

 

“May I have the pleasure of your company Lady Alice?” He asked her. 

 

“Apologies, Duke, she’s already with me,” Xigbar interfered. 

 

“I believe the Red King wanted to see you regardless, Cat,” said Marluxia. 

 

“Mmph, not again,” Xigbar closed his eye. “Fine, take care of her for me then.” 

 

“I will,” Marluxia bowed his head and Xigbar disappeared as his after-image dissipated into small wisps of smoke.

 

Lady looked up at the man, “So, Duke-”

 

“You may call me by my name,” he replied.

 

“Marluxia,” she corrected herself. “Right, well, what now?”

 

“We’re going to see what has gotten the Red King so riled up,” he looked up at the alcove and back down at her. “Do I sense fear within you?”

 

“No,” she whispered. “I just don’t know what to expect.” 

 

“Fear is a normal thing to experience,” he hummed, reaching into his pocket and taking out a white lace handkerchief. She looked at the cloth in his hand and watched as he laid it out in the palm of his hand- plucking it with three fingers and with his other hand he flourished a ripe lavender colored rose in full bloom. Handing her the rose, she took it carefully and held it close to her chest. “Don’t be frightened, I will be here with you.”

 

“Thank you,” she smiled, letting herself forget memories of the Marluxia she knew back in her world. This one seemed.. almost decent. 

 

“Come, we should hurry inside before there are threats of beheading,” he motioned for her to follow and she hurried alongside him. “Stay close to me,” he instructed her and she made the bold decision to wrap a hand around his upper arm. He nodded with approval as they both walked up the stairs to the alcove leading to the ballroom she saw from outside. 

 

As they entered, she could see the dome vaulted ceilings containing large mosaics of angelic characters flying overhead. She was almost blinded by amount of shiny items that surrounded her, her steps stopping as Marluxia paused. 

 

“The courtroom,” he said, motioning to the large room. 

 

“But isn’t this a ballroom or something?” She looked around her.

 

Marluxia chuckled, “The Red King mixes pleasure with business quite often. And this is the only room that could house all those he summoned.”

 

“So I’m guessing he invites a lot?” 

 

“Correct, my dear Lady. Though I must confess,” he breathed. “I find these court hearings to be quite tedious. But don’t tell anyone I said that.”

 

“Your secret is safe with me, Duke,” she smiled. 

 

“I have no doubt that you will. Shall we find a spot to inhabit?” He looked around at the empty ballroom and stepped away, bowing slightly and holding his hand out to her. “But before all that, do you dance?” 

 

“Decently enough,” she replied, tucking her rose in her apron pocket before she put her hand in his; her body being pulled towards him as he put his hand on her waist. 

 

“Let us find out how decent,” he stepped forward and she took one back, following his smooth moments to the best of her abilities. His soft smile encouraging her along while they waltzed over the polished checkered tile. “You’re doing wonderfully so far, dear.”

 

“I think you may be prone to flattery,” the corner of her lips pulled into a cheeky smile. 

 

“Only to those worthy of it.”

 

“Sorry to interrupt your fun,” Xigbar appeared next to them, his hand reaching up to scratch his ear. “But the court is about to start and the Red King seems more irritated than usual.”

 

“Wonderful,” Marluxia sighed and turned to Lady. “I hope we dance again soon. For now, business first.”

 

*******

 

“The court has been gathered today to find those guilty of treasonous actions against the Red King and therefore the denizens of Wonderland as well-”

 

_Sounds serious._

 

A harsh whisper garnered her attention. “Lady Alice!” 

 

Turning around, she saw Reno and Axel wave at her with enthusiastic grins that stopped only when a spear swiped down mere inches from their noses. The twins looked at their attacker and stuck out their tongues at Xaldin; the latter grumbling something under his breath about them being ‘flaming red idiots’ and ‘shutting up before they found his spear somewhere unpleasant.’

 

“-to find the ones guilty of stealing the Red King’s tart of hearts.”

 

Lady had to dig her nails into the palm of her hand to bite back her laugh. _Tarts? Seriously?_

 

Marluxia leaned over to her, his velvety voice whispering in her ear, “I told you, tedious, isn’t it?” She nodded and he stood back up, a small smile face on his face. “Ah, here’s His Majesty at last.”

 

From beyond the curtains of a concealed platform, she saw a figure emerge from the shadows and the heads around her bowing in deference. Following the crowd, she did the same and her eyes looked left and right to know when to raise it again. Once she did, her eyes widened at the identity of the Red King. But of course, who else would it be?

 

“His Royal Majesty, the Red King of Wonderland and its’ inhabitants, the Holder of Hearts-”

 

The announcer bowed once more as they moved aside for the King to walk where the crowd could see him more clearly. 

 

“-Xemnas!” 

 

Silvery white hair fell over a black tuxedo with a red silken strap reaching diagonally across his chest. The ribbon was attached to a single shoulder pad shaped into a three pronged silver crown; at his lapel was a silver chain attaching the collar together. Everything else about his attire was singular in color, only those three pieces of accessories being the only splash of color on him- save for his hair of course. 

 

“And the royal head chef who will present to us the evidence!”

 

Behind Xemnas, a head of sandy blond hair appeared with a silver tray of nothing, only golden-brown crumbs littered the top as he held it out for everyone to see it. 

 

_Ignis..!_ She squinted, watching as the man adjusted his glasses. He wore a simple set of chef’s whites, the apron draping over his black and red gingham slacks. On his breast was an insignia of a heart that was similar to the ones that decorated the castle. 

 

“The tarts were gone within an hour of their creation, Your Majesty,” Ignis bowed his head. 

 

Only Xemnas’ eyes moved to inspect the empty tray with contempt. “Bring out our suspects,” he simply said, addressing no one in particular yet a handful of people scrambled to do his bidding. 

 

One of them bringing out a large scroll to read off names as the others grabbed people from the crowds around her. One by one, they were brought to the middle of the room, forming a line. A guard stopped in front of her and he scanned the crowd to look for his next victim. 

 

“Last, but not least, the Alice in the room with us today!”

 

“Wha-” She struggled as she was pulled forward from her spot in the crowd. 

 

Xigbar leaned in to hurriedly whisper in her ear before she could be pulled away, “Don’t struggle, it’ll make it worse for you.”

 

She was shoved to the front of the line as the crowds around her whispered excitedly.

 

“You, an Alice appearing on the day my tarts have disappeared, is highly suspect,” Xemnas looked down at her. 

 

“I didn’t do such a thing!” She yelled and immediately a spear was pointed at her throat. 

 

“Speak only when spoken to, worm.” Lexaeus growled, not relinquishing his spear as it hovered right over the skin of her neck. 

 

With a wave of Xemnas’ hand, only then did Lexaeus lowered his weapon- his eyes not leaving Lady even as he did. 

 

“You dare make a case for yourself?” The King spoke. 

 

“I do dare,” Lady looked up at him and the crowd gasped. Such defiance wasn’t normal in the Red King’s court. And such defiance was usually met with bloodshed. “I just, uhl, arrived here. I wouldn’t have been able to touch your tarts.”

 

“Do you have anyone that can attest to your claim?”

 

She turned to the crowd to scan for the identical heads of red hair. “Those two,” she pointed at Axel and Reno. “And Zexion.”

 

Zexion appeared from the crowd along with the twins as the three of them looked to each other nervously. 

 

“Zexion,” Xemnas glowered at him. “She claims she had nothing to do with the theft. Is this true?”

 

“Well, it is true that she just arrived,” Zexion started, twiddling with his thumbs. 

 

“And what about before that?” Xemnas questioned him. 

 

Zexion swallowed. “Er, no, Your Majesty. I don’t know what she was doing before that.”

 

“Then you prove that her alibi is not completely clear. All of Wonderland’s inhabitants were accounted for at the time of the crime, all.. save for you.” His golden eyes rested on her. “Thus your innocence is proven a farce.”

 

“What- that’s not fair!” She exclaimed. “How can you call this a trial when you don’t even have solid evidence! None of this makes sense!” 

 

“It doesn’t have to-“ Axel muttered. 

 

“-not here,” Reno finished. 

 

“Enough of this prattle,” Xemnas turned his back to her. “Arrest her.”

 

*******

 

Lady gripped the thick iron bars of her prison cell, shaking it with no avail. They were solid, all right. _If only my magic worked here.. I would smelt those bars so fast._ She gave up her attempts of breaking out to pace back and forth between the stone walls. A single straw mat and bowl were her only company in the dank room, a miserable heap that would certainly drive her crazy if left alone any longer. Screaming would be no use here; not when ten or more so people locked in numerous parts of the dungeon were already doing that. 

 

“How did this happen?” She asked aloud, kicking the chipped metal bowl and watching it spin until it dropped back onto the ground with a sad _clang._ “Stupid king, stupid Xemnas-! Even here, he’s such an asshole!”

 

The stench of the unwashed cell made her nose wrinkle up in disgust. If only they didn’t confiscate the rose that Marluxia gave her, she would have at least _something_ pleasant to smell other than the rot. 

 

She stopped when the wooden door to the holding cell opened and a heavy clang of metal walked in. Looking up, she gripped the bars as another familiar face came into view. 

 

“Terra!” A sense of relief washed over her, the sensation only lasting a brief second before she remembers that the people here had no idea who she was. A total stranger to all that shared the faces of those she knew.

 

“How-“ the brunette looked at her with mild surprise before closing his eyes. “I forget, you’re that Lady Alice everyone’s talking about that knows our names.”

 

“Terra,” she repeated his name dumbly. Looking at the man who donned bronze armor that hugged tightly against his body. Filaments of black onyx and gold intertwined in his armor to hold the pieces together. Strapped to his back was a flowing black cape that concealed a large iron sword with a golden hilt that hung at his hip. 

 

“Let me introduce myself properly,” he placed an arm over his chest and bowed his head. “My name is Terra, that much is true. I am Knave to the King of Hearts, Xemnas.”

 

“Why are you here?” She asked, still holding onto the prison bars. 

 

“I believe…” he took a big inhale and exhaled slowly, as if what he was about to say was going to take some effort from him. “I believe you were falsely accused and I want to know your side of the story.”

 

He approached her cell and stood directly in front of her, his blue eyes burning with resolve. “You don’t look like a criminal.”

 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she laughed drilily. “But it’s true, I only arrived here a little while ago! There’s no way I could’ve been anywhere near his damn tarts!” She paused, resting her forehead against the cold bars, whispering, “I want to go home.”

 

“I’ve only heard tales of the outside world,” he said. “That the portal to ours only opens once a year.” 

 

“Once a _year_?!” She cried. “I can’t wait here that long, I need to get home to my friends!”

 

Terra pondered, finally reaching for his sword and brandishing it. A ball of light forming at its’ tip and it shot forth into the keyhole of her holding cell. Lady watched as the lock disappeared in the cloud of light and the door swept open. Holding it for her, he motioned for her to come. 

 

“I’ll take you as far as I can,” he whispered, looking outside the door and beckoned her only when he saw no one in sight. They walked down the darkened corridors, echoes of wails sounding off around them. “Be careful, the guards are crafty and the King will be very upse-“ He stopped, turning around quickly and pushing her into a slim crevice in the wall behind a tapestry. Trapping her in between his arms, he held a finger to her lips to shush her as a set of metal boots marched past them loudly. 

 

His body pressed against her tightly and she could feel the points of his armor poke her through her dress. Terra’s face was close to hers but turned to the right, his eyes narrowed as he listened to sounds that would signal more patrols.

 

Lady could only look up at him with widened eyes and Terra turned back towards her. His blue eyes shimmering as he looked down at her, briefly looking at the upper curved bow of her lips. 

 

“Um, we should go. Should be clear now,” he muttered as he backed away. He took her hand and led her down the hallway until they reached a round of stairs leading up. “It won’t be long, just be brave,” he instructed her as they ascended. 

 

Sunlight poured in from the top and her hand shot up to cover her eyes. She heard the sound of a door creaking open and she started to inhale that sickly sweet smell of roses. Her eyes fluttered and adjusted to her new environment, noticing they were back in the garden she entered from earlier. Emerging from the entrance to the cells, she looked up to see the underside of a stone bridge leading from one of the castle’s many alcoves to the outer entrances. 

 

Sounds of marching soldiers stomped on the bridge as they hurried along, “The Alice has escaped! Find her! Where is the Bandersnatch?”

 

“Already? Damn they’re quick.” Terra scowled, turning to her. “Stay close, they might release _him._ ”

 

“Who is he?” She asked and he only motioned for her to be quiet once more and they ran towards the labyrinth, hugging the walls of the leafy enclosure. 

 

He pulled her along, almost painfully, as she felt as if her arm would come out of its’ socket. “Once you’re out of here, head west until you can find-“

 

“Wait, you’re not coming with me?” She asked with urgency. 

 

He turned to face her briefly, an apologetic smile on his face, “Did you forget who I answer to? It would be my head next on the chopping block.”

 

“Then why would you risk your life to help me?”

 

They stopped once they reached a circular pavilion with many roads that could’ve led them anywhere. 

 

“Because, I don’t think you’re a bad person,” he had that apologetic smile on his face again. 

 

“Terra..” she started. “Come with me.”

 

“I can’t,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.” Pointing at a path with an arch of black and red roses, he spoke, “Follow that path, it’ll lead you into the forest. Once there, run as fast as you can till you see a sign that points to the Hatter’s, he will help you.”

 

Swallowing, she got on her tiptoes and pecked a quick kiss on his cheek just before he turned his face back towards her. A small blush appeared on his face with a look of surprise in his eyes. 

 

“Thank you, Knave,” she said. “I won’t forget this.”

 

“Isn’t that touching?” A surly voice said from the darkness of the labyrinth. 

 

Terra scowled, throwing a protective arm over Lady while the other gripped his sword and brandished it towards the voice. 

 

“Come out,” he called to the void. 

 

And there, arising from the shade of the rose brambles was a tall figure with glowing pale yellow eyes. Blue hair surrounded his slim face and framed the sadistic smile on his lips. A collar hugged his neck tightly with a broken chain stained with rust and blood hanging off the front loop. The rest of his black clothes were tattered and torn and multiple darkened scars littered his otherwise pale skin. The man looked absolutely feral. 

 

“Saïx, so he sent you?” Terra gritted his teeth. 

 

The blue haired man bared his teeth as he grinned, “It would appear so.”

 

“Will you tell our King of my treachery then?”

 

“I could care less for you or your loyalties or lack thereof,” he raised his arm to point at the one behind him. “Rather, I am here to see if an Alice can taste any different than any other woman in Wonderland.” 

 

“A Bandersnatch’s hunger truly knows no bounds,” Terra raised his sword. “I will cut you down where you stand, beast.”

 

“Come try,” Saïx growled, bending his knees and launching himself at the knight. Swiftly knocking him back as Terra let out a strangled groan, the air getting knocked out of his lungs. Saïx’s attention ripped away from the knight and towards her, an aura of pale light surrounding him. 

 

She took a couple steps back just as Saïx approached her, his hand reaching to grab her wrist and holding it up above her head. Leaning in, he nuzzled her hair with his nose as he sniffed. 

 

“You smell rather wonderful,” he whispered in a low voice. “Will you satisfy me?” His tongue darted out to lick the side of her neck and she tried to push him away. Unfortunately, his strength was greater than hers and he only twisted her wrist everytime she struggled. 

 

From behind, she saw a flash of bronze and gold as a sword swung down. Saïx growled, releasing her and jumping to the side. Terra wrapped an arm around her, bringing her close to his chest as he held his sword up. 

 

“Loyal Knave,” Saïx sneered. “You’ll end up dead if you go against me.”

 

“We’ll see about that, beast,” Terra responded, pushing Lady away as Saïx jumped and launched himself towards him; his claws colliding with his sword as they struggled. “Lady Alice.. run!” He yelled at her through gritted teeth. 

 

“But, what about you?” She cried. 

 

“Just.. _RUN_!” He shouted and she couldn’t deny the urgency in his voice- even as he struggled against the Bandersnatch. Taking his direction from earlier, she ran towards the archway with the black and red roses. Her feet carrying her across the grass with haste as the sounds of battle behind her faded away slowly. Turning left and right, she pulled herself along the walls of the labyrinth. 

 

_How long is this thing?!_

 

Just as she saw what looked like the exit, she stopped to take a deep breath. Using her knees to support herself as she hunched over to catch her breath. _My stamina is drained too?_ Mako energy granted whoever possessed it to have enhanced strength and stamina. But this didn’t seem to be the case for her anywhere and she was rendered useless against these magical inhabitants of this land. _This just sucks._

 

Looking up, she saw a worn out signpost with multiple arrows tacked onto it. Walking over, she circled the sign until she saw one that almost faded characters forming an ‘H’ and ‘T-E-R’. 

 

“Hatter.. he said to go there,” she breathed, eyes following where the sign pointed to. Looking at a dirt path that led into the dark forest. “I hope I’m going in the right way.”

 

*******

 

“Pass me that.”

 

“Get it yourself.”

 

“Mangy thing.”

 

“Says the Mouse.”

 

Lady approached the bickering voices, her environment now being a mismatch of colors that made no sense to her aesthetically-wise. There was a mix of black, blue, red, and green decorating the pristine gardens as if multiple people argued on what colors to decorate the area with and this was the best conclusion they could come up with. 

 

The arguing got louder and louder as she neared an arch constructed with silver, a red ribbon weaving in and out of the wiring as it slithered down. Ahead of her, she saw a long table with three hightop velveteen sofa chairs facing away from her and towards the other end. Frowning, she stepped forward and flinched when the dead leaves beneath her gave a generous crunch that silenced the voices. 

 

“You there.” A voice called to her. 

 

She froze. “Uh, yes, sorry for intruding. I was told-” 

 

Another voice spoke. “Face forward and come to the other end, but do not turn your head when you walk past us.” 

 

“I- excuse me?”

 

“Do as we say, or you will be dismissed. It’s rude to come uninvited, so this is the least you could do.” A third voice piped in. 

 

“Uh, alright.” She did so, walking past the set of chairs and towards the other end. When her head turned slightly to the left, she heard a voice click their teeth and she snapped her head back to the front. Once she was at the opposite side of the excruciatingly long table, she cleared her throat and spoke loudly. “May I turn now??”

 

“She wants to turn, should we let her?”

 

“She looks rather good from the back, what if the front is unseemly?”

 

“Let’s not be rude to our guest.”

 

_Those voices.. I know them!_

 

“Very well, you follow instructions well enough. Turn around.”

 

She did so, almost too quickly and slammed her hands on the table when the identities of the voices were confirmed to her. 

 

“Gen, Seph, Angeal!” She wanted to smile but she mentally slapped herself. _This isn’t home.. it’s Wonderland._

“Hm, our mysterious guest already know our names.” Genesis tilted his head, a silver earring in the shape of a dagger dangled from his right ear. His auburn hair was topped with a bowler hat that had a single black feather sticking out of the left side. He was wearing a dark red suit coat with a black satin vest underneath that went over his black button-down shirt. 

 

“Strange, never seen you before.” Angeal mused, crossing his arms and the muscles flexed underneath the surface of his dark blue wool peacoat. A grey turtleneck was underneath with a silver chain dangling from his breast pocket, at the end of the chain was one white feather that fluttered liberally. 

 

“What business do you have here?” Sephiroth leaned forward on his elbows, gloved fingers intertwining together as his eyes observed her. His blazer was black and clasps of iron dangling freely on one side, beneath the outer layer, though, she noticed he didn’t wear a shirt underneath it. He moved his hand to rest down on a black top hat with a black feather sticking out of the left side, his fingers drumming along the rim. 

 

“I,” she cleared her throat again. “I was told by the Knave of Hearts to see you.”

 

Angeal frowned. “The.. what of what? 

 

“No, by the Knave of Hearts.” She spoke louder.

 

“By the crave of what now?” Genesis put a hand up to his ear. 

 

She took a deep breath. “THE KNAVE OF HEARTS SENT ME TO YOU.” 

 

Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed as he tapped his finger on the table and Lady was swept off her feet by a chair that forced her to sit down on it. She watched as the elongated table was shortened into a simple square and the chair she sat on pushed her all the way to the edge. The table hit her stomach and she released a small ‘oof’ as she adjusted herself. 

 

“I keep telling you the table is too long,” Angeal sighed. “Now look what you’ve done.” 

 

“Don’t worry about the details,” Sephiroth replied, his eyes never leaving her. 

 

Lady looked away and down at the next thing that attracted her. Upon closer inspection, she noticed how peculiar it was that the only thing sat in front of them were three petite teacups with a single teapot in the middle. Steam arose from the spout and she could smell herbal notes penetrate the air. 

 

“Repeat yourself, girl,” Sephiroth instructed her. 

  
“I said I was sent by the Knave of Hearts, he said you would help me find a way out of here,” she said. 

 

“‘A way out’? But why would-” Genesis stopped, leaning over to her. “Oh.. you’re an Alice, aren’t you?”

 

“An Alice?” Angeal’s head perked up, his eyes boring down at her. “Interesting. 

 

“Yes, quite,” a subtle smirk appeared on the auburn-haired man’s face. “What are you doing here, little Alice?”

 

“Just call me Lady,” she frowned. 

 

“Lady Alice,” he said. “Cute.”

 

“Anyways,” she turned to the silver haired man. “You are the Hatter, aren’t you?”

 

“There should be a ‘mad’ somewhere in that title,” Angeal huffed and Genesis chuckled. 

 

She turned to Angeal. “‘Mad’? But why- nevermind. Can you help me, Sephi- sir?” 

 

“Perhaps, how much would you give to be back home?” He asked her, his hands just below his nose and his eyes seemed to glow. 

 

“Anything and everything, my friends are home and I need to be back there,” she met his gaze and did her best to hold it. 

 

“How much do your friends mean to you?” Angeal asked her. 

 

“More than you would ever know.”

 

“Any lovers that would be worried sick about your disappearance?” Genesis smiled. 

 

“Uh,” she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “I guess, I don’t know?”

 

“I almost forgot to introduce myself and the others.” He smirked and stood from his seat, bowing in front of her. “You’ve already been acquainted with my name, but others not-so-acquainted with me call me the Dormouse.” He walked over to Angeal’s seat and motioned to him, “This is the March Hare.”

 

Finally, he stood behind Sephiroth’s seat and flourished his arms. “And the glorious Mad Hatter himself, you may bow…” he looked at her expectantly and Lady looked to him confused. 

Not knowing what else to do, she stood up as she picked up the tips of her dress and gave them a small curtsy. 

 

“Look at how obedient she is,” Genesis said aloud as he sat back down. “Should we not just keep her?” 

 

Lady looked up at him with bewilderment in her eyes. 

 

“He jests,” Angeal shot him a glare before he gave her a small smile. “Don’t look so afraid.”

 

“Let’s not waste anymore time then,” Sephiroth stood up, taking his hat and placed it on the top of his head. “Come with me, as the day wanes your way home grows smaller until it’ll disappear.”

 

His words made her stand straight up, running to follow him as Genesis and Angeal did the same. 

 

“Do I have to climb up a hole?” She asked the Hatter and he looked at her from over his shoulder. 

 

“No.” He said simply as he lifted a curtain away from him with the back of his hand. 

 

“It’s a shame you’re leaving already,” Angeal said. 

 

“You didn’t even stop to taste the tea,” Genesis agreed. 

 

“The tea _is_ exceptional,” Sephiroth muttered as they walked down a narrow hallway that got increasingly darker the further they went. She relied on the silhouette of the man in front of her to lead her towards her destination. 

 

Their combined footsteps echoed and she could see soft light beginning to spill onto the floor. Squinting her eyes, she could see another thick curtain with the light poorly penetrating it. Sephiroth stopped abruptly and she almost collided into his back when Angeal pulled her back from the incoming collison. 

 

Lifting the curtain with the back of his hand in a similar fashion to earlier, she was almost blinded by the light that flooded the dark hallway. A hand pushed her gently towards the light and she stepped onto the platform beyond. Her eyes widening in awe when she looked at the floating circle they were now standing on. It looked to be made out a thin sheet of ice with mist floating down the sides and into the void below. Surrounding them was a sea of stars that twinkled everytime she looked in a new direction. Directly on the middle of the platform was a jagged shard of tall glass that shimmered, the surface being an almost thick milky consistency. 

 

Sephiroth gestured towards the glass, “Walk towards it. It should take you home.” 

 

Doing so, she took timid steps, afraid that the fragile looking ice would shatter beneath her. As she came closer, the opaque surface of the glass began to dissipate and become more transparent until she could see her reflection clearly. She took a second to look at herself and the ridiculous outfit that she slowly grew fond of, her hand touching the bow that rested atop her head. Her eyes blinked and looked to the numerous figures standing behind her in the reflection and she whipped around. 

 

Now standing behind her along with Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis were all of the following: Reno, Axel, Zexion, Xigbar, Marluxia, and Terra. 

 

She blinked again to make sure this wasn’t a hallucination. “How did you all- that doesn’t make any sense!” 

 

“How many times we gotta keep tellin’ ya?” Reno mused. “It doesn’t have to make sense-”

 

“-not here, sweetums!” Axel finished for him and the brothers both smiled triumphantly. “We both wanted to say goodbye!”

 

“We’ll never know when we’ll see another Alice,” said Xigbar. 

 

Zexion took a step forward, gripping the watch in his hand. “I hope your journey back home is safe, Lady Alice.”

 

“I cherished our time together, albeit a short one,” Marluxia bowed his head. 

 

Terra walked forward, looking relatively unharmed save for the worn out look on his face. “Goodbye,” he simply said, but his eyes shimmered with the smallest hint of sadness. 

 

“Farewell, Lady,” Genesis took his hat off, holding it to his heart as he bowed. 

 

“Safe travels,” Angeal said, a soft look on his face. 

 

Sephiroth looked behind her and narrowed his eyes at the shard of glass that began to sink into the floor; almost appearing as if it was melting, “Finish your goodbyes quickly, you’re running out of time.” 

 

Lady looked to the glass behind her and back at the group, she turned around but hesitated. Balling her fists, she turned around just as two sets of arms embraced her. Looking up, she could see the red hair of the twins as they hugged her. 

 

“Will we see you again?” Reno asked. 

 

“Hopefully soon?” Axel added. 

 

She wrapped her arms around them, ruffling their hair as they stepped away to allow Xigbar and Marluxia to come through. Taking her hand, Marluxia planted a kiss on her knuckles and stood back up just as Xigbar leaned forward and placed a kiss on the side of her head. 

 

“You gotta go, princess.” Xigbar said. 

 

Marluxia nodded, “Yes, I’m sure you’re very much missed at home.”

  
They released her as she stepped back and gave them all one last wave. It was strange. She didn’t know any of them, the ones standing in front of her only shared the faces of the ones she knew back at home and yet-

 

A tear ran down her cheek. _Damn._ She hated goodbyes. 

 

Wiping the tear with the back of her hand, she turned around to face the melting glass. Her fingertips resting upon the cold surface and she inhaled when her hand began to go through. Stepping through with one foot, she steeled herself. Giving one last look at the group behind her and gave them all a smile before her body became enveloped by the mirror. 

 

*******

 

Lady awoke to the sounds of birds chirping, blinking a couple times she turned her head towards the open screen door that let the sunlight in. Groaning, she put her hand on her head. Why was it pounding so much? She felt like she was sucker punched right in her cranium. 

 

Sitting up, she winced when the pain intensified and she got up to step outside. The sun’s rays doing more to intensify her headache as she leaned on the screen door for support. Looking around, she couldn’t see a soul in sight. It was just her and whatever of nature’s critters came out to play. 

 

A flash of white caught her attention and she looked at its direction to see a white rabbit near a row of trees that stared right back at her. It’s snout sniffed the air and its left ear twitched, watching her carefully as she walked over to it. Surprisingly, it made no motion to run at the sight of her. 

 

_Huh, odd._

 

Taking it a step further, she knelt down and attempted to pet its' head. She slowly reached for the rabbit and it’s nose wrinkled before turning tail and hopping away into the forest with lightning speed. 

 

Standing back up, she watched the fluffy white tail disappear under a trees’ roots and she sighed. Holding her head, she closed her eyes and let herself bask in the warm sunlight. 

 

“Hey, you’re finally up! Was worried that Sora killed you off.”

 

She opened her eyes and turned around to see Xigbar strolling towards her at a leisurely pace. 

 

“What’s with that look in your eyes?” He asked her. "You okay, princess?"

 

“You won’t believe this crazy dream I just had,” she started. 

 

He put his hands in his pockets. “Do tell,” he hummed. 

 

“But first, would you wear cat ears if I asked you to?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

They started to walk away as Lady chattered excitedly about her dream. Just behind them, the head of the white rabbit poked up from the tree’s roots. Ears twitching, the rabbit watched and waited as their figures disappeared around the corner before doing the same and burrowing deep beneath the ground. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This literally had nothing to do with the current plot, but it was my birthday on 9/9 (I forgot to post this because of school, whoops) and I wanted to post something fun to celebrate I guess lol.
> 
> It's a little different, but I hoped you guys enjoyed nonetheless!


	42. XLII

Stark white walls blinded her vision, almost blocking out the black behind her lids every time she blinked. Sitting up, her eyes followed a pillar that extended upwards- at the very top was a throne with a shadowed figure looking down at her. Being the only source of color in the room that was stained with the white, absence of any other hue. 

 

Around the room sat thirteen thrones of varying heights that formed a perfect circle, the tallest being seated on by a darkened figure that she couldn’t make out any distinct traits; their entire being concealed with a thick miasma. Appearing in wisps of the void in the two seats near them were two more figures; one concealed by a black hooded coat and one of which she knew all too well. 

 

Swallowing, she didn’t know if this was another twisted vision- but with the way Xemnas looked directly at her made her doubt her beliefs altogether. 

 

“So this is her?” 

 

A deep voice emanated from the one on the right of the shadowed figure in the middle; a hood hid his identity as he spoke. 

 

“Yes. Interesting little thing, isn’t it?” The one in the middle spoke, leaning on their hand. Even if their face was concealed by the cloud of darkness, she could still feel their eyes bearing down at her- no, at her very soul. Their identity was concealed but that deep scratchy tenor undoubtedly belonged to a male. The perversion of his glare made shivers go up her spine and she felt her fight-or-flight senses go into overdrive. 

 

Footsteps behind her made her turn around to see the very man that’s been harassing her for the past couple days. Although his face was concealed by the hood too, she could still see the youthful face framed by silver strands of hair.

 

He knelt down beside her, grabbing her cheeks roughly and faced her to look down at another throne; it being the one closest to the ground. Pointing at it, he pressed his lips against her ear and whispered, “That one will be yours to sit on, so I suggest you make yourself comfortable.” 

 

Slapping his hand away, she made an effort to push him but her hands were caught and her body was shoved down onto the cold material of the raised platform. 

 

“Enough, let’s not treat our guest so rudely.” 

 

“Hmph.”

 

She didn’t see who spoke and barely had time to register what was going on when she was pulled back up again, her arm being twisted painfully behind her as she was forced to look up. Appearing in front of her were Xemnas, the other was the hooded man; the latter reaching up to take off his hood and revealing his face. 

 

Strands of silvery white hair fell over his shoulders as the hood went back, the ends falling just below his shoulder-blades. Being in a similar style to Xemnas’, except the bangs of his hair was slicked back. His skin was tanned and served to stand out against the silver sheen of his tresses, his eyes being a rich amber color. Now that she could see them with clarity, they all looked like they could be related; minute differences separating them and giving form to their manifestations. She noted that all three of the ones surrounding her shared one striking trait in particular: their eyes. 

 

Cold amber eyes with flecks of darkened gold all looking at her with morbid curiosity.. or was it contempt?

 

She couldn’t back away, all points of exit were blocked off by them and she could only stand in the middle. The one beside Xemnas grabbed her chin, moving it side to side as she could only glare up at him. An amused sneer appeared on his face as she gritted her teeth, steeling herself as she forced to stare him in the eyes. 

 

Blinking, she saw a touch of blue in the swirl of amber in his irises. Frowning, she blinked again and this time she swore she could see short spiky brown hair. His tanned skin lightening into a cream olive-tone and his eyes turned into that blue once more, completely blocking the original gold-flecked amber.  

 

“Terra..?” She murmured and the man looked unsettled for a split second, eyes flashing up at Xemnas before back down at her. 

 

A laugh caught her attention as she looked behind her at the one restraining her. 

 

“You’re perceptive, aren’t you? Or is it due to that power inside you?” 

 

“What are you talking about?” She hissed, struggling against him. 

 

He pulled her closer to him and leaned in close to whisper, his hand in front of her gesturing to the ones in front of her. “You tell me, what do the two in front of you have in common?” 

 

Lady frowned, looking back and forth from Xemnas and the other. Both of them looked almost similar; both of them had similar eyes, hair.. what else?

 

Then it occurred to her. What she _truly_ saw in the both of them. 

 

She could see Terra in those two. 

 

Shaking her head, her eyes searched the ground beneath her as if it had the answers written on it somewhere. “But..” she muttered, slowly looking up at Xemnas. “If you’re his Nobody, then how-” she looked up at the one standing next to him. “-are you..”

 

“His Heartless,” the man behind finished for her. “Good girl, you deserve a reward.”

 

“Wait, but, then how is Terra still alive?” She cried, struggling against his grip until she could feel herself getting loose. Pushing him away, she stepped back and looked to the three of them. “This doesn’t make any sense!” 

 

“You’ll know in due time,” the hooded man replied. 

 

“Bastard,” she snarled, feeling cackling electricity gather up in her fist. Bringing it forward she launched a flurry of lightning that traveled through the air towards him. Her eyes widening when the hooded man brought his hand up and their surroundings looked inverted in color, the same spectral clock appearing behind him with the minute hand glowing blue as it rewound counter-clockwise. Trying to move, she felt her body seize up and she could only stand there as the lightning she launched at them began to retrace its step back to her. 

 

Immediately her own magic struck her and she couldn’t even let out a sound as the lightning shocked every nerve in her body. 

 

The clock disappeared and she fell to her knees, smoke rising from the surface of her skin as the man walked towards her. Kneeling down, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and brought her face close to his. 

 

“Goodnight, dearest Lady. I’ll see you very soon,” he murmured before bringing his lips to hers and her eyes began to feel heavy. 

 

*******

 

Angeal rinsed his hands in the sink, taking the razor and tapping it against the faucet before bringing it sharp-side up to shave part of his neck. He finished one part of his face before looking at the mirror, seeing Lady sitting behind him on another counter with her knees brought into her chest. 

 

“You really came in here to watch me shave?” He asked her as he washed the foam off the razor blade. 

 

“Yes.. I like watching you,” she coughed. “That sounded weird, never mind.” 

 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he hummed, craning his neck in the opposite direction so he could shave the other side.  

 

Hopping off the counter, she waited until he put the razor below the water so she could wrap her arms around his waist. Resting her forehead on his back and inhaling deeply. She felt his hand rest across her arm as he set the razor down and wiped the residue off. 

 

Her fingers tangled into his shirt, “Angeal?”

 

“Hm?”

 

She hesitated, feeling his chest rise and fall with his breaths. “I saw Luisa looking at you the other day..”

 

“Who’s that?”

 

“A server I work with,” she said, waiting another second before resuming her sentence. “She’s a really pretty girl, don’t you think?”

 

Angeal was silent. 

 

“You should talk to her.. I heard she thinks you’re handsome. She likes dogs too, y’know, don’t you like dogs too? She helps take care of Uni. Really nice personality, I think the both of you would be-“

 

“What’s really on your mind?” He interrupted her. 

 

She hugged his waist tighter, wanting to scream out what was running through her head when she finally resorted to an excuse: “Just exhausted,” she mumbled. 

 

Letting go of his waist and moving towards the sliding glass shower. Unwrapping the sash that held her robe together and tossing it aside; her robe falling off her shoulders and she let it pool at her feet. Turning on the shower water, she waited until she could see steam rise from the precipitation. Her back was turned but she could feel Angeal’s eyes watch her every movement as she stepped in. The glass doors doing very little to conceal the outline of her body as she brought her hair up to expose her neck and let the water do its magic. 

 

He cleared his throat, “I’ll get you some new clothes to change into.”

 

“Thanks, always the gentleman aren’t you?” She answered him, her eyes closed as the water ran down her face. 

 

The bathroom door open and shut and she was alone with the soft pitter-patter of the shower. Stewing in her thoughts, she traced everything that happened in that dream of hers. But the real question was if that was really a dream at all; the pain she felt, the sensations, _the kiss._

 

It all felt real and the way it registered in her body definitely felt more like reality than anything. Finishing up her shower, she stepped out and neared the door with her body wrapped in a towel. From beyond the door, she heard Angeal’s voice grow giddy as well as a dog’s bark. 

 

“Hey boy, who’s a good boy?” She heard him say and a gentle woof echoed in the room. Stepping out of the bathroom, she craned her neck to see Angeal knelt down beside Uni to pet him. 

 

“Ah, um, hey.”

 

She looked up to see Terra waving at her from beyond the threshold of the door. His face flushed red when he saw her body scantily clad with a mere bath towel. 

 

Angeal looked behind at her, getting up and swiftly covering her body with a fresh robe; this one being a dark blue with purple irises decorating the hems. 

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked him, pulling the robe over her shoulders. 

 

“I, uh, just wanted to check if you were okay,” he looked from her to Angeal. “Can I come in?” 

 

Angeal moved aside and he stepped in, looking from the black haired soldier to the auburn haired on who looked at him with narrowed eyes. 

 

“What’s your business here?” Genesis cocked his head. 

 

Terra looked to Lady, “Like I said, I’m just here to check on her.” 

 

“What makes you think she would be in any trouble?” Sephiroth asked from his spot on a single sofa chair in front of the coffee table. Moving to sit down beside the silver soldier on the arm of the chair, she crossed her arms- shooting Terra a warning look. 

 

“N-nothing. It’s just,” Terra averted his gaze, finding his words. 

 

“I’m okay, Terra, thanks for coming to see me,” she smiled, hastily ending their conversation. “Go on ahead, I’m sure Riku and Sora want to see you right?” 

 

The Keyblade wielder nodded his head, “Right. I’ll see you later?” 

 

“Yeah, later,” she agreed, getting up to walk him out of the door with her hand gently pushing him on the back. Waving to him as he walked away, she shut the door slowly, walking back to sit back at Sephiroth’s side

 

“What’s his deal? Is he the one that beat Zack?” Genesis turned onto his side, holding himself up with an elbow. 

 

“Yeah, he seems capable enough.” Angeal responded. 

 

“I guess,” Genesis shook his head. “Lady, want some breakfast?” He reached over to his bedside table and grabbed an apple that rested on his book; tossing it to her, she caught it just as it flew close to her face. 

 

Inspecting the apple, she turned to Sephiroth and handed him the fruit. “First bite?” She asked. 

 

Cupping her hand that held the apple, he brought it close to his mouth and took a small bite; the skin breaking and crunching, juice pouring down the side of his lips and she used her finger to wipe the stray liquid. Bringing it up to her mouth, she licked it off and waited for him to finish eating before she took the apple back and finished it. 

 

“What are you guys doing today?” She asked between chews. 

 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, slob,” Genesis scoffed. 

 

“Fuck you.” She fired back without hesitation, throwing the apple core at him. 

 

Catching it, he then flung it at Angeal who tossed it into a trash can nearby with a disapproving look to the both of them. 

 

“You both are acting like children,” said Angeal. 

 

“Sorry, mother,” Genesis grinned, tossing his sheet off and patting his shoulder as he walked into the bathroom. 

 

Angeal sat down on the couch adjacent from the single seat, leaning his elbows on his knees as he turned on the television. Immediately, the screen flashed and the Shinra logo appeared. The air in the room seemed to grow cold and she could feel the other two as well as herself tense up at the sight of that damned logo. Angeal immediately changed the channel, opting to watch a program with colorful cartoons that bounced around the screen as explosive noises went off in the background. 

 

“Just turn it off,” she muttered and he nodded, the screen blinking to black as all three of them sat in silence. “Why did you guys come here?”

 

“You made a promise to us, that you’d chase us to the ends of the world if we were gone, remember?” Sephiroth spoke. 

 

“Yeah.. and?” 

 

“We’d do the same for you,” he finished. 

 

“Hm,” she looked down at her hand, watching it being covered by his as he turned her palm over to massage the visible veins. “Fair enough.”

 

“How long did you want to stay here?” Angeal asked. 

 

“Until it’s over,” she answered him. “I want to see the lanterns light up the sky like I do every year.”

 

Sephiroth played with a strand of her hair. “Is it really that special?”

 

“Yes. You’ll see,” she turned to him as he lifted her from the seat’s arm by the waist and into his lap. “You can write a wish on the paper of the lantern and it’ll come true.” 

 

Angeal leaned back into the couch, crossing his arms. “Stuff like that doesn’t work.”

 

“Yes it does,” she retorted, pouting at the black haired man. “I’ve made at least three wishes and so far all of them have come true.” 

 

“That could be confirmation bias,” he said. “What did you even wish for?”

 

“It’s a secret,” she grinned. “But you should know what I wished for even without me saying, right?”

 

*******

 

“What’s the point of that?” Prompto looked at the line of couples in front of a stage with a set of thick red curtains laying across it. Only a set of hands emerged from the drapes as many people walked back and forth from the visible limbs, inspecting each closely and second-guessing themselves before making a decision. 

 

Ignis took a moment to observe, then turned to the blond. “If you can guess the correct hand that belongs to your partner, you win a prize.”

 

Prompto pouted, “They’re all couples.. gross.” 

 

“What’s wrong, Prom, feeling a little lonely?” Gladio smirked. “One of us can go up there with you.” 

 

“Sounds like a case of jealousy,” Noctis nudged his friend. 

 

“Hell. No.” Prompto responded, putting his face in his hands as he moaned aloud. “...I wish I had a girlfriend.”

 

“Not with that lame ass attitude, you aren’t,” Gladio snorted. 

 

The blond’s head shot up, looking at him square in the eye. “Let me borrow one of your lady-friends.”

 

“I think I speak for all of them when I say that they’ll pass,” he said, finalizing Prompto’s seemingly eternal status of a bachelor. 

 

Lady and Sephiroth arrived with Vincent close behind, his dark red eyes appraising Prompto and in response, the blond gave him a nervous wave. 

 

“You guys wanna try that out?” She pointed at the line. “You get three tries before you’re disqualified.” 

 

Prompto’s eyes lit up, “Wanna go with-”

 

“Vincent, why don’t you go with Prompto?” Noctis turned to the black haired man as a hint of a scowl appeared on his face. 

 

“I’ll pass,” the black haired man replied gruffly. 

 

“All you do is stick by Sephiroth, why don’t you go bother someone else for a while?” Lady rolled her eyes. “Go up there.”

 

“I refuse,” Vincent remained firm in his decision.

 

Lady grimaced at him, turning to look at the man walking back and forth from the hands sticking out of the curtains to guess which one was his partner. Watching as the man reached out for one but hesitated and began to look again. 

 

“Look, gotta _hand_ it to those guys for trying, right?” Lady laughed,  shoulders shaking at her own pun. 

 

Vincent was silent, looking down at her then spoke, “Do you laugh at your own jokes because no one else will?” 

 

A subtle smile appeared on Sephiroth’s face and she turned to him first with a pout, “Don’t encourage him!”

 

She then whipped around quickly to address Vincent, “I should’ve left you in that Imperial base to rot, sir.” 

 

“Likewise, I wouldn’t have to hear your sorry version of comedy.”

 

 _He’s only hospitable towards Seph.. go figure._ “Bold words coming from a man who lives under my roof at my mercy, not to mention: _rent-free_.” She shot him a glare, enunciating the words ‘rent free’ loudly and at that, the man was silenced, his eyes torn from hers. 

 

Sephiroth watched the people guessing which hands belonged to their lovers from the line of curtains masking their identities. She looked at him, leaning over. “Did you want to try?”

 

“I don’t see the harm in it,” he replied. _That translates to yes, he does want to._

 

“Okay, come on,” she grabbed onto his hand and pulled him to the back of the line to wait their turn. Although the line was long, the actual wait time was short due to the amount of people going up at a time. 

 

Prompto crossed his arms and Noctis looked at him with amusement, “Want to go up with me?”

 

“Dude, we’re best friends, but I wouldn’t be able to tell which hand is yours even if you tattooed your name on it,” the blond responded. 

 

“Ye-ouch,” Noctis tutted. “I’m hurt.” 

 

“Besides.. I know Seph is supposed to be ultra-instinctive or whatever. But do you really think he could identify her hand easily?” Prompto looked to Noctis for answers and sighed when the prince only shrugged. His attention now turning to Vincent. “What do you think, you’re tight with him right?”

 

“Can’t say,” said Vincent. “I suppose you should watch and see.”

 

The party waited till Lady and Sephiroth were both nearing the front of the line. Stopping once more, she squeezed his hand, “You look good in traditional robes.” Her eyes looking up and down at the simple black robe with a black sash that had a low v that revealed a third of his chest, his silver hair contrasted greatly with his clothes and although his attire was modest- his overall appearance was still one to be admired like a work of art. 

 

His green-blue eyes shimmered and his fingers intertwined with hers, squeezing tightly. “Thank you,” he simply said and she leaned into him as they waited their turn. 

 

As the person working the event showed up, counting the couples two at a time then proceeded to speak, “Can I get the ones who are going behind the curtain to come with me? The rest stay behind here.” 

 

Lady gave one last squeeze of his hand. “Good luck,” she whispered to him before letting go and following the rest of the group behind the curtain to take up their positions. 

 

Sephiroth and the rest of the ones that were guessing, looked up as hands began to emerge from behind the curtains- ending when their wrist were just barely visible. He counted ten hands that went down the line and his eyes narrowed as he looked at them one at a time from afar. 

 

“Alright, good gentlemen and ladies, who wants to go first?

 

Immediately, Sephiroth moved up past the rest of the group- not waiting for anyone else to move up with him. 

 

“Hm, confident guy,” Gladio crossed his arms. 

 

Sephiroth looked down at the hands briefly, walking down the line until he stopped at the seventh curtain. 

 

“No way, he’s bluffing,” Prompto muttered. 

 

The silver-haired soldier then pointed at the curtain, looking at the announcer. 

 

“Are you sure, sir?” He asked. 

 

Nodding, Sephiroth reached down and took the hand, stroking the thumb and intertwining his fingers with it. The curtain then drew back and the owner of the hand stepped out. 

 

A triumphant smile on her face, Lady couldn’t help the butterflies running through her stomach. 

 

“He got it on the first try!” A wave of awe rippled through the crowd watching as well as applause. 

 

Prompto’s mouth dropped open. “How the hell-“ 

 

“Don’t know if it’s creepy or cute that he knows her hand so well,” Noctis said aloud. 

 

“It just means the guy spends a lot of time looking at her,” Gladio crossed his arms. 

 

“Vincent, am I right to assume that they are.. well,” Ignis stopped himself before continuing. 

 

Vincent looked at Ignis with indifference in his eyes, “It’s not my business. And why does it matter even if they are?”

 

“Just asking, for Prompto’s sake,” Noctis pointed at his blond buddy. “He’s desperate for a relationship.” 

 

Gladio coughed. “Tough words coming from a virgin.”

 

Noctis turned to him with a frown, “H-hey, I am not-“

 

“Oh, so you’re _not_ a virgin? Who’d you lose it to? Your hand?” Gladio smirked. 

 

Noctis bit back his words, thinking of that dream he had with Lady. “Just shut up,” he finally said.

 

“Thought so.”

 

“Are you a virgin too, Vincent?” Prompto whispered to him. 

 

Vincent shot him a seething glare, “I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.” 

 

Silence filled the group and Prompto cleared his throat loudly as he faced towards the stage where Sephiroth and Lady were getting congratulated. 

 

“Makes me wonder…” he said. 

 

“Wonder what?” Noctis asked. 

 

Prompto tapped his finger against his arm. “Which of us in the Alstroemeria are virgins.”

 

“Oh, goodness,” Ignis shook his head, throwing his hand up to push his glasses as well as simultaneously hiding the small blush on his face.

 

“What?” Prompto looked at them. “It doesn’t hurt to ask, right? Just a little friendly chat.”

 

Vincent's eyes narrowed even more. “Prompto. No.”

 

*******

 

Lady crouched over a patch of dry earth with a stick in hand. Poking the ground, she began drawing a stick figure, dots for eyes, and spiky hair. Tilting her head, she added a smiling line for the mouth and drew two connecting lines coming from the chest of the initial stick figure; one going left and one going right. Under that stick figure, she wrote ‘Terra’. 

 

The one on the left was another stick figure with longer spiky hair and a frowny face. She drew two small sticks coming from the hands. _It’s supposed to be his weapons,_ she told herself. She then wrote ‘Xemnas’ under that one. 

 

On the right, she drew another stick figure with the same flowing hair as Xemnas but she omitted the bangs and tried her best to make it appear slicked back. Writing a huge question mark under that stick figure. 

 

“Okay,” she muttered aloud. “What’s the connection between the three of you?”

 

_Why the white hair when Terra has brown? Golden eyes? And they look older than Terra. And if a Heartless and Nobody is formed…_

 

She drew a heart in the middle of the stick-figure Terra’s chest and she drew two halves that went towards the Nobody and Heartless. 

 

_Wait. So if they combine does it cancel out?? Like a math equation??_

 

She frowned, tapping the stick near the base of her wooden sandals. 

 

_So if Xemnas and that other one is killed then they form Terra again? But then how is Terra still here?_

 

She began writing her unsupported theories on the dirt next to stick-Terra. 

 

 _‘Clones?’_ She then paused, not even wanting to entertain her next thought. Nonetheless, she wrote it down into the ground. 

 

 _‘Time-travel?’_ Another pause and she immediately crossed it out. _No, that’s ridiculous!_

 

“Aggghh!!!” She groaned aloud, burying her face in her hands as she screeched. “It makes no sense!!” 

 

She stood up and scratched out her drawings with her foot, tossing the stick over her shoulder and she heard it collide with something. Turning around, she prepared an apology for whoever or whatever she hit and froze at what she saw. Before she could ready herself to attack, the hooded figure then pulled back their hood and rose petals flew out, perfuming the air.

 

Lady’s eyes narrowed, “Marluxia, what do you want?”

 

Marluxia looked down at the stick that hit his chest, brushing it to the side with his foot and looked back up at her. 

 

“I just want to talk,” he said, raising his hands up to show their lack of weapons. 

 

Lady didn’t relax, her eyes never leaving him. “Why?”

 

He took a step forward and she took one back, he noticed that and sighed. “So is it true that you can help heal a heart?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she muttered. _The guys keep saying that._ But she assumed thy meant it as more of a superficial statement, not something factual. 

 

“Lady,” Marluxia spoke softly. “What makes you so special?” 

 

She debated whether that question was directed towards her or if he was merely thinking aloud.

 

“So you come here asking for help, after all you did?” 

 

Marluxia’s eyes hardened, taking note of the way she was glaring at him. Running a hand through his hair, he turned around. “I’ll take my leave then,” he said as a corridor of darkness opened before him. 

 

Lady inhaled sharply and time seemed to slow around her, her eyes watched as the rustling leaves of the trees around her looked as if they were moving through thick mud. 

 

_“Help…him...”_

 

She looked around her to pinpoint the source of the voice. Looking up, a light blinded her and she squinted as the voice grew louder and more urgent.

 

_“Help.. him.. help. Him!”_

 

Light descended from the sky and floated down around Marluxia before rising up once more and shooting straight for her. 

 

 _“Please help him!!”_ The voice screaming in her head now seemed indistinguishable from her own.

 

Lady swallowed as time resumed back to normal around her and her body felt as if it was moving on its own. Running towards Marluxia before he entered his portal, reaching out for his arm and grabbing it. He turned around, surprise in his sky blue eyes.

 

“Don’t go,” she breathed, her voice frantic. “Don’t leave-!”

 

Marluxia turned around, cupping her face gently with both of his hands and bringing her forehead to his. Closing his eyes, they stayed there for a while before he spoke quietly, “I long to feel again.” 

 

He took her hand and placed it over his chest, exactly where his heart should be. Where it should’ve been. Opening his eyes, she stared deep into his irises and began to see the smallest bit of anger and frustration swirl in a darkened storm of blue. “All I’ve felt- all I’ve been feeling is emptiness.” 

 

“Is it true or not?” He asked her. 

 

She hesitated before replying, “I don’t know.”

 

“Why did you run to me with such desperation in your eyes?” 

 

“I don’t know,” she repeated, her hand balling against the smooth cold leather of his coat and the other rested on his hand cupping her face. “What do you want, Marluxia? What do you _really_ want?”

 

It was his turn to be unsure as he didn’t give her any reply, averting his gaze. Finally, he looked deep into her eyes and spoke. 

 

“Will you help me?”

_“Will you help him?”_

 

Lady froze. _That voice again._ It sounded so sad and so far away. 

 

“How can I help you?” She whispered. 

 

His eyes flashed and his hand moved to the back of her neck as he moved his face closer to hers. “Is this how you make them feel?” He murmured, his lips coming closer. 

 

She was still as his lips brushed against hers but suddenly felt his hands leave her as he jumped back with a projectile flying past in front of their faces.

 

“Leave her alone,” Xigbar appeared in front of her, his arrowgun levitating by his hand. 

 

Marluxia’s eyes narrowed, standing up straight. Without another word, he turned around and walked into the corridor. 

 

“Marluxia!” She started, going towards him but was stopped as Xigbar wrapped an arm around her arm and pulled her back. 

 

“Let him go,” he said and she looked at him. 

 

“Is it true?” She whispered, her voice wavering with uncertainty. 

 

“What?”

 

“That I’m really helping you guys heal your hearts?”

 

Xigbar was silent, instead raising his hand and summoning his own corridor. “Come with me, princess.”

 

*******

 

Stepping out of the corridor of darkness, a fresh breeze was the first thing to greet her and blades of grass tickled her feet through her open toe sandals. Next, the new scenic view took her breath away as she looked down at a large castle and town surrounded by a body of water as far as the eye can see. Rising out of the blues were pointed green mountains that dotted the scape, an amalgamation of ocean and land in harmony. 

 

A large white circle surrounded the outer walls of the castle with island gardens being connected by the circle that had beaming lights that lit up the surroundings. Even on the scaling cobbled stone walls were vines that wrapped up, all of it being a mix of plant and rock that did promise protection as well as aesthetic. Sections were cut off by the same wall, one being a large garden with a decorated stone pavilion in the middle, to the right of that one she could see a village with multiple thatched roofs connected together.  

 

Not to mention the castle in the middle of it all. It’s high towers reaching up into the sky as if it wanted to touch the clouds that hung above. Junctions of spiked towers jutted from the sides in a strange fashion that she’s never truly seen before, but in a way it reminded her of the castle of the Organization. In the front of the castle was a vaulted window that contained cogs and gears that turned, their purpose unknown. 

 

“Where are we?” She asked. 

 

“Radiant Garden,” he stood next to her, hands in his pockets. “Pretty, isn’t it?”

 

“It’s gorgeous,” she breathed. 

 

Xigbar looked at her, “This is where it all happened, y’know.”

 

She turned to look at him with confusion and he continued, “Where some of us Org XIII members turned into the things you see today.”

 

“Don’t call yourselves that,” she muttered, frowning and he chuckled, taking her hand in his. 

 

“Wanna see where I stayed before?” He asked. 

 

“Of course.” Gripping his hand tighter, she followed him into another corridor and walked through until she could see a dim light beyond the green and black swirl of darkness. 

 

Stepping out once more, the corridor closed behind her as she found herself in a room with a window being the only source of light in the room. Scattered papers were strewn across the room along with cobwebs hanging off the single bookshelf. Against the wall was a single bed with the bedsheets thrown off in a fashion where it seemed like the owner slept in and got up in a hurry. 

 

A desk and chair was stationed on the opposite side of the room and additional papers were tacked on the walls in a chaotic fashion. Walking to the window, she leaned out and stuck her head out; looking down, she felt dizzy as the drop seemed to go on forever. A hand slithered around her waist as Xigbar looked out the window with her with his hand holding firmly onto her. 

 

Down below she could see the village she saw from afar and his finger pointed at a house, “Y’know Axel and Saïx used to live down there.” His finger moved to a section below them, “Zexion, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Xaldin used to live here too. The six of us-” he paused, shaking his head. “-yeah, the six of us used to be apprentices here. We worked under a guy named ‘Ansem the Wise’. Lord and King of this castle, yadda yadda yadda.” 

 

“You said six,” she said. “But you listed only five.”

 

Xigbar turned around, leaning against the base of the window as he crossed his arms and legs. “The sixth.. Is Xehanort. His Nobody is good ol’ Xemnas himself.”

 

Lady white-knuckled the edge of the window, her thoughts running a mile a minute as the tried to catch the runaway concepts that seemed to tease her as she tried to connect them together. 

 

_Xehanort? But isn’t Xemnas Terra’s Nobody? But then how could Xiggy be lying and where did I hear that name before? It seems.. familiar._

 

“So all of you? Except Demyx, Larxene, Luxord, and Marluxia?” She asked, her curiosity scratching at the surface of her brain. “What about Xion and Roxas?”

 

“My gods, you ask a lot of questions,” he chuckled, stretching his neck to the left. “Those others weren’t with us when we turned into Nobodies. They were what you can say, ‘special cases’, it’s a bit complicated.” 

 

Lady sighed, massaging her temples. “Save it for another day then, I feel a migraine coming.” A hand rubbed her back and she groaned, “I miss just being a landlady and the only thing I worried about is if someone paid their rent on time.”

 

“You mean you can’t balance fighting off evil Organizations and companies while managing to keep all of us under control?” 

 

She made a face at him and pouted. 

 

“I’m joking, don’t give me that look.” He raised his arms in defense, reaching over to grab her arms and pull her back from the window. He sat on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to him. She did so, fitting on the small length of the end of the bed and leaned her arms on her knees. 

 

“Not that I don’t want to take care of all of you, but, man,” she let herself fall back on the bed and a light layer of dust flew up around her as her arms stretched far above her head. “How did all of this happen?”

 

He leaned back as well, facing her, “Dunno. It’s a lot of trouble for sure, but I think it was all worth it.” 

 

Her face turned towards him. “What makes you say that?”

 

“I got to meet you.”

 

She bit back laughter, giving him a light push, “You mean you got to stalk me.”

 

“Hey, I introduced myself with a peace offering didn’t I?”

 

“You mean that salty ice cream? Pshh.”

 

“You ate it all though.” 

 

“That I did, it tasted pretty good after a while.”

 

They both shared a laugh as Xigbar looked up at the high ceilings of his old room. Rolling to his side so that he faced her, he held up his head with his arm as his other hand reached up to grab her waist. 

 

“This situation feels familiar doesn’t it?” He grinned. 

 

“We played twenty-one questions that night too, and it was raining,” she mused, closing her eyes and trying to remember what the thunder sounded like from that specific storm. “... And I think I fell asleep.”

 

“You did. You look cute sleeping, except for that snoring,” he laughed. 

 

She pushed his chest with a smile, “I do _not_ , shut up!” Sighing with content, she intertwined her fingers atop her stomach. “Xiggy.. you didn’t answer my question earlier. Am I really helping your hearts?”

 

Instead of answering, he placed his hand on the side of her head and pushed it closer to his chest. Closing her eyes, she listened in; hearing only nothing at first but then hearing a pulsing beat that echoed soundly. “So. I take that as a yes?”

 

“I don’t know how it is for the others,” he hummed. “I don’t exactly ask them to let me put my face in their chests. You could, probably.”

 

“Maybe, their reactions should be good,” she snorted, snuggling her head close to his chest to try and listen in on more stray beats. She felt his hand wrapping closely around her waist and they laid their for a while with only the wind blowing in occasionally. 

 

“Hey,” he mumbled, looking down at her. 

 

“Yes?”

 

His hand moved up to caress her face, thumb stroking her cheekbone as he leaned over to kiss her forehead. His lips felt soft against her skin and she found herself leaning into his touch as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder to move her more towards him. Her hand bunched up on the dark grey long sleeve shirt he was wearing and she shut her eyes tightly. 

 

Xigbar stopped. “What’s wrong?” 

 

Her eyes opened and he frowned when they appeared moist and misty. “I don’t- I can’t do this with you guys,” she whispered. “This isn’t fair for anyone.” 

 

He moved to lift up her chin towards him, “Guessin’ I’m not the first, huh.”

 

She shook her head, burying her face in his chest to hide the rising blush in her cheeks. 

 

He exhaled nasally. “I know I won’t be the last, either, but-”, he carefully pried her face from his chest and sat up, holding her up with him. “-I want you to know something.” 

 

Her fingers ran to quickly swipe under her eyes, “What is it?”

 

“You can be selfish with me.”

 

With one swift motion, he brought his face forward and his lips crashed onto hers. Her eyes widened in surprise, although it shouldn’t have come off as one in the first place. His hands held her face with grip to hold her face still but with enough lax that she could pull away- if she wanted to. Letting her eyes flutter shut, she felt him lift her up into his lap- facing him with her knees resting along the bed. 

 

A sigh escaped her lips and he pulled back but not before nipping her bottom lip and swiping at it with his tongue. 

 

Her hand reached up and traced the scar going under his eye down to his lower right jawline; her other hand carefully following the thread of his eye patch as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on the healed injuries on his face respectively. 

 

“And you wonder why it’s hard not to fall for you?” He asked, gripping her waist and burying his nose into the crook of her neck. Slowly he began undoing the sash that held her robe together; each of his movements stalled to give her enough time to stop him if she didn’t like it. Notably, she didn’t. 

 

Smiling, Xigbar licked her neck and tossed the sash outside- revealing her front to him so his hands could touch her exposed skin. Moving his head down to leave a trail down towards her breasts, he took the other one in his hand to massage. Lady shut her eyes as his movements grew increasingly bold, sliding her robe off her shoulders and kissing the skin as he exposed it to himself. 

 

She put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself as he fondled her body gently and she could feel him hardening right under her crotch. Sliding his hands down to her ass, he gave it a light slap as he made her grind against him- eliciting a small yelp from her with the combined actions. 

 

Scooting her up, he laid back to balance himself on his elbow with his other hand pulling her down to him. Just below her, he slid a finger against her covered slit and ran a lazy circle around her clitoris that slowly grew faster and faster. A mischievous grin appeared on his lips as he brought her head down for him to whisper in her ear, “Wanna see what my trigger finger can do?”

 

Her cheeks heated up and she felt a tingle of excitement go up her spine as he pulled her down to where she was laying on her back as he laid on his side. His hand sliding down from her navel down to where her pooling wetness was, the anticipation making her shiver as well as his fingertips ghosting on her skin. 

 

With one swift movement, he pulled her panties to the side and ran his middle finger up against her. She could only hold onto him as he began inserting fingers inside her. One at first, then two, starting at a slow pace as he felt along her insides while thumbing her nub with playful intensity. As his fingers plunged into her deeper at a faster rate, she squeezed her eyes and her cheeks were flushed pink as she tried to hold back the small mewls she let out. His lips then found themselves on hers as their tongues swirled around each other, moaning into his mouth all the while doing it. 

 

Wet and lewd noises bounced off the walls of the room as he inserted another finger inside her and pumped them in and out quickly. Her hips bucked when he curled them up inside her and found her g-spot; her knees closing in as she tried to alleviate the friction building up inside her. 

 

“Keep your legs open for me,” he instructed her, a firmness in his voice that she hadn’t heard before and she complied, her legs trembling as she did. “That’s right, just like that.” 

 

Just as she felt a welcome orgasm coming to her, he pulled his fingers out and inspected the glistening liquid that coated it generously as she lamented the loss of her climax. Bringing it to his mouth, he sucked it off his middle finger with an obnoxious pop and smirked. Looking down at her pouting face, he laughed, “I wasn’t done yet princess, don’t give me that look.”

 

Scooting up on the bed to lay down, he held her hips over and plopped her right on top of him as he unzipped his pants and his dick sprang forth- finally freed from the restraints that were beginning to feel painful.

 

Xigbar gave her a look as he positioned her hips right over him. His eye filled with lust as he gave her a single command with his voice husky and low: “Ride me.”

 

Nodding, she grabbed his dick in her hands, rubbing the tip against her before she inserted it inside slowly. Biting her bottom lip as the long length entered her, she let out a hitched pant when she finally sat down to take it all in. Her hands were on the lean muscles of his abdomen and she waited for a minute to adjust. 

 

“Come on, sweetheart, I know you can do better than that,” his hand lingered on her ass. “Do I need to give you motivation?” With that, he raised his hand and gave her ass cheek a harsh slap and she yelped, her body moving up and back down. 

 

Swallowing her whines, she moved her hips up and down, noting how he watched her in her lustful dance atop of him. She felt shy, which was ridiculous, but with just the way that he was appraising her as she moved her body to stroke him with her fully nude and exposed made her cheeks feel inflamed. She soon found her rhythm and knew how to move her hips and thighs that would elicit groans from him. 

 

“That’s a good girl,” he cooed, bringing his hand up to caress her face and grazing her bottom lip with his thumb. “You’re doing such a good job.” 

 

Her lips parted as he stuck his thumb in her mouth, her tongue swirling around his finger and biting down on it as she felt his cock rub against her clit. Waiting until he could feel his thumb fully coated, he took it out of her mouth and brought it down to rub her clit harshly. A high-pitched whine escaped her as he played with her while his other hand had her hips in lock to grind against him harder. 

 

“Hold on tight,” came another set of instructions.

 

“What?” She panted, looking down at him with confusion as the air around them seemed to blur. 

 

Immediately, her hair felt as if it was hanging down and she looked up to see the bed they were just on was on the ceiling. 

 

“Wait-” she looked down and saw the ceiling light from earlier and she leaned over to hold onto him. “What did you do?!”

 

“Come on, babe, sex on a bed is overrated,” he winked, giving her ass a light tap. “You can cross this off your bucket list.”

 

“You’re something else,” she sighed. 

 

He grabbed both of her hips and moved her on him and she let out a sigh. “Come on kitten, you were doing so good.” To further motivate her, he thumbed her clit once more and that got her moving. Moving down and up, sliding the front of his dick against her front as he hummed in approval, “Good girl, you ride me so good.” 

 

His appraisal made her blush as she did her best to try, gasping as the head of his cock repeatedly hit the entrance to her cervix. The orgasm she was denied earlier was soon coming again and her movements grew more erratic as she tried to use his length to hit her in all the right spots. He let out a guttural growl, feeling the walls of her pussy tighten around his length as he moved to stop her hips. 

 

She frowned at him, thoroughly annoyed if she would be denied once more but that annoyance turned to fear as a cat-like grin graced his mouth. Suddenly, whatever magic was holding the both of them up against the ceiling disappeared and she felt her body slip off of his and plummet down below. A shriek left her as she collided with the sheets face first and felt his body gently land on hers. He gave her no time to rest as he pulled her legs towards him and held his stiffened cock in his hands as she rolled over on her back to watch him. 

 

“Where do you want me to finish?” He asked quietly. 

 

His hand ran up her slit, “In here?” 

  


His thumb moved to graze her bottom lip. “Your mouth?” He still had that grin on his face. “Personally, I want to see your face covered with it.” 

 

Her arm stretched over her eyes as her breasts moved up and down to catch her breathe, the adrenaline keeping her climax to the threshold where all it needed was one final push. 

 

“Just not inside,” she whispered and he shrugged. 

 

“Whatever my princess wants,” he plunged his cock into her, the entrance was allowed with ease from the coating of fluids that ran down her thighs. His strokes were fast and her thighs collided with his hips as he kept pulling her against him. Each thrust was met with a moan as she let out sounds in time with his rhythm, a symphony of desire. 

 

His pace slowed and he slipped his cock out just as it shot strands of cum over her stomach and even onto her breasts; with one final grunt, he stroke the remains of his climax onto the top of her slit- watching it ooze down over the folds of her pussy. Collapsing next to her, he immediately wrapped an arm around her and brought her close to him. 

 

A light covering of sweat covered her forehead and her breathing was slightly heavy as she tried to bring it back to normal. 

 

“You call me a lot of pet names,” she muttered, looking up at him as she curled up into his chest. 

 

“Do you have a preference?” He asked, his own breathing was irregular. 

 

“...I like it when you call me ‘princess’,” she buried her face in her hands to avoid seeing the smug expression on his face. 

 

“Yeah, I know,” he chuckled. “Princess it is, then.”

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“You never answered when I asked if you would wear cat ears for me.”

 

“Not this again,” he sighed. 

 

*******

 

Steam rose from the hot water as Lady buried herself shoulders deep into the depths, her back leaning against a smooth rock as a towel covered her head. It was serene. A single bonsai tree grew in the corner against the bamboo walls that separated the baths to ensure privacy amongst the guests. 

 

“Move,” Larxene nudged her as she took a seat on the rock beside her, a towel covering her slim frame. 

 

Lady looked up at her with a huge smile, “Finally decided to join me, huh?”

 

“I just wanted a bath,” the blonde turned away. “I didn’t know you’d be here.” 

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

As Larxene sat down on the rock, Lady moved to put her head on her left shoulder. 

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” the Savage Nymph grimaced, but remained still. 

 

“Nothing~” Lady laughed. “I’m just glad you’re here. Are you having fun so far?”

 

“Of course I’m not,” Larxene muttered, hiding her flushed expression as Lady’s hair tickled her shoulder. “Don’t be weird.”

 

**On the other side of their bath…**

 

“Hey guys,” Prompto jumped into the bath, splashing hot water onto an unsuspecting Demyx and Noctis. “I have a question.” 

 

“Oh, this should be good,” Saïx sighed, leaning against a rock with his arms crossed. Looking irritated as Axel flicked water on his face as the redhead arose from the depths. 

 

“What’s on your mind, blondie?” Xigbar asked, looking pleased with himself for reasons unknown. 

 

“Are any of you, y’know, virgins?” Prompto asked aloud. 

 

Axel choked on the very air he breathed. “‘ _Scuse me_?” 

 

“I’m just curious!” Prompto raised his hands. 

 

“I’m not,” Xigbar replied confidently to his question.

 

“I.. am also not,” Saïx added. 

 

“‘ _SCUSE ME?_ ” Axel whipped around to look at the blue haired man. “What do you mean you’re not? Since when?!”

 

“That’s none of your concern,” Saïx frowned. 

 

“Wait a minute,” Axel’s eyes squinted at him. “I think I know.” 

 

“Oh, do you?”

 

“Yeah, I do.” 

 

“You’ve no evidence to back that claim.”

 

“I hate you.” 

 

“You?” Noctis made a face at Saïx. “Sorry, I guess you just don’t seem the type to do all that?”

 

“I know right, surprised x-face would have someone do it with him with that scary look of his,” Demyx laughed and was silenced when the aforementioned shot him a seething glare. “What about you, Xiggy?”

 

“Top secret, water boy,” Xigbar put a finger over his lips. “Can’t tell ya.” 

 

“So everyone else is a virgin?” Prompto hummed. “Well. I don’t feel so alone anymore at least.”

 

“You haven’t lost your v-card yet? No surprise there, you’d look like you’d faint if you got kissed.” Axel snickered. 

 

“Hey, I-I’ve had my fair share of kisses,” the blond fired back. 

 

“Your mom doesn’t count.”

 

“Bold words, Axel, but have you ever gotten kissed?” Saïx asked him.

 

“Uh, yeah, of course,” the redhead scoffed. 

 

“I did too!” Demyx raised his hand. “... But it was CPR because I almost drowned.” 

 

“You almost drowned?” Axel guffawed much to the blond’s displeasure. “In _water._ Which is your element?”

 

“Hey, don’t tell me you ever got burned before!” 

 

“I haven’t buddy, ‘cause I’m not dumb.”

 

“Okay, that doesn’t change the fact that Noctis hasn’t ever had his first kiss _or_ his virginity,” Demyx pointed at the crown prince, hoping to get the heat off of him.

 

“Hey don’t rope me into this!” Noctis exclaimed. “Besides, I never said that!”

 

Prompto looked at him with confusion. “But Gladio and Iggy told me that you’ve never-” the blond’s face was met with a splash of water that interrupted him mid-sentence. 

 

“Look at that, the most eligible bachelor here and future king to an empire is single and not ready to mingle,” Xigbar laughed. 

 

“I just,” Noctis paused and cleared his throat, thankful the thick steam covered the small blush on his face. “I just haven’t found someone that wants to be with me.” 

 

“Suuuure you haven’t, princey boy, I may only have one good eye but that doesn’t mean I can’t see the way you look at-” the Sharpshooter was met with a splash of water that also cut him off mid-sentence. 

 

“Hey so, being royalty and all,” Axel cocked his head. “Does that mean you’d have to marry someone else that’s blue-blooded too?”

 

“I don’t mind marrying someone who’s not,” Noctis shrugged. “I don’t see how that’ll change the way I’ll rule.”

 

“Oho, is that wedding bells I hear in your future?” Prompto held his hand up to his ear. “Didn’t know you’d be the type to settle down.”

 

“What can I say? A king needs a queen,” Noctis said and for a split-second, an aura of his royal lineage showed about him. “I would make sure she’s someone that’s good for Lucis.. and for me of course.”

 

“Hey, whoever you marry, we’ll all get invited right?” Demyx cocked his head. “Royal weddings seem cool.”

 

“That’ll be a sight to see,” Saïx agreed. 

 

“Sure,” Noctis smiled. “You guys’ll get front row seats.” 

 

**Back on the other side…**

 

“My goodness they’re loud over there,” Lady sighed, splashing some water on the back of her neck. 

 

“Hmph,” Larxene had her eyes closed, resting her head back against a folded towel. “They’re ruining my T-L-C time.”

 

“I’m hungry, did you wanna grab something to eat after this?” Lady asked her. 

 

One eye opened as Larxene looked at her, “Like what?”

 

“I dunno, want something sweet or savory?”

 

“Both. I worked a lot today.”

 

Lady nodded, standing up and moving to grab the towel to cover herself. “Sounds like a pla-”

 

A large explosion caught the two girls off guard as the bamboo partition wall that separated them; the force ripping the towel from Lady’s hands and she was left bare. Larxene put up a protective arm over her face and she stood up, a scowl on her face as mist concealed the ones responsible. As it dissipated and the steam cleared up, Larxene and Lady looked up at Demyx and Axel who had their weapons out; water and fire surrounding them respectively. 

 

Lady’s face felt hot, using her hands to cover her still nude front body as she quickly turned around. “What are you guys doing?!” She screeched, looking desperately for a towel to conceal herself. 

 

Larxene stepped in front of her with an irritated scowl, “Perverts!”

 

“Ewww get out of the way, no one wants to see you Larxene!” Demyx made a face. 

 

“Stop looking over here!!!” Lady peeked over Larxene’s shoulder, “Forget about getting hearts-”

 

“-You guys need fucking brains first!” the blond finished, a cackle of electricity buzzing around her hair. “Stop messing around!!” With that, two bolt of purple and yellow lightning appeared over their bath and struck the water below as the boys all tried to jump out to dodge the attack. 

 

“The hell! That could’ve been bad!” Prompto cried. 

 

“It’s not our fault,” Noctis panted, wiping off the water from his face. 

 

As the boys scrambled to safety, Larxene grabbed Lady by the hand and they both ran back into the bathhouse. Once inside, they both threw on clean robes and exited into the night air and back towards their guest housing. When they were far enough, they both stopped to catch their breaths; their panting soon turning into small laughs. 

 

“Thanks Larx,” Lady grinned up at her. 

 

“Yeah whatever,” the blond turned around. “For that, you’re buying my meal right?”

 

“Wha- but I helped you with your attack, remember? C’mon!”

 

“Ugh, fine, we’ll split the bill so stop whining.” 

 

Lady hooked her arm around Larxene’s and the two girls continued to talk as they made their way to find something to eat.

 

*******

 

Twilight poured into an open window with heavy white curtains draped over it. Lady found herself in another room that was completely white to the point where it almost hurt her eyes just looking around. Instead of standing, she was sitting in a chair and looking down at a long white table with a single vase full of flowers that seemed to match the rest of the room. The only colors that stood out in the area were the drawings that were scattered around on the table and tacked onto the walls… as well as the figure sitting down on the opposite side of the table. Their face was covered in red bandages and the rest of his body was concealed with a blend of black and red. The only visible part of their face were their mouth and an eerie eye that was a haunting shade of red-amber. 

 

“Who are you,” she breathed. 

 

“I could ask the same about you, girl,” his voice was a deep tenor, instilling an air of authority about him. “You, the one who’s subject to Project SIREN.” 

 

Lady shot up from her seat, “What do you know about-”

 

“Sit. Down.” He said; the chair behind her pulled back up against her knees and she buckled, sitting back down again. “You’ve seen them haven’t you?”

 

“Who?”

 

“Xehanort’s following.”

 

“You mean Xemnas’ Organization?” She scoffed. “Half of them are with me, what’s your problem with them?”

 

“I must ask something of you.”

 

“Oh, go ahead,” she tutted. “Since our conversation was already so pleasant.”

 

“The rest of them, I’d like for you to be rid of them.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“The less people in their ranks, the better for this world.” 

 

“And I’m supposed to trust you on your word alone?” She scowled. “Why would you even want that?”

 

He was silent, closing his visible eye and opening them again to look at her. “They have strayed from their path and if you must show them the error of their ways by force, then do so. 

 

“What?” Her scowl deepened. “You bring me here by force and ask me to kill the remaining members of the Organization? Are you kidding me right now?”

 

The man didn’t answer and it only made her blood boil hotter. 

 

“What do you know about Project SIREN? Who are you? What’s really going on here?” She stood up, slamming her hands on the table. 

 

The man merely closed his eye and when she blinked, she found herself staring up at the ceiling of her darkened room. Sitting straight up, a light coating of sweat covered her forehead and she panted quietly. To her right, a light snore was heard as Roxas slept with his body not positioned straight on his sleeping roll. Beyond him, Xion was sleeping perfectly still, the ribbon she gave her was folded neatly next to her pillow. 

 

Getting up quietly, she walked out and shut the screen door slowly behind her. The cold night air greeted her as she stepped into a circle of light that the moon shone down on her. 

 

“Why are people always forcing things on me..” she sighed, crossing her arms to hug herself and continued to walk down towards a forest path. “I can never catch a break, can I?”


	43. XLIII

“Like this?” Lady balanced her feet on the two sides of the board, gripping tightly onto Roxas hands. 

 

“Spread your feet a little more- no, not too far, there we go,” he encouraged her, his hands holding firmly onto her as he slid her along, “get used to the movement and let yourself glide.”

 

He pushed her off and she balanced herself well until the skateboard beneath her began to slow down until she stood completely still. 

 

“Lady, you’re supposed to kick!” Roxas laughed at her bewildered look. 

 

Nodding, she tried to follow his instructions, her left foot touching the ground and pushing herself forward. Unfortunately the board only traveled three feet across the yard and rolled to a stop once more. 

 

Turning to Roxas, she sighed in defeat, “I guess I’m not that good at this like you are.”

 

“C’mon, with a little practice I’m sure you can get this down in no time!” He walked over to her. 

 

“Maybe, and maybe with your supervision,” she bowed her head. “O’ Master of Skateboards.”

 

“You’ll be a master soon too, no worries,” he encouraged her as she stepped off. After she got down, he immediately hopped on the board and pushed himself towards the direction of a raised brick flowerbed. 

 

She watched as he bent his knees and jumped, the board following him as it grinded against the edge of the flowerbed. Hopping off, he lifted one side of the board as he focused his body weight on one part; twisting around and proceeding to do a kickflip. His eyes glancing up at her to make sure she was watching him, the smile she gave him distracted him just enough for the board to come flying from under his feet and the blond fell back into the gravel floor. 

 

“Roxas!” She yelled, running towards him and picking up the boy in her arms. “You okay?” Taking his arm that he landed on, she could see the minor cut that began to dot with blood. 

 

“Yeah, just a scratch,” the boy mumbled, looking down at his injury, “that was embarrassing. Mind healin’ it?”

 

“Yeah,” she nodded, looking down at the cut as she held his arm. Her eyes fixated on the crimson life that dribbled through the broken skin as her hand wavered over it. _Healing, right. I’m supposed to heal._ Heal. Blood. Wounds. _That smell again._ Iron. Not burning, this time, no, just-

 

“Lady?” Roxas tilted his head, concerned. 

 

“Y-yeah!” She looked up at him, responding a bit louder than she anticipated and she saw him wince at her volume. Blinking a couple times, she pressed her hand over the cut and watched as a green glow emanated from her palm. Lifting her hand, she had a small smile when the wound disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place.

 

“Thanks,” he smiled, “you’re always watching out for me.”

 

“If I don’t, then who would keep you out of trouble?” She nudged him, ruffling his hair. “Did you eat?” When he shook his head, she got up and offered him a hand. “Come on then, let’s find you some breakfast.” 

 

His hand slipped into hers and she held onto it tightly as if it were a precious gift. 

 

“Hey so, about Larxene..” he started. 

 

“Not this again,” she sighed. “I don’t think she’s a problem and I mean it.” 

 

“You’re too trusting,” he mumbled, “she and Marluxia, they don’t exactly have the nicest intentions in mind.” 

 

“Yeah, but, I don’t think that’s their fault. Think about their situation, it was similar to yours, no?”

 

“That was another life ago,” Roxas muttered. 

 

“It doesn’t matter,” she waved away his melancholy as she squeezed his hand. “We’re here now and we have each other.”

 

“Right,” he agreed and they both found themselves in the resort’s restaurant. Choosing to sit on one of the outer benches that sat on the precipice of a cliff overlooking the ocean. She sat down on the wooden chairs and Roxas sat right next to her, perusing the menu that was already laid out in front of them. 

 

She leaned in close, reading the menu with him, “did you find something you want? I’ll take your order to the kitchen when you decide.” 

 

“Will you come back out to eat with me?” He looked at her. 

 

“Of course,” she laughed, “I’m not gonna just leave you.” 

 

“Can I get this?” He pointed at the deluxe box of green vegetables with fried and spiced chicken. 

 

“Yes, sir,” she tapped his shoulder, getting up to take his order to the kitchen. As she wrote down the menu item on a piece of paper and sliding it over to a cook, she walked back out to wait for the order to be done. Leaning against the wall and watching people exit and enter, she spotted a familiar head of hair. 

 

“Zexion,” she called out and and the steel-blue head of hair turned towards her as she walked over to him. “You here for breakfast too?”

 

“I am,” he admitted, “what can I help you with?”

 

“Come with me,” she pulled on the sleeve of his woolen coat as they made their way towards the side of the building that was concealed from the rest of the restaurant. She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him against the wall gently, her eyes looking at him with intent. 

 

“Y-yes?” A circle of pink diffused on his cheek that was visible. 

 

“Stay still,” she mumbled as she leaned the side of her head against his chest. 

 

Zexion stiffened, not knowing what to do as she nuzzled into him. His hand going up, hesitating, then finally resting it atop her hair. He asked himself: had her hair always been this soft? 

 

His breathing was irregular as her hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest, her fingers sending tingles as if they were conducting electricity over the wool cloth of his coat. Her eyes were closed as she waited, then, clarification. 

 

_Ba-dump._

 

Smiling, she waited to listen for another one but the next beat took about two minutes- which in itself is irregular. For a normal heart, it took a little under one-hundred beats per minute for an adult and normally she would’ve been alarmed. But in this case, she was elated. 

 

Standing back up, she looked at him as if she heard whispers from a goddess that told her the secret to happiness. 

 

“I can hear your heartbeat,” she breathed, barely containing her giddiness. “Did you know that?” 

 

“Really?” His eyes widened, regarding just how happy she looked for him. “When I felt it at first, I admit, I thought it might’ve been wishful thinking. But it’s still hard to confirm without some testing at first.” 

 

“Testing,” she made a face at the word as she said it. “You can’t just trust your gut instinct?”

 

“I would but.. this is important to me,” he whispered. 

 

Lady regretted her words, biting her bottom lip, “I’m sorry. You’re right. What do you have in mind?”

 

He hesitates at first, averting his eyes, “nothing as of now. I’ll let you know when the process doesn’t include, erm, you.” 

 

“Me?”

 

“The common factor that affects all of us is you,” he says, restating his thesis. “But as of now I don’t have enough conclusive evidence to point out what it is exactly. Maybe in time.”

 

“I hope you find your answer soon,” she says, putting a hand on her shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze. 

 

*******

 

“Sorry for the wait,” Lady sets down the ordered plate in front of Roxas and sits beside him. 

 

“What took you so long?” He asked her. 

 

“Don’t be so impatient,” she scoffed, nudging him. “It’s here now so don’t complain.”

 

Her fingers played with his hair, rubbing the soft blond spikes in between her fingertips as she stared out into the ocean that was just beyond. To the left of her vision she saw another cliff with trees lining the edge, shadows cast onto the floor below it. Listening to Roxas scarf down the food at a rate that impressed her, she squinted when she saw movement within the tree line. Her teeth grinded against each other when she saw that damned black coat that’s been haunting her for days. 

 

Standing up, she patted the boy on the back, “Sorry, I’ve gotta go, I’ll be right back okay?” Not even giving him a chance to protest, she ran off in the direction of the coat. 

 

Passing by guests which she hastily apologized to while her feet carried her across the resort grounds until she reached the forest line. 

 

_He’s probably luring me somewhere secluded again. Whatever, this time I’ll be ready._

 

Stopping to kneel against the grassy earth, her hand hovered over the green blades and she felt what little mako they could offer her enter her body. Whispering a thank you, she pushed herself up and continued her chase. As she ran she swore she could feel the eyes of the ones concealed by black coats all around her, but when she looked to where she thought they were- she was only greeted with the leaves of passing trees. 

 

Finally, she broke through the forest and towards a large clearing. Her fingers wavered as she waited for the right moment to summon forth her weapon and spells for defense. Looking around, she finally saw the hooded figure and she ran towards it. 

 

The figure turned around and she froze as they pulled down their hood to reveal the head of shocking bright yellow hair that she had grown acquainted with over the past few days. 

 

“Larxene..” Lady said, not believing the sight in front of her. “Why are you wearing that?” She eyed the signature black coat that hugged the woman’s curves generously.

 

 Larxene didn’t reply, only a muted scowl was on her face as she turned around to face the other way. 

 

“Where are you going?” She followed her, fists unclenching as she tried to match her steps. “Larx, talk to me-“

 

“Don’t call me that!” Larxene shouted, stopping but still turned the other way. “I’m not your friend and I hate that stupid nickname you gave me, so just quit that will you?!”

 

Lady flinched, her words cutting through her as a hatchet would through a flimsy piece of wood. “You don’t mean that..” she could only whisper after the silence between them grew. “Are you going back to them? You could stay with us, I could help you.”

 

“ _Help_ me?” Larxene finally turned around, anger in her dazzling green eyes. “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought if you think you can help me. Why don’t you run off back to your friends?”

 

“But you’re my friend too,” she took a step forward as Larxene took one back. 

 

“We’re not..” it looked as if she wanted to spit the word out, “ _friends._ ”

 

“Yes, we are!”

 

Her scowl grew deeper and she turned away again, this time walking away as Lady ran forth and grabbed her hand. 

 

“You like the color green! And light blue!” Lady yelled and Larxene looked at her, the scowl on her face being replaced with confusion. 

 

“You also like sweets, especially those leaf-shaped cookies we hand out, the one with the frosting!” Lady continued. “You always frown and say mean things but I know you care and you just don’t want to show it!” 

 

The expression on Larxene’s face softened- if only for a second, before resuming the facade she usually had on as the Organization’s number XII. As the Savage Nymph. Cruel and sadistic, with no care for anyone besides herself. 

 

“Let go of me,” Larxene growled, pulling her hand away from Lady as she turned. “Just leave me alone.”

 

“No!” Lady made a grab for her hand again, “I know just as the rest of them, that you don’t want to be left alone. So stop being stubborn and tell me what’s really going on with you!”

 

“How touching.” A voice echoed in laughter and both of the women looked up and around them for the source of the voice. The blonde had a look of silent defeat on her face as two corridors of darkness opened up in front of them. Stepping out of them were Xemnas and the other hooded figure that harassed her every waking hour as well as those spent sleeping.

 

Larxene pushed Lady back gently, turning her face away from her as she went to stand beside them, albeit at a sizable distance. 

 

Turning her attention to the two newly arrived members, she clapped her hands together and brandished the sword of calcified mako that appeared. Pointing at them, she grimaced, “why can’t you leave me alone?!”

 

“You should know the answer to that question already, right?” The hooded man spoke.

 

“Come with us and none of your other friends will be harmed,” Xemnas spoke next. 

 

“Like hell I would come willingly,” Lady hissed. “Our last battle didn’t exactly go in your favor.”

 

As she ended her sentence, another corridor opened up beside them and Vexen stepped out with his hands behind his back, looking more confident than he should’ve been with that obnoxious sneer that she wanted to slap right off his face. 

 

“Last chance,” Xemnas offered his hand out to her. “Come with me.”

 

“You’re the one who’s gonna need that last chance,” she growled, “you won’t get past me.”

 

“Is that your final answer?”

 

Her reply was another seething glare. 

 

“Very well.” He turned his face to Vexen. “Use it.”

 

“Use what?” Her question was quickly answered as he pulled out a medium sized box with what looked like speakers on all sides. She would’ve laughed if it weren’t for the maniacal look in his eyes. 

 

“This might hurt a bit,” he said as he turned the box on and she froze when it released a high-pitched shriek.

 

*******

 

“Vinny, smile a little, you’re on vacation!” Xigbar pushed a cup of unidentifiable alcohol in Vincent’s hands. 

 

Vincent didn’t smile, but he still drank from the cup and set it down, “what is this?”

 

“Secret brew,” Xigbar grinned. “It’ll get you wasted guaranteed.” 

 

“Good luck getting him drunk” Genesis scoffed as he tipped a glass of red wine into his lips. “It’d be like trying to block out the sun.”

 

“Have some faith, Genny,” the man with the eyepatch laughed as Genesis grimaced at his newly acquired nickname. “Here Vinny, have another.”

 

“I think I’ll pas-“ Vincent stopped mid-sentence as his face contorted into an expression of pain. He doubled over, gripping onto the table as he pushed himself off and collapsed into the ground. 

 

“Hey, you guys already started without me?” Gladio walked up to the group, holding a six-pack of ale in one hand. 

 

“Y’missed it, we already got a man down,” Xigbar pointed at Vincent’s hunched figure.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Gladio set the pack on the table, kneeling down besides Vincent and turned him up towards him. 

 

His hands were holding his ears as he gritted his teeth, his breaths were heavy as he tried to silence the sounds coming from him. Crimson eyes looked up at Gladio as he tried to speak through the gutted groans, “La..dy… Find.. Lad..y!!” 

 

Gladio frowned, looking at the blood leaking from Vincent’s ears through the cracks of his fingers. He remembered seeing him in this position when they broke him out of that Imperial base, hunched over and in pain over a sound that no one else could hear- much like how Lady was affected. Turning up to Xigbar and Genesis, he barked, “We gotta find Lady now!” 

 

Wasting no time on questions, they both got up. 

 

“I’ll get Vincent to safety,” Gladio helped the man up, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “Tell the others the situation!”

 

“Roger that,” Xigbar gave him a salute with his fingers as Genesis ran in the direction of where he last seen Sephiroth and Angeal. Only stopping when a portal opened up in front of him and someone stepped out. Genesis scowled, turning his nose up at the man who stood in front. 

 

“How about a little rematch?” Marluxia smiled at him, flourishing his scythe as a swath of rose petals floated into the air. 

 

“I’ve been wanting the same thing,” the auburn haired soldier replied, clapping his hands together and summoning forth a sword of blazing red energy. 

 

“Marluxia, you sly sly dog, what do you guys have planned this time?” Xigbar lifted one of his arrowguns over his shoulder. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with our landlady, does it?”

 

“Possibly,” the pink haired man hummed. “But my orders were to distract you, not answer questions.”

 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Xigbar readied his aim. 

 

“Go,” Genesis stopped his attack with a raised arm. “Warn the others,” he pointed his sword at Marluxia. “He’s mine.”

 

“I’m counting on ya,” Xigbar clapped him on the shoulder as he disappeared into a summoned portal 

 

Genesis smirked, “Likewise.” Turning his attention back towards his scythe-wielding enemy, he stood at a stance, readying his sword. “This time, I’ll grind you into dust. “

 

“Hmph, wouldn’t that be a sight to see?” Marluxia laughed, an empty sound that echoed in the air around them.

 

Then, they both jumped at each other with their respective weapons aimed for the kill. 

 

*******

 

Sephiroth stopped and Angeal looked to his friend.

 

“Something the matter?”

 

The silver haired soldier shook his head. “Thought I heard something.”

 

“I thought I did too,” says Angeal. “But I assumed it was a bird.”

 

“Hm.”

 

They both continued their walk until a shadow slithered on the ground and popped up in front of them, glowing blue veins covering its body and its yellow eyes turned towards the two soldiers as its long antennae twitched. It moved to jump at them, but before it made it halfway, a Keyblade flew forth and impaled it directly in its’ chest. They watched as it dissolved into a formless shadow, with a pink heart floating up from the black pool of essence and the Keyblade disappeared in a flash of light 

 

Reappearing in Xion’s hand as she stepped out in full view, the Keyblade reappearing in her hand. 

 

“You two need to get to safety! We’ll handle the Heartless,” she said. 

 

“Xion,” Angeal greeted her. “I think we can take care of ourselves.”

 

The girl remained steadfast with her demand, standing in front of them with a steeled expression, “If anything were to happen to you two, then she’d be upset.” 

 

“I’m sure she would feel the same if that were the case for you,” Sephiroth added. 

 

“I know. But I’m better equipped to handle Heartless, so please, go back to your rooms!” Xion frowned, gripping her Keyblade tightly. “Besides, you two actually have a heart to lose.”

 

Whether it was a trick of the light or a sudden blur in their vision, the two soldiers blinked and they could see Lady’s semblance within Xion’s youthful face. Angeal reached up to rub his eyes with one hand as he frowned while Sephiroth merely squinted. 

 

“Alright, but the least we can do is help with evacuation if need be. This place is crawling with civilians,” Angeal says, “we’re counting on you, Xion.”

 

“I won’t fail,” the girl replies, nodding her head and running off in the direction where she saw more Heartless gather. 

 

*******

 

“Where are these coming from?” Terra gritted his teeth, bringing his Keyblade down as another swarm of Heartless jumped at him. A pulse of light shattered the air around as it sent them flying back, their bodies disintegrating and pink hearts took their place, floating up in the air. 

 

“Hey, you!” 

 

Terra looked up as Xigbar jumped down, warranting not only the Keyblade wielder’s attention but also the surrounding members that consisted of Axel and Roxas. The two of them ran towards Xigbar and Terra. 

 

“Have you two seen Lady?” Xigbar asks the three of them. 

 

“No, she was supposed to be eating with me but then she ran off,” says Roxas.

 

Terra frowned, looking at the boy, “Was it the man in black?”

 

“What? No, I don’t know?” He looked up at him, an irritated expression crossing his face .

 

“What do you mean ‘man in black’?” Xigbar looked at Terra.

 

The latter sighed, closing his eyes then looked up at the three of them. “The other day she was attacked by some guy in a black coat. She says he’s been doing that since she got here.”

 

“So you mean to tell us, that you knew she got attacked but didn’t bother to warn any of us?” Axel gritted his teeth. “Great idea,” he added sarcastically. 

 

“She didn’t want to worry any of you,” Terra shot back. 

 

“Typical of you to hide this, princess,” Xigbar said under his breath then looked up at them. “No use in arguing, first priority is finding her.” 

 

“Right,” they all nodded. 

 

Before Terra could walk off, Xigbar put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, use that glider of yours and get a bird’s eye view. I could usually find her with the sigil, but something’s blocking it off.” 

 

Terra nodded, taking his Keyblade and launching it in the air. Watching as it curved back towards him and transformed into his glider in a flash of light. Hopping on, Terra aimed it up and sped off. 

 

Xigbar looked at the remaining. “Alright you two, let’s get to work.”

 

“Some vacation,” Axel laughed to himself, summoning his chakrams as a spout of fire surrounded him and absorbed into his weapons. 

 

“Just like old times, huh?” Roxas mused, bringing his arms and bringing forth Oathkeeper and Oblivion. 

 

Wisps of darkness curled up from the ground and they all looked to see Luxord, Lexaeus, and Xaldin appear in front of them, their weapons already in their hands as if they were expecting a hasty battle. Behind them, a wave of various Heartless and less Nobodies appeared. 

 

“Well, well, was wondering when I would see you two again,” Xigbar cocked his head, his eye narrowing. 

 

“And here I was, hoping you would’ve expired during your time in leisure,” said Luxord, his posh accent taking a slight edge off his threat. 

 

“Three against three not enough for ya?” Roxas called to them. 

 

“I prefer the advantage to go in our favor,” Luxord shrugged, flipping a card between his fingers. 

 

“Enough talk,”  Lexaeus brought his axe-sword over his shoulder. 

 

“Agreed,” Xaldin stepped forward, one of his spears flying up and poised at Roxas. “How will you fare without your pet to protect you this time?” The spear flew towards Roxas and the blond jumped back to dodge them, dragging his Keyblade on the ground towards him in response to send forth a wave of energy. 

 

Xaldin side-stepped as Lexaeus ran forth and brought his axe-sword to swing down on Axel’s head. Just as the blade was about to hit him, a flash of blue appeared and blocked off the incoming attack and Lexaeus was forced to hop back in retreat. 

 

“Saïx!” Axel exclaimed, looking up as his friend swung his claymore and struck it into the ground. 

 

“Your reflexes are poor,” Saïx looked at him over his shoulder. “How are we to survive this if you can’t keep up?”

 

“Ah, shut it,” Axel straightened up, spinning his chakram with his finger. 

 

“It’s over for you guys,” Roxas pointed Oathkeeper at them. “Once Lady gets here, you’re as good as dead.”

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Xaldin sneered, looking almost amused. “If she uses _that_ , she’ll be consumed whole, her entire being will descend oblivion with no remnants left behind.”

 

“What do you mean?” Axel said.

 

“You mean you can’t feel it? The power she harbors,” Luxord asked them, his eyes lingering on Saïx as the bluenette’s eyes looked down. “Ah.. it seems at least one has.”

 

“Lexaeus, Xaldin!” Zexion ran towards them, stopping at Roxas’ side with Demyx close behind. “Stop this, we can help you!”

 

Demyx held his hands up. “Look guys, we don’t have to fight this out, we can-”

 

“Don’t act as if you’ve suddenly regained a heart,” Xaldin said. 

 

“I thought you better than that, Zexion,” Lexaeus looked into the steel blue eyes of Zexion, of the boy he once knew. 

 

“Enough, I tire of this chatter. Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” Luxord raised his hand up as a flurry of cards stood behind him and the opposing party readied their weapons in response. Both of the groups running towards each other to engage. 

 

*******

 

Lady dropped to her knees, the painful screech that reverberated within her head racked her brain and threatened to pierce through her ear drums. Panting, she gritted her teeth and tried to move her head in a direction where the noise would sound less loud but to no avail. If the most unpleasant sounds in the world such as: nails dragging on a blackboard, fork scratching a glass bottle, an industrial drill hammering incessantly at the ground, e.t.c… This would be all of those but ten fold.

 

She felt blood leak out of her ear canal and through the cracks between her fingers, through her disorient she could see the four of them being totally unaffected. Others observing would think her a madwoman, her hands covering her ears in an attempt to hear an unknown song.

 

Xemnas raised a hand and Vexen turned the box off as Lady tried to collect herself. Panting, she pushed herself off the ground; trying to fight off the dizziness she was experiencing.

 

In the distance she could hear it, the screams. Looking behind her, she turned back to Xemnas. “What did you do?!” She looked back and could see pink hearts rise into the sky, whether it was Heartless or people- she dreaded to find out. 

 

“I’ll cease the attack if you come willingly,” he offered again. “The longer you fight this, the longer your friends and the people staying here will be subject to a massacre.”

 

Lady’s eyes fell upon the object in Vexen’s hand. A miniature version of whatever the Niflheim Empire used on Vincent. She made eye contact with the blond man, “Are you working with the empire? Is that how you got that?”

 

“Poor girl,” the hooded man laughed. “All you want is to find out how you came to be, isn’t that right?” 

 

Her silence was telling and he continued, “I’ll gladly sweeten the deal for you. Come with us and we’ll tell you what we know about Project SIREN.”

 

Widened eyes looked up at him, her lips parted and she wanted to scream. The promise of answers seemingly always dangled in front of her as if she were a mule and the answer was her carrot on a stick. The carrot leading her into situations she know she would regret. She would know, but at what cost? What was the price for this knowledge?

 

More screams elicited her attention and she turned around just to see a massive heart floating upwards in the sky. 

 

“Time’s running out, we wouldn’t want to desecrate this precious sanctuary of yours,” the hooded man called out. “This is a festival, no? I’m sure the amount of hearts here are plentiful. It would be a shame if they were all to be killed on this day.”

 

Turning back around, she looked up to Larxene who avoided looking back at her. Her bright green eyes looking elsewhere, anywhere besides her. 

 

Sounds of panicked shouts and pained screams hurt her head more than the sound that dreadful little box emitted. Swallowing, her fists balled up tightly until she could feel her nails start to pierce her skin. Taking a deep inhale, her fist loosened and she dropped it to her side. 

 

“Okay,” Lady muttered. “I-”

 

“Lady!!” Xion ran from the tree line, her Keyblade raised beside her head as she stood in front of Lady, a protective arm in front of her. “Leave her alone,” she shouted, looking up at Xemnas defiantly.

 

“Impotent puppet,” Xemnas’s eyes narrowed, looking at the hooded man beside him and nodded. Blinking, Lady watched as the hooded man disappeared from existence and appeared in front of them; blades of blue energy extended from his hand and knocked the girl to the side.

 

Xion rolled over, jumping back up and bringing her Keyblade up to block another attack. Using both of her hands to push against him as the hooded figure pushed down. Her knee trembled, slowly touching the ground as she struggled. 

 

“Xion!” Lady moved to run towards her and lurched forward as she looked down to see a block of ice holding her in place. She knew who did that but chose to ignore him as she kept trying to move, whatever flame spells she used on the ice proved useless. “Don’t hurt her! Stop this!”

 

The hooded figure proved too fast for Xion as she tried to predict his attacks, her eyes attempting to follow the swift movements. Appearing behind her, the girl was kicked off her feet and she tried to move when the hooded figure blocked her path and raised his blade at her, preparing to puncture her chest. 

 

“Xemnas, stop him!” Lady screamed, pleading at the man. “I’ll come with you- just tell him to stop!” 

 

“Predictable as one who possesses a heart such as yours,” Vexen sneered, allowing the ice holding her feet down to melt in a puddle around her. 

 

The hooded figure stopped, the blue blades disappearing and Xion stumbled up. “Lady, don’t! Just run!” As she tried to walk towards her, ice formed around her ankles and anchored her. Desperately, Xion brought her Keyblade down and tried to hack at the arcane ice. 

 

Looking up as Lady made eye contact with her, a sad smile on her lips as she turned to walk towards Xemnas. Once again, his hand was outstretched towards her and she took her time approaching. Feeling as if every step she took felt as if she was sinking further and further into the ground. His cold amber eyes were fixated on her and she could only look to the ground. Her hand slowly falling in his and he took it in a surprisingly gentle manner, treating her as if they were long-lost lovers. 

 

Holding her close to him, her shoulder touched his chest and even still she refused to look up at him. Until his other hand balanced under her chin to tilt her head up, her eyes flashed up towards his for a moment and didn’t know if she could see tenderness in them or morbid curiosity. The last time she saw him, there was such indisputable sorrow in his eyes, did he himself know that? Looking deep into the warm swirl of his irises, she could identify an emotion that can be felt by all manner of creature: loneliness.

 

Larxene’s nails dug into her arm as she crossed them, looking up and away when she saw a flash of bronze and gold drop down from the sky. 

 

“Let go of her!” Terra shouted, bringing his Keyblade down to unleash a seismic attack that shook the earth. 

 

Xemnas clutched her shoulders, holding her close as he jumped back to avoid the attack. Even as the ground stopped trembling, his arm was still wrapped around her protectively. Terra looked at Xion, aiming his Keyblade at her feet and a beam of light shot forth and shattering the ice. Recomposing herself, Xion ran to his side, both of them brandishing their Keyblades at the Organization.

 

“Terra, Xion!” She walked forward and stopped when Xemnas pulled her back towards him. She looked back at the man, “don’t hurt them, please.”

 

“Lady, just use that power!” Xion shouted, “you can fight them off like last time!”

 

Shaking her head, Lady shut her eyes. _I can’t, I’m sorry._

 

“I’ll go alert the others of our return to the Castle,” Vexen bowed his head, disappearing into the dark portal behind him. 

 

“Shall we take our leave as well,” the hooded figure spoke, looking at Xemnas. “I’m sure he’ll be pleased to hear about the new toy.”

 

Lady shut her eyes, wishing that somehow, she would drop dead. Another life of being a mere test subject awaited her and just the thought filled her with anxiety. Not this again. She looked up at the blue sky, watching as the clouds floated lazily across. Trying to immortalize the picture and remember what the fresh mountain air smelled like- for this could be the last time she would ever experience it while she still had free will. 

 

Xemnas’ fingers intertwined with hers and she complied unwillingly. “Let us go.” She looked up at him and he returned her gaze, regarding her quizzical expression. _There’s that hollow look in his eyes again._ Had the situation been different… _Had you not do all this Xemnas, I would help you._

 

Terra’s eyes narrowed and he stepped back, his Keyblade thrown up and landed back as it transformed into a large cannon that hovered over his shoulders. “Lady, run!” The front end spinning in prisms of light as it gathered energy in its core and launching the beam towards them. 

 

Lady took the opportunity to drive her elbow back into Xemnas’ stomach and pulled herself from his grasp- ignoring the way his fingers reached for her. Diving into the floor as the beam hit the two behind her; just as the light faded, the hooded figure launched an attack at her but Terra appeared in front of her, blocking it with his weapon. 

 

Xemnas raised his hands and his ethereal blades jutted forth from his palms, glowing with a dim pulse of red energy. Crossing them over his head, he unleashed a wave in the form of a large x that scorched the ground as it flew towards them. Bolts of electricity cut off the attack, meeting it halfway as Larxene blocked it and turned to meet the hooded figure’s blades with her own knives when he brought them down at her.

 

“Hah!” The hooded figure laughed, “I should’ve known you would’ve folded.” 

 

“Shut up,” Larxene hissed, pushing back against him as the two clashed. 

 

Terra brought his Keyblade down as the hooded figure brought another blade up to meet his. Holding her and him off all on his own which in itself was an impressive feat. Lady turned to see Xemnas hold his arm up once more, gathered energy forming into projectiles that was aimed towards Larxene. Pushing herself off the floor, she raised her hand up to form a barrier as the projectiles hit it and cracked the shield of magic. 

 

The hooded figure eyed her, a smirk forming on his lips that were barely visible under the shadow of his cloak. He turned to Terra who was still struggling to push him back, his Keyblade trembling as their weapons clashed. In one swift movement, the hooded figure slid his blade down until it reached the base of the blade and turned his body to push Terra in the direction of Larxene. His weapon still poised to strike, he couldn’t stop himself as he fell forward with the momentum of his previous struggle. 

 

It only took a split second for Lady to react when she moved to push Larxene out of the way just as Terra’s Keyblade hit Lady directly in her chest. 


	44. XLIV

Larxene felt a weight fall into her arms, her bright green eyes widening as she collapsed to her knees. Slowly she looked down at the warm body in her hands that would soon grow cold. 

 

Terra stopped, his hand trembling as his Keyblade dropped and he stumbled towards her. Swallowing, he was blinking repeatedly, hoping that the image in front of him would go away with each flutter of his lashes. 

 

Lady laid in Larxene’s arms, her eyes closing slowly as two pulses of light burst from her chest. Shooting forth from her was a brilliant white beam that temporarily blinded those present; dying down into a soft glow that hovered inches from her body. Larxene’s hands gripped her arms as an almost perfect circle of grass formed around them. 

 

Orbs of mako called from the planet began to surface and float around the white crystalline heart that had a soft bluish-green glow tinged at the edges. Small wildflowers of purples and pinks sprouted on the lush grass that grew forth so suddenly. The mako orbs began to take shape into tiny butterflies fluttering from flower to flower as if they were honey bees on a quest for pollination. A mako butterfly passed by Larxene’s cheek and she felt the warmth linger before it flew down to rest on Lady’s nose. 

 

The two in black coats watched the scene unfolding before them, Lady’s comatose state as she lay in the makeshift flowerbed that seemed to spring forth from her body as her heart had left her. 

 

“A heart pure of light,” Xemnas spoke. “Befitting.”

 

Xion ran up to her, falling down on the grass on her knees as she tried to decide what course of action would be best. Her hands trembling as she tried to reach for Lady’s heart, surprised that it seemed to not shy away from her touch as it lingered just millimeters from her palm. 

 

“XII, bring us her heart,” Xemnas’ voice commanded her. 

 

Larxene set Lady down, her head and hair pushing aside the flowers as she was nestled in the grown bed. Terra could only stare at what he’d done, not even wanting to summon forth his Keyblade as it would be touching the last thing that pierced her heart. 

 

“Larxene,” Xemnas repeated. 

 

The Savage Nymph finally looked up, her eyes meeting those of the Superior of the In-Between.

 

Reaching forward, she took the opalescent heart from the girl’s hands and swiftly got up as she cradled it carefully in her hands. 

 

Xion turned to her, anger filling her usually kind eyes and her voice raised from her usually soft-spoken tone. “You’re just going to betray her like that? I thought she was your friend!”

 

Larxene stopped walking, the light of the heart reflecting in her eyes. 

 

“Even after what you’ve done to her, she still believed in you!” Xion shouted, “you’re horrible, you’re so-”

 

“Oh, would you shut up already?!” Larxene snapped, turning around to face towards her. “This is all your damn fault for doing this!”

 

Xion’s eyes narrowed and her fist tightened as Larxene continued her beratement. 

 

“Always gotta play the hero, it’s so annoying-” 

 

Xion followed her gaze and found that it wasn’t directed at her- she was looking straight at Lady.

 

“-with that stupid smile always on your face, why couldn’t you have just let me go? I would’ve been gone, but at least you’d still be alive- you’d still be here! You really are an idiot, you know that?”

 

“Larxene. Her heart.” Xemnas and the hooded figure watched the blonde’s shoulders rise up and down from the effort of her outburst.

 

Larxene breathed. “You can have her-” she turned back to Xemnas, eyes narrowed and speaking through gritted teeth. “- _ over my dead body. _ ”

 

*******

 

Lady’s body felt weightless until the pads of her feet touched down on a solid surface, odd, she thought; her surroundings comprised of nothing but the void. Looking down, the darkness below broke off into butterflies that flew up around her, tiny wings fluttering against her as it revealed the stained glass mural she saw in her dreams. 

 

It was her, cradled in a fetal position with her eyes closed for slumber. The same set of three wings were angled over her shoulder and extended far, the heart-shaped moon still illuminated her body as well as the crystalline geode she seemed to rest against. The only thing that was different was the handful of flowers that appeared in her hands in the mural. A bouquet of bright blue irises to symbolize hope. 

 

Walking over to the middle, she looked around for any clues as to her current location but the only one available was the mural that lit up her steps everytime she circled. Walking over to the edge, she looked down and swallowed when all she saw was emptiness. No indication of up or down, she merely stood there and waited. Waited for what? She wasn’t sure herself. 

 

A light tremor got her attention as she whipped around to see a soft green light flash on the other side, rising up slowly from the depths. Watching as a hand grabbed onto the ledge and another appeared to pull itself up onto the platform. 

 

Frowning, Lady saw that the thing that had crawled onto her mural was a perfect replica of her. Albeit the eyes were a haunting shade of searing purple. 

 

“Jenova,” she hissed. “What do you want?”

 

The thing that shared her face merely smiled, raising a hand up at her to beckon with her fingers. 

 

**“I’m here to claim what’s mine.”**

 

***

 

Larxene collapsed onto her knee, her back was rising and falling heavily as she panted. Sweat beaded on her forehead and slid down the side of her face; forcing herself back up, she gritted her teeth when pain was felt in her left leg.

 

Looking down she saw the cut that now went down her ankle from around her calve muscle. Her dodging was always something she took pride in. In the Organization, her speed and agility was second to none.. save of course, for the leader himself. 

 

Rising up again and ignoring the pain present in her body, she held her knives up and charged them with lightning. 

 

“Still you fight?” Xemnas glowered at her. “Knowing your opponent is me?”

 

“The reason I fight because I  _ know  _ the opponent is you,” Larxene turned her nose up at him, sneering. She then looked to Terra who, at his current state, could almost be as comatose as Lady. His eyes were lowered as he sat there looking at her body in Xion’s arms. Whistling, she got his attention, “Hey, jackass. You gonna sit there and not help me??”

 

Terra looked up at her. 

 

“Stop sitting there and crying and help me for gods’ sakes. You’re pathetic!” She yelled as she turned around to block an incoming attack, her knives sheathed as she pushed Xemnas back. Her footwork clumsy as she stumbled back and her breath was irregular once more.

 

“Help me save her!” She yelled at Terra once more and her new command brought some life back to his eyes as he pushed himself off the ground. Turning to the hooded figure, he held out his hand and his Keyblade appeared from cubical prisms of light. 

 

He looked to Xion who had Lady’s head resting on her lap with her heart hovering over her chest. Xion nodded at him, “Please do this for her.”

 

Terra didn’t respond, only turning to face his opponent as he rushed towards him with his Keyblade raised to strike and intent blazing in his eyes. 

 

*******

 

Lady stumbled back as she looked up to see  _ it-  _ Jenova, charging at her with a flurry of iced shards flying near her body and aimed to impale Lady. 

 

Jumping to the side as Jenova landed where she was, Lady brought her knee up and made a direct hit to the thing’s stomach and sent her back. Not taking any chances, Lady then ran to her and brought her heel down to it’s neck. Much to her annoyance, Jenova was just as adept at dodging attacks as her as it rolled out of the way and moved her body to kick Lady off her feet. 

 

Getting on top of her, Jenova wailed on her with punches that hit their target on her face. Grabbing it’s fists before it could land on her, Lady bucked her hips and threw her over. Rolling on top, she began slamming Jenova with right hooks that would’ve belonged to a good old fashioned bar fight. 

 

Blood splattered onto the mural, staining the once pristine heart-shaped moon red. Lady didn’t know if the blood was from its’ nose and mouth or if it came from the split skin on her knuckles. She didn’t care. She just kept punching. 

 

Catching Lady’s fist before it came down in a similar fashion to what she did earlier, Jenova bucked her off before she could brace herself. Jumping back as it readied an arcane incantation. 

 

Mimicking it, she started her own incantation and they both looked at each other as ice formed behind Jenova. Behind Lady, a wall of fire formed around her as they both moved to attack the other. 

 

*******

 

Terra jumped down with his Keyblade and caused a seismic eruption that shook the ground as he landed. Jumping towards the hooded figure, his Keyblade became locked with the other’s glowing blue blades. Through gritted teeth, Terra spoke, “Just who are you?”

 

The hooded figure only let out a cruel laugh. “I don’t think you’d want to know.” 

 

Before the brunet could ponder on the meaning of his words, he was pushed back by an attack as the blue blades formed a whip that struck at him. Blocking it, he aimed his Keyblade at the figure and unleashed a beam of light that shot forth in a funnel of pure unadulterated fire. 

 

Behind him, he heard a grunt and looked to see Larxene’s figure waver as she eyed Xemnas. 

 

“Hey, you okay?” Terra called to her. 

 

Without turning her head to him, she responded. “Worry ‘bout yourself!” 

 

“Indeed, you have your own opponent right here,” the hooded figure emerged from the fire and struck at him with the blades and knocked him back. Hopping back to his feet, Terra wiped the sweat from his brow and watched the figure’s movement as he phased in and out of existence. Blinking, the figure appeared in front of him and all Terra saw was amber eyes that bore into his soul before getting knocked back again and colliding with Larxene. Both of them back to back as they faced their respective opponents. 

 

Larxene looked on the ground below her. Had the ground always been that red? She saw Xemnas sustained no injuries, save for the minor scuff marks on his leather coat. But all superficial compared to hers that lined her body, the blood draining out of her and it took much more effort to move around on her part. 

 

Terra held his stomach where he was struck, feeling a bruise swirling under his skin and forming on the surface. The hooded figure was fast, too fast for the Keyblade wielder’s strikes that were slow yet powerful. Clenching his fist, the brunet’s eyes narrowed. If he could land one hit.. just one!

 

Sighing, Larxene looked to Xion. “Get her out of here.”

 

“But what about you two?” Xion cried, cradling Lady’s head. 

 

“Forget about us, just go!” Terra yelled. “Bring her back to the others and make sure she’s protected!” 

 

Xion shook her head, “But-“

 

Annoyed, Larxene raised her hand up to form a corridor of darkness below them. “Just go, damn it!” She barked. 

 

*******

 

_ “Just go, damn it!”  _

 

Lady looked up at the emptiness, frowning. “Larxene?” She breathed. She couldn’t see the blonde, but she knew her voice and it was definitely hers. 

 

**“It seems your friends have reached their limit,”** Jenova looked up at something Lady couldn’t see herself. 

 

“What do you mean?” Lady shouted at the entity, “what do you see? Tell me!”

 

Jenova merely looked back down at her, an uninterested expression on its’ face.  **“No.”**

 

Annoyance, irritation, and fear- fear for her friends rose up in her. “I’m so gods damn tired of everyone not telling me what’s going on..” she glared at Jenova. “What the  _ fuck  _ do you see?! What’s happening?!”

 

Jenova merely regarded her. And then:  **“Do your friends matter that much to you?”**

 

“I wouldn’t bother explaining that to something that’s never had a friend,” Lady spat, her eyes filled with fire. Before she could ready another storm of magic, another female voice echoed and caught her attention.

 

_ “Larxene!! Terra!!”  _

 

She looked up, searching the darkness for any signs but groaned in frustration when she was once more met with nothing. Looking down at her feet, she saw the bouquet of blue irises change into small stems of green with dainty yellow flowers dotting it. A bouquet of rue, symbolizing despair. 

 

Her eyes met with Jenova’s.

 

**“What oh what, will you do?”**

 

*******

 

Xion stumbled, trying to balance Lady’s body in her arms with her arms slung over Xion’s small frame while also keeping her heart tucked near her chest. 

 

Roxas looked, his eyes lighting up at the sight of them two then faltered when he saw Lady slumped over as Xion struggled to carry her. Immediately, running to her but was blocked off as Lexaeus slammed his axe-sword in front of him. 

 

“Your opponent is here,” he glared, picking his weapon up over his shoulder. “You’d do best not to ignore him.”

 

“I could care less about you,” Roxas sneered, dragging his dual Keyblades on the ground as he moved to strike the Silent Hero. 

 

“Zexion, help me!” Xion cried out to the steel-blue haired man that was standing in front of Vexen, their glares cut short as they both looked at Lady in Xion’s arms. 

 

Zexion’s eyes widened, immediately running towards her and ignoring his old companion. Kneeling down beside Xion, she held out her hand that held Lady’s glowing white crystalline heart. 

 

“What happened?” He looked over Lady with concern, holding a hand to her face and finding relief that it was still warm. He looked to Xion’s hand, “how.. did this happen?” Looking back at Lady’s face, he shook his head, “This is impossible. How can this be?”

 

Crashing through a row of trees, Marluxia jumped back as Genesis emerged right after him with his sword in hand. Swinging at the pink-haired Organization membered, the soldier pushed him back as Genesis readied a flurry of fire to follow him. Marluxia cut the coming projectiles with his scythe, sending them flying back towards the group behind him. 

 

Looking over to a familiar body, Genesis’ eyes narrowed. “What happened?!” He called out to Xion and Zexion. “Why is she like that?!”

 

Only when he yelled, it brought attention from the fighting group to the unconscious landlady that laid down on a circle of grass on the ground that was otherwise dirt. Small butterflies flew around from the small wildflowers that bloomed around her, her heart glowing brilliantly as mako encircled it. 

 

“Shit,” Axel cursed, gripping his chakrams as he took a step back. “Does that mean her Heartless and Nobody’s gonna come out sometime soon?”

 

“We already got our hands full, if that does happen were totally screwed if they’re coming from  _ her _ ,” Demyx winced, droplets of water danced around him, ready to form a protective layer if the needs arise. 

 

“No, her body would not be there if that happened,” said Saïx. 

 

“Why won’t her heart go back in? She’s right here,” Zexion whispered looking at the crystalline shape that floated just in front of him. 

 

Vexen approached him, “I told you, she’s a special case that requires further testing. Come Zexion, think how important it would be and how  _ fascinating  _ if we could unlock her secrets-“

 

“No!” Zexion shouted. “I won’t treat her like a lab rat, she deserves more than that!”

 

“Why are all of you acting like that?” Vexen scowled, irritation marring his face. “As if you all suddenly regained a working heart.” 

 

Before he could step closer, Xigbar phased in front of him with his arrowgun pointing directly at Vexen. “Not a step closer, Vex, or you’ll get face full of shot.” 

 

“You were ranked II, how could you?” Vexen frowned. 

 

Xigbar shrugged, “Just didn’t like working with a bunch of sorry saps like you. Plus the company is much better where I am now.” 

 

Before Vexen could retaliate, a corridor of darkness formed and Larxene was thrown out, her left cheek carrying a shallow lateral cut as it bled down. Beside her, Terra was also tossed onto the floor by a hooded figure, barely giving him enough time to catch himself before his face collided with the dirt. Looking up, she searched the crowd of people until she saw the mako floating around Lady. Clawing the dirt to bring herself forward, she winced when the pain shot through her body. 

 

It was laughable that Nobodies couldn’t feel, because she definitely felt this and it hurt like hell. 

 

“Xemnas,” Roxas growled. “What did you do to Lady?!”

 

Xemnas looked at the blond Keyblade wielder that directed every hate in his being towards the Organization’s leader. “Why don’t you ask him?” He merely replied, looking down at Terra who cold only look down at the dirt to avoid the looks directed at him. 

 

“What’s he talking about? Terra?” Roxas turned his attention to the brunet. 

 

“I-“ Terra shut his eyes but it was ineffective at blocking the feeling of hate that emanated from Roxas’ blue eyes. “I did that. It’s my fault. My Keyblade hit her before I could stop myself..” 

 

“No,” Larxene coughed, sitting up while holding her stomach. “He was supposed to hit me, and.. she pushed me out of the way.” 

 

They both saw Roxas’ fists tighten around the grips of his Keyblades, his eyes shimmering with a torrent of emotions and all of them purely negative. 

 

Xemnas looked to Vexen and gave him a look with the latter nodding and attempting to approach Lady again until Xigbar dug the tip of his gun into his chest. 

 

“Hey, I said no moving,” Xigbar said, his voice low and his face unamused. “You really think you could take me on?”

 

“I can’t,” Vexen laughed, his eyes looking towards the silver-haired Nobody. “But he can.”

 

Xemnas walked past Larxene and Terra, not giving much thought to them. Repeating this gesture as he walked past the current and ex-Organization members who could only watch him as he casually walked past. Some brave enough to meet his passing gaze, but none bold enough to challenge him directly. The consequence of fading away or a fate worse than death awaited them if they did. 

 

A spark of electricity ran through Larxene’s knuckles as she saw Xemnas walk closer to Lady. Sighing, she looked up at Lady one more time. “You’re such an idiot, you know that?” A small smile appeared on her lips, one that was genuine. 

 

Her fingers balled up in the dirt, shaking her head and cursing at herself. “Maybe I’m the idiot here.” 

 

Without wasting another minute to wallow in her regret, she pushed herself up as knives formed in between her fingers to make an attack while his back was turned. 

 

It shouldn’t have come off as a surprise to anyone when Xemnas caught her wrist as it came close to him, his eyes watching her with disinterest as he tossed her aside with a simple flick. Instead of walking towards Lady, he turned to her with one of his red ethereal blades forming in his palm. 

 

“I didn’t expect this from you out of everyone here,” he stated as he raised his blade up in front of Larxene. 

 

Her bright green eyes glanced over to Lady over the red hum of the ethereal blade and she wanted to laugh at how peaceful she looked, like she found a spot of soft grass to take a nap in. 

 

“I guess this is it, guess I can’t see the lanterns with you,” Larxene muttered to herself, a flash of red the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes. 

 

*******

 

Lady heard Larxene and Terra shout and another’s voice.. Roxas’? Looking to Jenova, she could see it looking up again as if she was seeing something she couldn’t. 

 

_ “My Keyblade hit her before I could stop myself..” _

 

_ “No, was supposed to hit me, and… she pushed me out of the way.”  _

 

“What’s going on out there?” A question for herself rather than the entity, because she knew all too well it would’ve gone unanswered anyways. Holding her hand over her chest, her eyes closed, she felt pain but not hers. Someone else’s. 

 

**“You can feel their despair.”**

 

Lady looked up at Jenova. 

 

**“What will you do?”** It repeated the question from earlier, prompting action from her. 

 

Lady hesitated, looking up.  _ I need to help, but how?? My body.. where is my body?  _

 

**“You cannot return to your physical form.”**

 

“And why not?” 

 

Silence. Of fucking course.

 

“If I can’t help them physically, I’ll find another way to reach them,” she muttered. Jenova was silent as she worded her conviction aloud. “I’ll protect them-!”

 

*******

 

As Xemnas‘ ethereal blade was about to strike Larxene, a bright flash of white light blinded everyone nearby before dying down and Larxene’s body was enveloped in warmth, as if she was being embraced gently.

 

Opening her eyes, she looked into the eyes of Lady. Squinting, she could see her was was slightly transparent, phasing in and out of reality as orbs of light surrounded her. All around them was pure white like the world was suddenly covered in a blanket of snow. 

 

Larxene’s fingers reached for Lady but frowned when it merely went through her shoulder. Before she could speak, Lady smiled.

 

 “Don’t give up on me now, you’re better than that,” she told the Nobody. 

 

“Even now, you’re still..” Larxene laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. 

 

Lady raised her hand up and Larxene raised hers. Together they held their fingers up to each other and both were relieved when their fingers gently pressed against each other.

 

“I’m with you,” Lady whispered before closing her eyes and disappearing. Larxene’s arms quickly reached around to grab at her but watched in desperation as she couldn’t reach anything. The orbs of light dispersing and entering where her heart should’ve been in her chest.

 

The world then returned into its normal hue and everyone could then see again. 

 

Xemnas frowned when his blade didn’t puncture anything, instead being held back as the light died down and Larxene was looking up at him with her hand wrapped around his blade. The red energy sizzling against her gloves as she held it there while she slowly got up on her feet.

 

Retracting his blade, he stepped back when electricity formed behind her back and shards of bright yellow light linked together to form large sets of wings that pointed up at the sky. 

 

Xemnas’ eyes narrowed at the scene taking place before him, watching as the wounds that littered her body and face healed instantly with a soft green glow reattaching the skin together. He turned to Lady’s body who was still laying in Zexion’s arms. The only thing missing from her was the heart that used to float just above her chest. Turning back to Larxene, a wicked smile appeared on his lips. 

 

“Dearest Lady, have you found a way to fight?”

 

“Xemnas,” Larxene spoke yet her voice sounded as if two were mixed into one and for a split second her green eyes flashed to a brilliant purple and her hair changed color and form. Her voice didn’t sound like her own, as Lady’s voice trumped hers. “How many times do we have to do this?”

 

Lightning struck the ground in a circle around her and the knives between her fingers looked slightly longer as purple and yellow electricity traveled around her body. 

 

Larxene’s voice came through as she had a sadistic grin on her face, “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to kick your ass.” 

 

Tapping the dirt with her foot, she waited until her breath exited her before rushing Xemnas. A flurry of yellow wings of energy and intertwining lightning, she quickly landed a blow to his side and he barely had time to react when she repeated her assault again and again. 

 

The hooded figure looked up as Larxene and Xemnas clashed blades, and formed a ball of black energy aimed towards Roxas. Waiting till it exploded, the blond Keyblade wielder rolled out of the way of an incoming attack and stumbled back as a dark pit formed on the floor and threatened to swallow him. 

Larxene turned her attention away from Xemnas and ran towards the forming void, hitting it with a bright flash of lightning and watching it dissipate. Before the hooded figure could attack Roxas again, Larxene’s eyes flashed purple as her hand raised and formed a barrier that shimmered on impact. The circumference of the magical shield protecting those behind her with no discrimination to who was inside, whether it be friend or foe. 

 

Roxas pounded his fist on the barrier, cursing until he saw the new color taking place within Larxene’s irises. “Lady?” He frowned. “Is it really you? How-”

 

His sentence was cut off as Larxene jumped to the side to avoid an incoming fireball that collided with the barrier behind her, cracking it and breaking it into shards of translucent glass. 

 

The hooded figure approached her, tilting his head, “So, you carry her heart.” He glanced over to the shell of a body laying in Zexion’s arms. “But we still need the body. Guess we’ll have to take you both.” 

 

Larxene’s and Lady’s voices overlapped as they conjoined together for the coming insult: “Get. Fucked.”

 

*******

 

**“How foolish of you to give up your light when you need it the most right now.”**

 

Jenova landed a punch to her gut and she flew back, coughing and rolling over to get back up. Staggering, her vision felt blurry and she began to see two sets of those damned purple eyes. 

 

“I can do this all day!” Lady panted, sidestepping and catching its fist before it could land another hit. Returning the favor and twirling around to elbow it in the stomach before grappling on and tossing her over her shoulder. 

 

Jenova landed expertly on its feet, turning on its heels and bringing its knee up to hit her in the stomach. Flying back, Lady struggled to get up again and cursed when she was pinned down. Her own face looking back down at her with boredom and it balled a fist, ice coating the knuckles before it brought it down to hit her cheek. 

 

Lady’s face collided with the stained glass as Jenova punched her- left, right, left, right. She tried to grab at its wrists; struggling for control, she took a moment to hawk back the saliva and blood solution that formed in the back of her mouth and spit it onto her attacker’s face. 

 

Jenova looked indifferent as before, only a twitch of its eyebrow indicated any form of surprise before it began punching her again- not paying any attention to the blood that dripped down her face. 

 

**“The longer your light isn’t with you, the more you will succumb.”**

 

*******

 

Xion held onto Lady’s left hand with both of hers, desperately trying to keep her body warm as she looked to Zexion for any clue on what to do. Alas, he had no answers to give, he could only cradle her head in his lap and try to search his brain for anything he has seen or read that could provide any help. 

 

Looking down, Xion’s eyes widened when the lush grass beneath Lady’s body began to decay. Turning brown and wilting, the wildflowers shriveling up and the butterflies stopped mid-flight to drop dead and dispersing. Panicked, she tugged on Zexion and pointed at the dying greens. 

 

Quickly, she searched for Larxene in the midst of the battle of the two factions and saw a spark of bright yellow female that danced with electricity.

 

“Larxene!” Xion cried, “Hurry, she won’t last long!” 

 

The hooded figure turned to the young girl and ran towards her, his own blades raised up to strike when Terra jumped in and blocked it off. 

 

“Seems like someone’s upset,” the hooded figure taunted. “Your master doesn’t seem to be capable of teaching.” 

 

Not responding and only baring his gritted teeth, Terra pushed him back and followed him as he attacked. His movements faster and every strike was filled with purpose, intent, and rage. The ground beneath him seemed to quake everytime he struck his hooded opponent. 

 

Larxene looked to the decaying grass beneath Lady and cursed. She had to be quick and time was most definitely not on her side. As another hit from Xemnas warranted her attention back to him, a swath of rose petals filled the air as Marluxia jumped in and blocked off his attack. Although struggling, Marluxia pushed him back but his own steps faltered as he faced his old partner-in-crime. 

 

“Am I addressing Larxene? Or Lady?” He asked without turning his head away from Xemnas. 

 

“Depends on who you wanna talk to,” two voices responded. “Help me finish this fast, she won’t last long.” 

 

“I think we might need more help,” Marluxia muttered. 

 

Looking behind her, Larxene saw the other Organization members occupied with a barrage of attacks from the residents of the Alstroemeria. Only one looked slightly bored and a grin appeared on her face. 

 

“Genesis!” She called and the auburn haired man look at her, frowning.

 

Blinking a couple times, he waited till his eyes cleared to see Lady’s visage fade into Larxene’s form. Running to her, he looked skeptical. “Lady?” He asked, unsure if it was really the woman he knew for so long.

 

“Yeah, it’s me Gen. Can you help?” Lady’s voice came through, purple eyes pleading. 

 

“I’m doing this for Lady,” Genesis muttered. “I expect you to give her heart back once this is over.”

 

“Of course,” Larxene scoffed, turning back towards Xemnas with Genesis and Marluxia at her side. “Flank him,” she ordered and the three of them rushed the silver-haired man. 

 

Marluxia jumping back as he released a wave of energy from his scythe as Genesis did the same with his sword on the opposite side. Larxene’s wings propelled her forward to Xemnas’ front, her left hand flying at him while her right gripped onto them tightly and swung at him. 

 

His movement was blocked by the waves of energy aimed to cut him as he raised his arms up and formed two reflective squares that cut off the attack and successfully safeguarding him. Marluxia wasted no time bringing his scythe in to uppercut Xemnas as Genesis jumped high to fill the air with a flurry of fireballs to hit him. Larxene then gathered all of her knives and pivoted her body to aim right for him in the side of his neck. 

 

As her knives were closing in on him, time seemed to slow around her and she heard a voice. 

 

_ “No.. don’t kill him.”  _

 

Why? Larxene thought. Why don’t we kill him?

 

_ “Because.. he’s not the one at fault here.” _

 

Larxene gritted her teeth, her knives were so close. So.  _ Close. _

 

_ “Larxene, please.”  _

 

“Damn it,” Larxene hissed, stopping her attack and instead flicking her wrist to form a corridor of darkness behind him. With one final push, she knocked him back with a flurry of lightning towards the open portal and she quickly shut it with a barrage of magic keeping anything from coming back out. 

 

Turning around to the hooded figure that was fighting Terra, he turned towards her. “Guess it’s time to retreat,” he bowed his head, “this has been fun.” A portal opened up behind him as he leaped in and left. 

 

“Cowards,” Genesis sneered, looking at the remaining Organization members. “And what about them?”

 

Yeah, what about them? Larxene thought. 

 

_ “Keep them here, the less the Organization has, the better..” _

 

Larxene shut her eyes and exhaled sharply. “Why would you want them here? Lady?”

 

Genesis and Marluxia both looked to her confused, talking to herself and seemingly carrying on with a conversation alone. 

 

_ “Trust.. Me…” _

 

The voice in Larxene’s head faded and she frowned. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Her chest began to feel heavy and she almost flinched at how prominent the feeling was. She repeated that thought, spitting out the f-word.  _ Feeling. _

 

Larxene turned to Marluxia and Genesis, pointing at the remaining members. “Take them in, don’t let them escape but keep them alive.”

 

“Whatever for?” Genesis scowled. “I rather finish them all off, including him-” he jutted his thumb at Marluxia,”-no offense.” He added sarcastically. 

 

“None taken, but I am curious as well,” Marluxia asked her. 

 

“Landlady’s orders,” Larxene mumbled simply before running off towards Lady’s body. 

 

Kneeling down beside her, the dehydrated grass crunched under her weight as she put her hand over her chest. Coaxing the warm light to come out, a crystalline heart emerged from her and hovered over her palm. Bringing it down slowly to Lady’s chest, Zexion grabbed her wrist. 

 

“Wait,” he said. 

  
“The hell? Why?” Larxene snapped. 

 

Plucking a dead flower from the ground, Zexion held it up near the heart and they watched as orbs of mako emanated from it and touched the petals. The brown turning back to green with the wilted petals blooming into a bright color once more. To his own surprise, Zexion watched as the light didn’t stop at the flower as it twisted up his hand and arm to his chest. He smiled when he felt a warmth going to his chest as well as a fleeting heartbeat. 

 

“So it’s true,” Vexen gasped, amazed at the sight before him. “They weren’t just fanciful lies.”

 

“She’s healing our hearts, slowly, but surely,” Zexion whispered, turning the revived flower between his fingers. 

 

Xigbar kept his weapon pointed at Vexen but had his eye on Lady, a small smile on his face. 

 

Terra walked over to Lady’s side, kneeling beside her and taking her other hand. Looking at Larxene, he spoke, “Please return her heart.”

 

“Yeah,” she mumbled, resuming bringing down her heart to her chest. But as soon as the tip hit just below her sternum, a burst of darkness pulsed through when Larxene tried pushing against it. “The hell? Why is it not-” She tried pushing it back in and was only met with a stronger force that resisted. 

 

Lady remained still as her body denied her own heart’s attempt to join as one.

 

“How is it that it’s being rejected?” Zexion said. “This isn’t normal.”

 

“Lady..” Xion whispered, bringing her hand up to her forehead and closing her eyes; trying to think of what she could do. Opening her eyes again, she summoned her Keyblade and wrapped Lady’s hand around it. Resting it against her chest with the blade facing downward, Terra relinquished her other hand and wrapped it against the grip as well. With both of Lady’s hands on the weapon of light, they watched as it flashed and disappeared. 

 

*******

 

**“How long can you resist me?”**

 

Lady flew back as another right hook caught her. 

 

**“Your body will soon submit and belong to me!”**

 

She stumbled back up again, her vision blurred and she felt blood leaking from somewhere but her entire being ached and she couldn’t care to pinpoint the injury. 

 

“You.. talk too damn much,” Lady panted. “Just shut up already.” 

Readying her fists, she saw a flash of light descend from above and a small smile cracked on her lips. Looking at Jenova, she let out a laugh, “How many times do I have to keep resisting you till you get the hint?” 

 

The light took form into an all too familiar shape and she jumped up just as it descended into her hands. Gripping the Keyblade’s handle with both hands as she charged forth and sliced at Jenova, going past it as she finished her blow. Without even facing it, she could hear it fall to its knees and let out a strangled cough to signal a successful hit. 

 

**“Your will is strong.”**

 

“Yeah,” Lady mumbled, balancing the tip of the Keyblade in her other hand and relishing the subtle warmth emanating from it. “Thanks for noticing.”

 

Turning back around, Jenova had been gone, forming back into a glowing ball of dark green before it descended from the mural. She could see the glow disappear into the darkness below, as if gone forever. But she knew better. Her eyes caught the new set of flowers painted onto the stained glass hands. Resting against her palm were a dainty set of snowdrops, the pure white a stark contrast to the darkness around her and she smiled. 

 

Snowdrops symbolized hope. 

 

The Keyblade disappeared into wisps of light as she collapsed on her knees. Bloodied, bruised, and fatigued; she let herself fall unconscious into sleep’s embrace. 

 

*******

 

A collective sigh of relief rippled through those present around Lady as her heart slowly sank back into her chest. Rising and falling, her eyes remained closed even when those around her shook her and called her name.


	45. XLV

White curtains fluttered and soft twilight seeped through the window, casting a golden shadow over the colorless room. Lady tapped her finger against the white table, looking at the human across from her. Red bandages covering his face save for one eye and his mouth. 

 

“You again, what do you want?” She asked with impatience, the nails of her finger drumming against the surface. 

 

“I thought I asked you to dispose of them,” he said. 

 

“Hm, whoops,” she replied, half in mind to roll her eyes. “You said as long as the Organization doesn’t have members it’ll be fine, so the end result should still be satisfactory.”

 

Silence, he only observed her with that visible red amber eye. She stared back, not wavering her gaze and allowing them to see an almost palpable surge of tension. 

 

After a second or two or three more of their staring contest, he spoke again. “How can you be so sure?” 

 

“I just am,” she replies, straightening her back in the chair. “I can feel that they won’t, just like the others.”

 

“Your  _ feelings  _ don’t signify,” he snapped. “Especially concerning those that don’t have them in the first place.”

 

“Seems like someone has a personal vendetta,” Lady hissed. “What’s your problem with them? They do something to you?”

 

He was silent again, carefully pondering his next answer. “Nobodies don’t have the right to exist.”

 

She leaned forward on her elbows, cocking her head, “How come I feel as if that’s not the real reason?”

 

Surprise surprise, she was met with another bout of silence. She wanted to flip the table, the irritation beginning to build up. It was like talking to a wall-  _ no,  _ like a cautious politician who debated their answers to give no real truth away and only leaving her with more questions. 

 

She decided to move on from her original inquisition. “This is a dream, right? How is it that you can reach me?” 

 

“With practice,” he almost looked amused with his answer. “It doesn’t take much to enter the dreams who’s been considerably weakened.”

 

“You doin’ that by yourself or you getting help?” 

 

To answer her question, he picked up a drawing resting by his hand and slid it across the table to her. She stopped it with her finger and looked at it. It appeared to be a child’s drawing, or something of the like. It looked like her although her features were vague, flowers surrounded her of different shapes and sizes and her true name was written in elegant script on the corner. 

 

She looked up at him, confused. “Uh, nice drawing?” 

 

“I wasn’t the one to make that, someone else did,” he replied. “She’s able to enter people's dreams and memories. As stated earlier, it’s easier to reach someone’s mind when they’re sleeping to recover from their weakened state.”

 

“I’m sleeping so I can recover my energy,” she repeated the answer, although it sounded more like a question. 

 

He nodded, “Your body.. should have ceased to exist. Your very soul  _ should _ have been split into two, a Nobody and a Heartless. How curious.. Hojo did indeed find a fascinating specimen.”

 

The name made her ears prick up and she stood up, hands slamming on the table. 

 

“You.. how do you know Professor Hojo? Just who are you?” She growled. 

 

Silence again and it only served to fan the fire building up inside of her. 

 

“Tell me, or I’ll rip those bandages from your face,” she hissed. “Did you help him? Help him to create  _ me _ ?”

 

“Such violence and anger in one who is pure of heart,” his shoulders shook with laughter. “Truly interesting indeed.” He looked at her, eye burning, “I believe that is enough for today.”

 

“Wait, I’m not done with you!” She pushed her chair back to begin walking towards him but stopped when her feet felt like they were being dragged through quicksand. The room spun and the only thing that remained of the man in bandages was a whirl of red that mixed with the white hues. 

 

Holding her head, she felt violently nauseous and wanted to throw up. Hunching over, she placed her hands on her knees and inhaled and exhaled deeply. Coughing, she looked up again and found herself in a darkened forest with only twilight shining through the dense leaves. 

 

“I’m sorry!” A female voice whispered. 

 

Lady whipped around, trying to locate the source of the voice. “Who’s there?” She asked, still disoriented as the muddled tree trunks looked as if they were multiplying. Either it was a trick of the kind, or she was severely dizzy. 

 

Through the brown of the trees, she saw white again and heard the crunching of grass as it approached her. The blurriness stopped and the soft hues of white, light blue, pale yellow, and cream started to form the image of a girl. 

 

Her pale blonde hair was pulled to the right side of her slender face, large light blue eyes blinked at her, her small frame was covered by a simple white dress. 

 

“And you are?” Lady tilted her head, massaging her temples with one hand. 

 

“My name is..” the girl looked over her shoulder before continuing. “My name is Naminé.” 

 

Lady’s face softened, holding her hand out, “Beautiful name, my name is-”

 

“I know your name,” the girl shook Lady’s hand with both of hers. 

 

“Oh,” Lady cleared her throat. “Well you can just call me La-”

 

“Lady for short, right? Who gave you that nickname?”  Naminé said. 

 

_ The hell. Is she finishing my sentences?  _ Lady gave her a wry smile, “It’s a bit of a long story. I’m sorry, have we met before?”

 

“No,” Naminé shook her head. “This is my first time meeting you in person. Even though it’s in a dream.” The girl looked sad, looking down at the grass before looking back at her, “I wanted to see you, I know he can be a bit rude at times but he means well.”

 

“He?”  _ Bandaged asshole?  _

 

“DiZ.. is his name,” Naminé whispered, almost like she was uttering a bad word. 

 

“‘DiZ’? Uh, sure,” Lady raised an eyebrow. “Mind telling me how long I’ll be here?”

 

“Until you recover,” she answered simply as if it were obvious. “Your heart took a beating, you should be more careful.”

 

Lady let out an amused chuckle, bowing her head, “Yes, ma’am.” She lifted her head and gave her a wink, “I’ll take that advice to  _ heart. _ ”

 

For once since their conversation started, Naminé cracked a small smile. “You really are a nice person,” she said, pleased with her confirmation. 

 

“Only to people I like,” Lady laughed, straightening up. “I’m tolerable at best for others.” 

 

That look of melancholy appeared back on the girl’s face. “I’m sorry, I wish I could do more for you but..”

 

“It’s alright,” Lady placed a hand on her head, ruffling her soft blond hair. “I’m sure I’ll wake up in time, just gotta wait it out.” Looking around her, she looked to her left and noticed a large iron gate in between two brick walls that looked ready to crumble. Beyond the gates was an old mansion that stood steadfast. In one window to the upper left, she could see a white curtain blocking off the view. “Where are we?”

 

“Twilight Town,” Naminé said. “Did you want me to take you somewhere else?” 

 

“You can do that?” Lady’s eyes widened in interest.  _ This the girl that DiZ spoke of?  _

 

The girl nodded, “I can at least make sure your dreams are pleasant. But it can only be of places that you remember.”

 

Lady put her fist up to the underside of her chin, thinking of all the places she wanted to go; when she decided she looked the girl straight in the eyes.”

 

“Have you decided?” She asked. 

 

“Yeah,” Lady nodded, blinking a couple times when her vision became blurry again. The next couple blinks, she found herself staring directly at a setting sun over the ocean; the forest floor beneath her became metal and she tapped her foot against it. Satisfied when her action was met by a solid  _ clunk. _

 

“Where are we?” Naminé asked, standing beside her. 

 

Lady crossed her arms to stave off the heady winds that seemed to blow right through them. “Junon, specifically the Junon Canon.” 

 

“You come here often?”

 

“Only when I can, if my missions brought me here I would always grab a snack and chill up here for a spell before heading back to Midgar.” Lady nudged Naminé and pointed at the edge just where the chase of the elongated weapon dropped off into the calm oceans. “I would always jump off there just for fun,” a smile appeared on her lips. “Angeal always got scared even after the tenth attempt. I wish I could immortalize that look on his face every time I did. After that I would always get a lecture.. but it was worth it and I would also have to buy him a few drinks to apologize.”

 

“You really care a lot about your friends,” Naminé smiled. 

 

The sunlight soon disappeared below the ocean’s surface, dying the surrounding atmosphere a deep indigo dotted with white stars. Shadows fell over the world and any evidence that the sun was even there was the lingering warmth on her skin. 

 

“That I do,” Lady muttered, looking over the blackened waters below.  

 

“Is it okay..” she heard the girl start. “If I become your friend too?”

 

A smile creeped up on Lady’s lips, such a silly request from a timid girl. Surely she’s had friends before? 

 

“Of course, you can-” she turned around with a soft expression that quickly disappeared when she saw that she was alone. “Naminé?” She called out, looking around for any traces of the mysterious girl in a white dress.

 

“She’s not here anymore,” another voice spoke, this one deeper and definitely not belonging to a little girl. 

 

Lady whipped around to be face-to-face with an all too familiar face. Instead of baring her teeth, tightening her fists, or readying any form of attack- she merely sighed deeply. 

 

“Xemnas, why are you here?” She muttered. “Can  _ anyone _ just intrude on my dreams?”

 

“You’ve robbed me of my companions,” he stated, though not a hint of remorse was in his eyes. 

 

“Is that all you came here for? To berate me for ruining your little party?” She turned her back to him, choosing to look at the melding of the iron beneath her. 

 

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she didn’t resist as he turned her back towards him. Upon looking into his eyes again, she could see a tinge of despair that quickly went away as that sunset.

 

Much to his surprise, she leaned in with the side of her head resting on his chest. She felt his hand stroke her hair as she closed her eyes and listened in. After a few seconds of silence, she heard a faint thump. Like a mouse pattering carefully on a wooden floor in the silence of midnight. 

 

“Why?” She heard him ask. 

 

Lifting her head up to look at him, she sighed. It sounded like the same ‘why’ he had asked her before when she fought them the first time. That same question that sounded like he was a clueless child wondering on how commonplace things should work. 

 

“I don’t know,” she admitted, meeting his gaze as she talked. “I don’t know if it’s pity, or sympathy, but I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to fall victim to circumstances that wasn’t of their own doing.” She closed her eyes,  _ I would know.  _

 

Putting her hand on his chest, she tapped her finger against the black leather to the rhythm of a slowed heartbeat. “What do  _ you  _ want, Xemnas?”

 

He was silent as he regarded her.

 

“Everyone keeps saying Nobodies don’t have hearts or emotions or whatever, but I’ve seen Nobodies get angry and frustrated. I’ve even seen them happy, laughing, surprised-” her fingers stopped tapping, “-don’t you remember what it feels like to be happy?”

 

“Unfortunately,” his hand wrapped around hers. “I don’t.”

 

“And why not?” She tilted her head slightly, trying to continue her tapping even as he tried to push her fingers down flat against his chest. 

 

They stood there for a while, looking into each other’s eyes while she provided him with a fabricated heartbeat. His next words made her finger stop.

 

“Kiss me.”

 

“What?” She frowned. 

 

He didn’t repeat his command, merely looking down at her expectantly and she swallowed. He let her hand slip from his chest as she brought them up to the sides of his face slowly. Getting on her tiptoes, she noticed his eyes were watching her intently

 

“Can you at least close your eyes?” She mumbled, feeling an uncharacteristic wave of bashfulness wash over her.

 

He did so, and she resumed her advance. Tilting her head to the side as her lips came closer and closer until she could feel his against hers. As soon as their lips touched, it was almost as if she had forgotten how to kiss. His lips remained pursed together tightly and she didn’t know what else to do against his chilly reception. 

 

She tried pulling away but felt his hand slither around her waist and held her there- signifying his intent and desire. Taking a bold chance, she parted her lips slightly and let her tongue run across the seams of his lips; he seemed to get the hint as his lips opened and his tongue met hers. 

 

Her legs got tired from standing on her tiptoes and she sank back into the ground, his head following her as she did. Another hand held her waist to pull closer to him and she let her hands slide down to wrap her arms around his neck. Her fingers catching strands of his hair and she wanted to smile at how pleasantly soft it was. She pulled away and as she did, his eyes opened as if to mourn the loss of contact with her lips. 

 

There she was, in the arms of the man who had been threatening her and made attempts on the lives of her friends. By all rights, she shouldn’t be doing this.. but with the way he touched her, gently and gingerly, lovingly and carefully, his eyes filled with dulled despair and hidden loneliness-

 

-she let herself get lost in those deep honey amber eyes and warmth of his embrace. 

 

“How do I wake up?” She murmured. 

 

His eyes flashed, “You wish to go so soon?”

 

For once, since their conversation started, she let out a genuine chuckle. “Is that you wanting me to stay?”

 

“Perhaps.”

 

“I have a feeling you’ll haunt my dreams more regardless, right?”

 

“Perhaps,” he repeated. 

 

She raised her hand up, palm facing him and he repeated the motion with his gloved hand resting against hers. Their fingers intertwined as she pulled him towards her while taking a few steps towards the edge. She felt the winds rise from the sea, the next step behind her had no footing and it dangled dangerously over. 

 

“I can’t stay asleep forever,” she looked up at the stars and back at him. “Wanna know what I think?”

 

“And what would that be?”

 

“I think you’re lonely,” she said, leaning forward on her tiptoes and bringing her face close to his. “And I think you don’t want to feel that way.”

 

Not letting him respond, her lips ghosted over his. “I would say goodbye again but I know I’ll see you again,” she murmured against him, the vibrations on his lips from her words acting like small kisses that fluttered against him.

 

She felt him try to lean into her lips once more but she pulled away; her hand being the last point of contact of their bodies before letting go and plummeting down into the ocean below. As she was falling, she could still see his amber gaze even as the cold water took her. 

 

*******

 

Terra fumbled with the small green leaf of the star-shaped fruit in his hand, feeling the oddly shaped thing and almost admiring how immaculate it appeared. How is it that a fruit can grow into this shape? It was modeled almost perfectly after the celestial body. 

 

He was sitting besides Lady as she slept, her chest rising and falling gently with a peaceful look on her face. The pillow he was resting on had an almost permanent indentation on it from the long hours he spent by her side. His senses were on full alert for any threat that would come to her, heightened additionally by the guilt he had felt.

 

His eyes moved from her face to the part of her robe that parted right between her cleavage to reveal a pale silver keyhole-shaped scar that shimmered slightly when it caught the light.

 

A lump formed in his throat and he moved to cover the scar, hesitating as it hovered over her body; as if he was about to touch something forbidden. Quickly, he moved the robe to conceal the scar and adjusted his hands in his lap.

 

Sighing heavily, he shut his eyes and sat there in silence. It was already enough that he felt to blame for the current state she was in. It was also bad enough without the glares he’s received from some of the residents of the Alstroemeria. But all he could do was hold his head up and stay by her side until she woke up; not just because he felt compelled to but because he, like the tenants of the apartments, cared for her as well.

 

“If you keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles.”

 

Terra opened his eyes to see Lady look up at him with tired eyes and a small smile. Her hand reaching up towards him and he swiftly took it in his own. She looked at his hand as she turned it over to inspect it.  

 

“They’re warm, like his,” she mumbled, barely intelligible. 

 

Terra frowned, “Like whose?”

 

“Nothing,” she shook her head. “How long have you been here?”

 

“Not that long,” he felt heat rise up the back of his neck. There’s no way he would tell her he’s been here since the beginning. 

 

An amused smile curved her lips, “Alright.” She looked down at the fruit he had resting on a plate beside her pillow. “What’s this?”

 

Terra let go of her hand and picked up the fruit, “Remember that fruit I told you about? The one my charm was based off of?”

 

“Yeah,” she looked up to the ceiling, remembering their conversation. “The star-shaped one.” Her head turned on her pillow, “I thought you were exaggerating but it actually does look like a star.”

 

Terra picked up the fruit and the yellow-golden sheen promised a juicy bite. He saw her eyeing it and he offered it to her. “Want it?”

 

“I thought it was yours,” she said. “We can share it if you want?”

 

“Share?” The feeling of heat on his neck grew hotter.

 

“Or not..” she looked at how his face tightened up at her suggestion. “You can have it.”

 

“No, we can share,” he cleared his throat. “Sorry, it was just something Sora told me. A story about two people sharing a Paopu fruit,” he spoke as his thumb grazed the skin of the star.

 

“Oh? And what is it?”

 

“Well, if two people share one Paopu fruit, then their destinies become intertwined. They’ll remain a part of each other’s lives no matter what.”

 

She smiled as she struggled to sit up, “That’s romantic, I like that.”

 

He helped her up, his hand on her back as he held her there. “Yeah,” he nodded, “it is.”

 

They sat there for a while before Lady cleared her throat, “So I’m guessing you don’t wanna share it?” 

 

“No, I mean we can, I just-“ 

 

She laughed, “Take the first bite then.”

 

Terra sighed, recomposing himself as he took a bite of the fruit, chewing and swallowing before he handed it to her. To his surprise, she leaned forward- tucking her hair behind her ear as her lips wrapped around the tip and bit a piece off another point of the star.

 

The juice swished around her mouth, first tasting tart but dying down into a sugary tang as it traveled down her tongue. 

 

She looked up at the Keyblade wielder, “So I guess we’re gonna be together forever now, huh?”

 

“I guess so,” he smiled. 

 

“You don’t mind right?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

Lady had a softened look of content on her face, her hand reaching up to feel where she was pierced by his Keyblade. Her fingertips feeling soft scar tissue and she looked down to see the keyhole-shaped mark.

 

“I’m sorry,” Terra muttered, looking down at his hands in his lap. “It was my fault.”

 

She pulled her robe over, turning to him and covering his hand with her other hand lifting her chin up to see her. 

 

“It’s not, stop blaming yourself,” she murmured. “I’m here now and I’m okay, so it’s fine.”

 

His hand turned up to hold hers and sorrow crossed his blue eyes. She looked down at the pillow he was resting on, noting the indentations on it and she sighed. 

 

“You said you had two friends, right? Ventus and Aqua?” She started, “Why don’t you go see them? I’m sure it’s better than being beside a comatose body.”

 

“They’re fine, they’re strong,” he said. “We all trained under skilled Keyblade masters, so I know for a fact they can handle anything thrown at them. Besides, I want to be able to protect you here.”

 

She grinned, “You never told me your master’s name, are they that skilled?”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, enthusiasm bringing light back into his eyes. “Aqua, Ven, and I trained under Master Eraqus. Although, Ven was trained under someone else for a while before he was brought to our care.”

 

“Okay, cool. What’s the other one’s name?”

 

“Master Xehanort.”

 

The blood coursing through her veins ran cold and she dug her nails into her palms as her eyes widened with shock. 

 

“Come again?” She whispered harshly. 

 

“His name is Master Xehanort.. hey, you okay?” Terra looked as she gripped the blankets that covered her. Her mind racing a mile a minute as she tried to collect her thoughts through the whirlwind of information that didn’t seem to add up.

 

_ Isn’t Xehanort the name of the guy who was Ansem’s apprentice who formed Xemnas and that other guy?  _ She studied Terra.  _ Then how does Terra know him? Is it the same guy? But I saw Terra in both of them! ... Fucking hell.  _

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sliding door cracking open and a head of spiky blond hair poked in. Next thing she knew, she was being tackled by the boy as his arms wrapped around her. 

 

“You’re alright!” Roxas grinned, burying his face in her shoulder as he embraced her.

 

 “Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” Lady smiled, patting his hair down, amused when the spikes would spring up again after her strokes. “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to take me down. How is everyone?”

 

Roxas got up, sitting on his hind legs, “See, about that…” He let out a sigh, “How many rooms do you have at the Alstroemeria?” 

 

Lady rubbed her eyes, remembering what she told Larxene.  _ ‘Take them alive’, great idea dumbass.  _ She reprimanded herself before speaking, “I got plenty. The question is: are they willing?” 

 

“Some,” he shrugged, “we convinced some but there’s others that might need a bit more incentive.” 

 

“I’ll handle that,” Lady hissed, eyes hardening. “I have questions needing answers.” 

 

“I can help,” Terra offered. “I’m sure Sora and Riku could help keeping them in line.” 

 

She rubbed Roxas’ arm when she saw the heated glare the boy shot at Terra, absentmindedly tapping him to calm him down as she spoke, “They’re not my prisoners.. I want them to know they have a choice but I need some clarification on some things.” 

 

Her attention turned to the blond, “How long have I been asleep?”

 

“Three days,” Terra interjected before Roxas could answer and that elicited another glare from him. 

 

“You would know, you’ve been here just watching her, weirdo,” Roxas frowned. 

 

“Oh Terra, you said you weren’t here for long,” she smiled at him, amused, “do I sense a liar?”

 

“Um,” the brunet averted his gaze, finding a painting hanging on the wall to be supremely interesting. “I was just worried.” 

 

“You weren’t the only one,” Roxas shot back. 

 

Lady put a hand on Roxas’ shoulders and pushed him back down gently. “I’ll go check on everyone else, alright?”

 

“No,” he put his hand on her shoulder. “You still need to rest, I’ll let them know you’re up.” 

 

*******

 

Larxene had her arms crossed tightly, walking back and forth; biting down and grinding down on the nail of her thumb as she kicked an unsuspecting pebble from the gravel below. Her face plastered in an expression of perpetual unease. 

 

“Calm down there, tiger, gonna work up a thunderstorm with the way you’re pacing,” Xigbar whistled, laughing when Larxene stopped in her tracks to shoot him an annoyed glare. 

 

“What are you talking about?” She sneered. 

 

“It’s obvious you’re worried,” Marluxia had his legs crossed as he sat down on a bench, his Organization coat switched for a deep mahogany robe. “Didn’t know you were capable of such a thing.” 

 

“No, I’m not,” Larxene put her hands on her hips. “Look at you, where did you even get that from?” She motioned at his robe, wagging her finger up and down.

 

“One of the server girls was kind enough to lend me one,” Marluxia flipped his hair over his shoulder. 

 

“Gross, dude,” Demyx made a face. “Why do you have to be here, it was fine with just the seven of us.” 

 

“Not really our call to make, water boy,” Xigbar shrugged. “Boss’s orders.” 

 

“I am  _ not  _ sharing a room with any of you,” Vexen made a face.   
  


“Why don’t you sleep outside then with the garbage,” Larxene gave the scientist a sadistic smile. “Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t want to come with us?”

 

“Frankly, I’ll go wherever the winds favor,” Luxord shrugged. “I’ve a feeling we wouldn’t be let go so easily.”

 

“It’d be in your best interest to come with,” Zexion addressed him. “You two as well- Lexaeus, Xaldin. We were all working towards the same goal, this is similar just different circumstances.”

 

“Whatever for? This is foolish,” Xaldin had his arms crossed tightly, his face a mix of disinterest and irritation. Lexaeus merely crossed his arms as well, looking extremely displeased with himself. The two of them looking like imposing statues of the perfect example of what defeat would look like if manifested in a person. 

 

“Take those spears out of your ass and loosen up a bit,” Axel called to him, drawing smiley faces in the dirt with the tip of his shoe. “The Alstroemeria’s great.” 

 

“It’s tolerable,”  Saïx muttered. 

 

“You’re so full of shit,” Axel snorted. “You enjoy it there just as much as the rest of us. Especially the lan-” His sentence was cut off as  Saïx reached over to flick the red-haired man directly in the middle of his forehead. 

 

“Stop it, you two!” Xion frowned at them. “You’re being too loud, she’s resting!”

 

“It’d be best if she could wake up,” Zexion sighed. 

 

“Yeah, so Larxene could stop pacing,” Demyx snickered. 

 

“Shut up,” she let out a low growl, rolling her eyes. “I don’t care about her, I could care less if she doesn’t ever wake up!”

 

Roxas opened the screen door with a huge grin, “Hey, she’s up!”

 

Demyx got up quickly, moving to enter the room when a hand landed on his face and pushed him back down.

 

“Outta my way, loser!” Larxene shouted as she hopped up on the veranda, pushing Roxas out and sliding the door closed. A minute later, the door slid opened again and Terra walked out with his head hung in shame. Pillars of electricity formed over the screen door, prohibiting entry for anyone else. 

 

“Got the boot, huh?” Xigbar looked at him with amusement. 

 

“Yep,” Terra sighed in defeat.

 

*******

 

“Larxene,” Lady looked up at the blonde with a hearty smile. “You actually stayed!”

 

Larxene’s hand tightened, strolling over to her. Her fists shaking, she dropped to her knees besides Lady’s bed and her arms raised to wrap around her. 

 

“Larxene?” Lady was surprised, her hands going up to hug her back. “What’s wrong-”

 

“Shut up!” The blonde whispered harshly, “you’re such an idiot, you know that? Don’t  _ ever  _ do something so stupid ever again!” 

 

Lady was silent before replying, “I wanted to save you.” 

 

“But don’t jump in front to take the hit for me,” she hissed, her arms still wrapped around Lady’s neck. “Now you had everyone worried and it was annoying to deal with.” 

 

“I’m sorry for leaving you with such a burden,” the landlady chuckled. “You handled it well without me though, I bet.” 

 

“Of course,” she scoffed in return, “who do you think I am?”

 

The two girls’ arms dropped and they both leaned back, looking at each other. Lady had an expression of disappointment on her face, “I bet I missed the lantern festival, huh?”

 

“Mana actually postponed it for you for a few days, it’s gonna be tonight,” said Larxene. 

 

“Really?!” 

 

“Yeah, they’re preparing by the beach so-”

 

Lady tossed her sheets off, standing up. “We gotta go!”

 

“Now?” The blonde looked at her with disbelief. “But you’re still-”

 

“Who cares! I refuse to miss this! It’s what I came here for!” Lady shouted fixing her robe and running her hands over her hair to smooth it down. She was soon moving to throw the sliding door open just as the electric pillars disappeared from the entry and looked upon the bewildered group of ex-Organization members and Terra. 

 

Before any of them could greet her, she hopped down and zoomed past them without a word. 

 

Larxene hopped down after her, following her as she shouted, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?! You’re still injured!” She blew past the others to follow her, wooden sandals slapping against the floor as she did. “Stop running so fast! What about all of them?!” 

 

“Lanterns Larxene, lanterns!” Lady shouted over her shoulder, not relinquishing her speed. “I’ll worry about them later!”

 

Larxene panted, doing her best to match Lady’s speed, “How are you so fast? You almost died!”

 

“Is she normally like that?” Vexen turned to the group. “She just had her heart extracted.” 

 

A united and solemn nod came from the tenants who had been staying with her. 

 

*******

 

Lady bounded down the stone steps two at a time, rounding the corner with her sandals grinding against the floor as she did. Another flight of stairs greeted her and she did her best to descend them as fast as she could. On the stone path leading from the kitchens were four figures clad in black that were none other than the Insomnians.

 

“Hey guys!” She greeted them quickly, meaning to pass them by when the smell of buttery pastry halted her. “Is that.. a tart? Can I have one?” She pleaded Ignis with her eyes enlarged to imitate that of a puppy’s. 

 

“I actually made it for you,” Ignis handed her the batch of tarts and she happily began nibbling on the crust. “We were going to stop by to see if you were up.”

 

“Thank you,” she said after swallowing. “When I woke up I was so hungry, it was ridiculous.” 

 

“Good to see you’re up, goblin,” Noctis chuckled. “Now there’s no way you can say that I sleep more than you.”    
  


“Yeah, had us worried there for a bit,” Prompto added. “What would we do witho-”

 

“Without our lovely landlady?” Gladio interrupted him, throwing her a casual wink and she grinned at the gesture. 

 

“There you are!” Larxene shouted, her hair slightly disheveled as she caught up. “Stop running so damn fast, we have plenty of time to set up!” She eyed the pastries in Lady’s hand. “Give me one of those.”

 

Lady handed her one, “I know, but. I refuse to miss anything that has to do with this festival and I want to help set it up!”

 

“Then let’s get a move on, Mana wanted to see you as soon as you woke up,” Larxene said, finishing her tart in two swift bites. 

 

“Right,” Lady nodded, waving at the four guys as she left. “Seeya guys later!” 

 

“Bye!” Prompto waved, sighing heavily when she was soon out of earshot. 

 

“She looks chipper,” Gladio said with amusement. “Like nothing ever happened.”

 

“Business as usual,” Ignis himself looked bemused.

 

“When does that lantern send-off even start?” Noctis turned to Ignis.

 

“Precisely at ten’o’clock tonight,” the spectacled man replied. 

 

Noctis stretched his arms over his head, “At least we got some time to kill before, let’s play some King’s Knight.” 

 

Prompto pulled out his phone, walking backwards on the path where Lady sped down. He stopped when he bumped into someone and he quickly turned around, a flurry of apologies coming out of his mouth. 

 

“Prompto, watch where you’re going!” Gladio barked. 

 

The blond yelped in response. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you!” He addressed the stranger he accidentally assaulted though the stranger paid no mind, instead looking down the path where Lady and Larxene walked side by side towards the ocean. 

 

“I see the princess has awoken at last,” the stranger chuckled, not turning his head of wavy reddened violet-colored hair away from the two women. He then turned back to the group as Prompto backed up to stand near Noct. Amber eyes regarding the Lucians as well as a coy smile. “Now isn’t that something.”

 

“Wh-who are you?” Prompto asked him. “Are you talking about Lady?” He flinched when he received light slap from Noctis who glared at him, his eyes asking his friend:   _ ‘the hell you doing?’ _

 

“Ah, yes,  _ Lady, _ ” the stranger let out another delighted laugh. 

 

“What’s so funny?” It was Noctis’ turn to ask. “What do you want with her?”

 

“Oh nothing of import,” the stranger replied. “I’m merely a concerned traveler. That attack a few days ago caused quite a ruckus, I wanted to see if the poor girl was alright.” 

 

Gladio looked at him with hardened eyes. “She’s fine, let’s leave it at that.”

 

“That’s good to hear,” the stranger mused. “Wouldn’t want anything of ill will to befall her.” He took off his black fedora and held it to his chest as he bowed slightly. “I’ll be off then.” Straightening back up, he turned around and gave them a parting wave as he left as quickly as he appeared. 

 

The stranger left the four Insomnians in a shared daze of confusion before collectively resuming their quest to walk back to their rooms. 

 

“That was, uh, something,” Prompto muttered, “who do you think that guy was?”

 

“Probably just some weirdo,” Noctis replied, checking his phone for the latest updates on King’s Knight. “I’m sure we won’t see him again after the festival’s over.”

 

*******

 

Night soon fell over the landscape of Heron Point. Its’ white beaches dotted with multiple jeweled tone robes as people gathered in whatever spots they thought would be best to release the lanterns. Fires were lit in erected braziers that stood in the ground, illuminating the faces of all those who have gathered for the festival’s finale. Above them, mirrored over the dark waves of the ocean was a sky studded with stars that twinkled every time someone looked up to admire them. It was as if the constellations themselves were gathered to witness this spectacle.

 

Prompto wrote on his lamp, handing his marker to Zack as the latter scribbled on his lamp in messy script. Satisfied, Zack handed it to Noctis who then handed it to Axel who then handed it to Saïx and so on and so forth until almost everyone’s lanterns were filled with unknown desires and wishes.

 

“What’d you guys wish for?” Demyx asked everyone, holding his lantern down to conceal the writing on the side.

 

“If you say it aloud it won’t come true,” Roxas snorted. “Didn’t you know that?”

 

Larxene handed Marluxia the pen, and the later then handed it to Genesis with a generous smile. Genesis looked up at him with disdain, holding the pen and attempted to pry it out of the other’s grip. Unfortunately, it didn’t come easy and the two stared into each other’s eyes as they fought for dominance over the black ink pen. 

 

“So you’re coming back with us, huh?” said Genesis, his eyes narrowing. 

 

“It would appear that way,” Marluxia replied, an equally sadistic look on his face. 

 

“Can I have the pen, please?” Xion reached up, taking the pen from them and writing hastily on the bottom corner of her lantern. Turning back to Angeal, she asked, “Do you mind if I can climb on your shoulders when we start? I can’t see.”

 

“Of course,” he said, handing over the pen to Vincent and Sephiroth. “Have you seen Lady?”

 

Xion got on her tiptoes and hopped up to try and see over the heads of the many people gathered. “I think she’s on the other side of the beach handing out lanterns.”

 

“I kinda feel like the people here don’t fit in,” Sora ran over to whisper to Xion. “Is it really okay that you got the Organization here now?”

 

“It should be fine,” Xion nodded. “I know if they tried anything, everyone here would help.”

 

“Right,” Sora grinned enthusiastically, turning to his longtime friend. “Riku, have you seen Terra?”

 

“No idea,” Riku shrugged, a handful of cookies in his hands as he snacked on them. “He’s probably looking for her.”

 

*******

 

Lady handed out the last of the lanterns, immediately going behind the counter and grabbing the two she had reserved. Technically each guest and employee was supposed to have one, but hey, she could argue she deserved it. In the corner of her eye, she could see Terra approach her with a lantern in his hand. 

 

“Hey,” he greeted her.

 

“What’s up?” She said. “Not gonna go with the others?”

 

“Well I thought you’d be there too,” he said, his eyes looking at the two lanterns she was hiding sloppily. “Going somewhere with those?” He said with the conviction of a law enforcer and she was caught red handed. 

 

“Maybe,” she winked, “I’m going somewhere special to release these, wanna come with?”

 

“Sure,” he nodded. “What about the others? I think they’ll be worried about you.”

 

“With you around, they got nothing to be concerned about plus there’s more important things to worry about than me,” she juggled her two lanterns in one hand and her other wrapped around his arm to lead him towards a path behind the sheltered counter. Leading up into the shaded forest were wooden steps to act as footholds that let them know they were on the right path. 

 

Their steps were mostly quiet as they traveled, only the occasional softened rustling of the paper lanterns as well as their feet on the steps below. When the forest around them grew darker and Terra could barely see an inch in front of him, he felt her hold him closer and guide him up. Her steps unwavering, even in the thickened darkness, she was leading him through with confidence and he could do naught else but follow. 

 

Soon moonlight broke through the trees in soft shafts that illuminated her everytime they passed under one. The pale light accentuating her face every time she looked back at him to make sure he was still with her. A silly gesture, considering how her hands wrapped around his arm to serve as a tangible reminder that she was there with him and he was there with her. 

 

The path had cut off as soon as grass concealed the buried wood. They were now standing on a pointed cliff, the drop off leading directly into the ocean. Lady let go of Terra’s arm and set the two lanterns on the ground near the edge, looking down to the right where she saw the blurred figures dotting the beach. 

 

“And now we wait,” she told him, standing side- by-side to await the signal fire. 

 

*******

 

Demyx fidgeted with the lighter, visibly frustrated when the flames only went up when he tried to force it down in the middle where the small container of oil sloshed around. Groaning, he gave his thumb a quick lick when the flames had lashed at him again. 

 

“Axel, do me a solid, can you-?” Demyx pointed at his lantern. 

 

“Are you serious? You can’t work a lighter?” The red-head snorted in disbelief. 

 

“It burned me.”

 

“Yeah, it’s called fire.”

 

“Stop being an ass and just do it.”

 

Shaking his head, Axel brought his middle finger and thumb together into a quick snap that echoed. A spark going off between his digits as he did and immediately everyone within his general vicinity had their lanterns lit with a small flame forming in the oil pot. 

 

“Thanks buddy,” Demyx clapped him on the back. 

 

Behind them, Genesis flexed his fingers and the ones around him had their lanterns lit in a similar fashion although starting out in a bright spark that died down to a soft flame. 

 

“Showing off?” Sephiroth had an amused smile on his face. 

 

“There’s no one here that’s worth showing off to,” Genesis replied, shrugging. “Maybe one, but she’s not here.”

 

Near them, Xion was on Angeal’s shoulder as she waited to release her lantern. 

 

*******

 

On the pier far away from them, a lantern was lifted up into the sky as the fires in the braziers died down and everyone from the front of the beach followed suit as one, two, three lanterns were lifted. Slowly, but surely, everyone on the beach had their lanterns flying up. Being gently carried by winds that pushed them towards the ocean. Lighting up the indigo waters and making it look almost as if it was aflame with warm hues of reds, oranges, and yellows. 

 

The pale stars above the ocean were blotted out by the warm light that traveled in large groups below. Collecting together, it looked as if they could blot out the moon with the lanterns conjoined radiance. 

 

Lady bent down to pick up one lantern, holding her finger out as a tiny fire appeared on the tip. She lit the oil pot and turned to do the same to Terra’s. 

 

“Ready?” She smiled at him. 

 

“Yeah,” he returned the gesture as they both lifted their lantern up into the sky. As he watched his lantern float up towards the sky, he felt his fingertips brush against hers. Her hand was still warm from the residual fire. “What did you wish for?” He asked. 

 

A small giggle got his attention and looked over to her as she put a finger over her lips, “It’s a secret.” 

 

“That story..” Terra’s eyes went back to watch his lantern dance in the winds with hers. “Do you think the prince and princess will find their way back?”

 

“I think they already did, and that they watch over this valley now,” she hummed. ”That’s my theory but most people think it’s just a fairy tale.”

 

“Do you think that?”

 

“Hm, I’m not sure. If enough people believe in a fairytale, I think it ceases to become one.”

 

His eyes looked down at the unlit lantern by her feet. “What’s that one for?”

 

“Another secret,” she only smiled, looking down at it. She turned to him, “Did you like it here?”

 

“Yeah, it was really fun. Everything except for..”

 

“I know,” she cut him off before he could continue. “But you had fun, right? How ‘bout this,” she stepped in front of him, holding her pinkie up. “Let’s come back next year.”

 

Terra let out an amused chuckle, but holding up his pinkie regardless. Their small fingers wrapped around each other and she grinned. 

 

“You promised so you have to be here no matter what even if you’re somewhere far away, you have to come back to be here with me,” she said. 

 

“Our destinies are intertwined now, so I have no other choice,” he said, half-jokingly while the other half was sincere.

 

A rush of wind rustled the trees and Lady looked over Terra’s shoulder to see a flash of black that seemed to be darker than the shadows surrounding it. She looked Terra in the eyes with a smile, “Mind going on ahead without me? I want to stand here for a bit.”

 

“You sure?” He looked at her with incredulity, only when she had a slight pout did he agree, “I won’t be far.”

 

“My knight in shining armor,” she smiled, patting his arm for reassurance. “I won’t be long.”

 

Terra gave her one lingering look before disappearing into the shadows in the tree line. And as soon as he disappeared, she turned back around to pick up the lantern as she felt a presence appear behind her. 

 

“I saved one for you,” she spoke, getting up and turning around. “I had a feeling you’d be here.”

 

Xemnas looked at her, his eyes watching her every move carefully as she took his hand slowly. He allowed her to do so, as she placed the lantern in his hand. 

 

“Make a wish,” she whispered. “Light it then set it free.” Her eyes glimmered when she looked up at him, feeling her heart flutter slightly. “You don’t have to, but you should.”

 

He looked as if he wanted to say something but was silent, looking down at the lantern in his hand as she left him to find Terra who, true to his word, was not that far. Although he was at a good distance to not see Xemnas standing at the edge alone, his figure concealed by a large tree trunk. 

 

“Hey, you done?” Terra asked her as she stood by him, her hand wrapping around his arm. 

 

“Yeah,” she said. “Let’s go.”

 

They walked back down the path and they once they were in the clear once more and on the beach. She looked up at the cliff where they stood and smiled when she saw a single lantern fly up into the sky to follow the others. 

 

*******

 

“Did you forget anything?”

 

“Ugh, I hope not.” 

 

Steam rose up from the train as it let out a screeching whistle to let passengers that it would be in their best interest to board soon. Lady picked up her suitcase, adjusting her shirt and jeans. Something she hadn’t worn in a long while since she arrived. Counting the heads of all those coming along, she made sure they filed in before her as she stood back. 

 

“Little sparrow,” Mana walked up to her. “I came to see you off.” 

 

Lady set her suitcase down, she swallowed, goodbyes were always painful. “Yeah, thank you for coming. I’ll miss you Mana.”

 

“Stop acting like we’ll never see each other again, child!”

 

“What can I say,” she sniffed. “Goodbyes are hard.”

 

Another trill screech from the train echoed in the station as the last of the guests entered the train. 

 

“There’s always next year, little sparrow,” Mana mused, looking at the faces in the window that looked out at them- the only two women standing in the platform. “And make sure you bring all your friends with you too.”

 

Xion, Roxas, and Sora waved at them through the window and Mana returned the gesture.

 

“I will,” Lady nodded, picking up her suitcase. “I’ll send you letters when I’m back.”

 

Mana nodded, “And one more thing.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Lady felt her cheeks being pulled painfully as Mana pinched them. 

 

“Stop getting into things you shouldn’t be doing! You keep fainting and that’s going to cause damage to your brain!” Mana pinched the skin on her cheeks. “You understand me?”

 

“Owowow yes, okay, I get it!” Lady pulled back as Mana let her face go. Lady looked behind her and saw many of her tenants turn away, acting as if they weren’t looking in the first place. 

 

Mana pushed her gently towards the train door, then signaling the conductor with a wave. 

 

“May your heart be your guiding key, little sparrow.” 

 

Lady gave the elderly woman a confused look and Mana’s copper eyes shimmered mischievously as she winked. Gripping onto the side rail, she felt the train shake as it was getting ready to move. The wheels letting out a grinding squeal as it started turning slowly, picking up speed. As the train moved out of the station, she looked out of the train door; dropping her suitcase on the floor so she could wave her goodbyes. 

 

Lady waved at Mana until the train traveled far enough that her body was a small figure in the distance as the locomotive carried its passengers across the tracks back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of curiosity, who wanted to see more of that Alice in Wonderland spin off?


	46. XLVI

“First things first,” Lady held out the box in the palm of her hand. The speakers displayed on the side along with a series of switches to affect the decibel of the sound that it emitted. “Who gave you this?”

 

Vexen tried to take the box from her and she held it back, frowning at him. He sighed, “How many times must we go over this- a man in black. We didn’t see his face, he just gave us this device-“

 

“To use against me? What did he want in return?”

 

“Nothing,” Vexen responded. “Absolutely nothing.”

 

“That’s..” Lady took a deep breath and brought her hands against her face. “Bullshit. So what he just gave you this and told you to have fun?”

 

“Essentially.”

 

Lady turned the box over in her hands, trying to identify anything that would give away any answers to see who gave it to them. 

 

“That box only affects you and Vincent, innit?” Cait Sith hopped onto her lap. “I wonder why.”

 

“Well, Seph, Gen, Angeal said they heard it too.. the weird thing was that Seph and Angeal both heard it louder than Gen and we were all in the same general vicinity.”

 

“The question we should be asking first is what you and Vincent have in common,” Zexion looked up at the ceiling as he pondered. “Is there anything you two- or all of you share, a common trait that could explain why?”

 

Then it hit. Why everyone else seemed unaffected and why her and the other three soldiers could hear it if not affected fully. Lady swallowed, not wanting to accept it as she looked up at Zexion’s watching eyes. “Jenova.. and Chaos?”

 

“Jenova?” Vexen raised an eyebrow. “I’ve only read reports. An ancient Cetra, no? And Chaos, I don’t know much about that one, yet.”

 

“Wrong,” Lady looked defeated. “It’s.. it’s an alien that meant to destroy this world a long time ago.” She hesitated before continuing, constantly looking up at her new tenant nervously. 

 

“Lady,” Zexion walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “You can trust Vexen. He means well, even if he can be a bit callous at times.”

 

“Granted you can guarantee our humanity back,” Vexen added. 

 

“She can and will,” Zexion answered for her, his bright eyes hardening with conviction before turning back to her. “Please continue.” 

 

Her fingers dug into the skin of her hands and she felt Cait Sith try to calm her wandering fingers down. “Jenova is- was, an alien that crashed on this planet circa two-thousand years ago,” she quoted all the research files she read up on from the Shinra mansion, “it’s practically a parasite from what I’ve seen and heard. It wants..” she stopped again, swallowing, she felt beads of sweat dot her forehead. “It wants a vessel and..”

 

She looked up at Zexion, her eyes widened with trepidation. “It talks to me, sometimes, it wants a body. It wants something to use. I’m guessing whatever endgame it has in mind isn’t good for anyone.”

 

“Now,” Vexen interjected. “You say ‘it’, why is that?”

 

“Jenova is neither a male nor female,” she looked at the scientist. “ _It_ is a parasite seeking destruction. I think some of my powers stem from it, unfortunately.” Holding up her hand, she turned it to inspect the veins running under the surface of her skin, “Sometimes I can hear it speaking to me when I use magic. The voice gets louder every time I overwhelm myself with mako.”

 

“What other instances can you hear its voice?” Zexion asked. 

 

Lady looked at him, her face still. “When I’m angry.” The two scientists looked unsettled as she sat forward on her chair. “I hear, I _feel_ it trying to overpower me. Tempting me.”

 

“I’ve a theory, but I need to run a few tests to confirm this,” Vexen finally said. “I require a sample of your blood.”

 

Her ears perked up at the word _tests_ and she tensed up, wringing her wrists as she looked up at him nervously. At that moment she was glad the chair carried her weight, if it wasn’t for the simple wooden fixture she would’ve crumpled. Immediately, Zexion went to her side and knelt down in front of her. His hand covering her and his thumb stroking the top of her knuckles. Calm blue eyes lulled her to calm down and his silent shushes eased her. 

 

“I know your views on science,” he whispered. “But I can prove to you that it’s much more than that.” Both of his hands wrapped around hers, “You won’t ever be hurt as long as I’m here.”

 

She nodded, shooting him a wry smile filled with gratefulness. Looking to Vexen, she spoke, “Take your sample.” 

 

From behind him, he took a box out with a syringe. Holding it up to the light, he inspected the protruding metal. 

 

“Do you normally take syringes everywhere you go?” She asked him, attempting to lighten the mood in the room with a rather simplistic question. 

 

“These belong to Zexion,” said Vexen, putting down an antibacterial cloth to set the syringe down upon it. He fashioned a tourniquet out of a strip of bandage and tied it around her bicep tightly. He flicked the inside of her elbow, moving it so that he can see the vein clearly. Ripping a packet open, he pulled out an alcohol wipe and wiped down the area for insertion. 

 

“Funny how we tried to kill each other a few months ago,” Lady muttered as Vexen picked up the syringe. “Now you’re taking my blood.”

 

“It’s a considerably better alternative to fading away into nothing,” Vexen replied, his face still as he did everything with practiced precision. “Anything to become human.. and to atone.”

 

Lady could barely hear the last part of his sentence when he proceeded to insert the needle just below the crook of her arm. She flinched, not for the minute pain she experienced but for the fact that for a split second- she was transported to a darker room with test tubes lining the wall and the sound of a burner heating up chemicals in a rounded bottle. A man with slicked back black hair and round glasses was in front of her. Her wrists were bound to the seat and she couldn’t help but let the man take her blood as her nails dragged along the arms of the wooden chair. Involuntarily, her breathing grew rapid and she found it hard to concentrate. Blinking a few times waved away the skewed memory but the sensation remained; a feeling of dread and anxiety and fear. 

 

Vexen leaned back, the freshly extracted blood of vial in his hand, “I’ll need some from the other four as well.”

 

“Hah,” she couldn’t help but snort. “Good luck with that. You’ll see that they don’t exactly appreciate tests like this.”

 

“How else will I get any form of answers if you all aren’t willing to cooperate?” 

 

“Please understand,” she tried a different approach. “That we've been subject to numerous tests without our consent,” she spoke for all of them and she felt Cait Sith stroke her arm for comfort once more. “So, I think they would appreciate being asked for permission for once.”

 

Vexen was silent before continuing, “I’ll be sure to ask first.”

 

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “So, uh, for this whole ‘repairing your hearts thing’, what am I supposed to do?”

 

“Do as you normally do,” Zexion said.  “Even as you are right now, you’re still helping us. Just being around your immediate presence, I’m assuming, rejuvenates our hearts. It’s truly fascinating, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

 

“I’m glad I entertain you,” she let out a light laugh. “Well, I’ll be sure to do just that.”

 

*******

 

The central garden was fixed up and so was the gazebo. No indication of any incurred wrath was visible nor was the fact that the gazebo used to lay in ashed remains. Undoubtedly a gesture from one of her tenants, if not all of them. It brought a smile to her face, more so because she could exclude the repairs from her long list of things to pay for. 

 

“Well, not too shabby,” Luxord looked around at the rising complex. 

 

“It is rather lovely,” Marluxia stood near a bed of pink roses as Lady approached them. “As is the owner.” 

 

“You’ll soon find that flattery won’t pay the rent here,” Lady stopped in front of them, hands on her hips. “I assume you all found rooms to your liking?” 

 

Saïx turned to her, “Luxord and Marluxia share a room, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Xaldin share another. Larxene insists she wants her own.” 

 

“Fine with me,” she shrugged. “As long as you all are comfortable… Although.” She let out a loud sigh, “I need to lay out some ground rules.”

 

“Whatever you wish,” Marluxia mused, his eyelashes fluttering and she sighed. This man reminded her all too much of one she already knew, a man with auburn-hair and an equally flashy personality. She could only hope that the two wouldn’t clash during their stay. But such hopes would probably prove vain. 

 

“I’ll do it when everyone’s present,” she said. “Later.” Her eyes narrowed and she buried her face in her hands along with a strained groan, “Actually, let’s just get this over now. Saïx, do you mind fetching them for me?” 

 

“The ones who’ve just arrived?”

 

“Old and new,” she said. 

 

Saïx nodded, leaving Marluxia and Luxord as Saïx went to go get the Nobodies that resided in the Alstroemeria. Gathering the imaginary bullet points in her head, she went over them non-verbally. When those summoned crowded in front of the gazebo, she took a deep breath and turned around. 

 

“I’m not going to repeat myself,” she started, tapping her foot against the cobblestone. “And I’ll make it easy to remember. This is already a given- but please don’t use magic that can cause bodily harm to anything or _anyone._ ” As she said that, she glared at Axel, Xigbar, and Demyx.

 

“That’s another rule,” Xigbar snickered and the following sentence was repeated by him and the ones who’ve already been tenants, speaking in perfect unison as if it were a mantra. “Don’t piss off the landlady.” 

 

“If we were to walk off, what would be your course of action?” Xaldin asked her, his eyes cold and steeled. 

 

“Go ahead,” Lady’s lips tugged into a small smirk, even stepping to the side and motioning to the path towards the gates. “You’re not prisoners, you’re free to go anytime you want. Granted you don’t hurt anyone on the way out..” she let out a lighthearted laugh. “Then you’ll find out how very, very, _very_ tenacious I can be.”

 

“Besides that,” she continued, clearing her throat, “be mindful of each other especially if you share an apartment.”

 

“Good thing I have my own,” Larxene muttered, shifting her weight on her feet. 

 

“Wait,” Demyx cried. “Larxene gets her own room? Can I move out to one of those too?”

 

“Sharing an apartment with you and Xigbar isn’t the most comfortable either,” Zexion tried muttering under his breath, but Lady picked up on his grievances. 

 

“I kind of want my own too..” Xion said. “Living with boys is horrible.” Immediately when she said that, Axel and Roxas both looked shocked as if she insulted them directly. 

 

Lady buried her face in her hands, wanting to scream loudly but decided to compose herself and look up at them, “I don’t care how you set up the rooms, I’m not your mother! Just do it on your own time and I’ll worry about the financ-” 

 

She stopped, burying her face in her hands again, this time letting out a strained squeal. Looking up again she looked positively done, “I just realized none of you paid the down payment for the rooms. And rent is due in a week.” 

 

A hush fell about the tenants and they all looked at a loss. They never had to worry about finances in the Castle. But going back there certainly wasn’t an option. 

 

“But what about Roxas’ and Xion’s Struggle money?” Axel protested. 

 

“That was for when there were only _seven_ of you!” Lady cried, pointing to the newly acquired members. “Now there’s thirteen!!” 

 

“What’s the worst she’s done for money?” She heard Lexaeus ask Zexion. 

 

“I killed a man,” Lady replied loudly, her face deadpanned and her voice serious. 

 

“You’re kidding..right, princess?” Xigbar laughed but stopped when she maintained her firm expression. “You killed a man? Here?”

 

“No, not here, I-” she brought a hand up to her forehead, “how many times do we have to go over this?! I wasn’t a landlady all the time!” 

 

“You were employed with Shinra as a SOLDIER operative, yes?” said Marluxia, his eyes flashing. “How many lives were taken by those delicate hands of yours?” 

 

“Well- wait, we’re not discussing my body count here,” she scoffed. 

 

Xigbar had a mischievous smirk on his face. “Speaking of body count-” A bolt of purple lightning struck the ground in front of him and he raised his hands up in surrender, making a motion of pulling a zipper across his mouth. 

 

“Hey, you said no magic!” Demyx pointed at her. 

 

“That rule doesn’t apply to me,” Lady crossed her arms. 

 

Luxord mimicked her gesture. “How can you lead, if not by example?” 

 

“Because I own the place!” She looked at him incredulously. 

 

“Now now, there’s no room to throw a childish tantrum,” Vexen tutted.

 

“‘Childish’?!” Her eyes narrowed at the scientist. “I do _not_ pay royalties in taxes for this piece of land to be called childish. The gall. Unbelievable.” 

 

“How are we going to find the funds for rent?” Saïx asked. 

 

“I don’t know!” She threw up her hands in the air. “I- gah, what was the point of this meeting. I just have a headache now.” Sighing, she looked up at the sky. “I guess I’ll find if there’s any monster bounties posted at the town hall so I can earn some extra gil.” 

 

“You don’t.. regret taking us in,” Xion said, almost in a hushed whisper. “Right?”

 

Lady’s gaze returned to the young girl and she cracked a soft smile, “Of course not.” 

 

From behind the group of Nobodies who was returning from the beach was Genesis, walking past with a book in his hand, he gave the ones gathered a look before addressing her. 

 

“Orientation?” He asked, amused. 

 

“Standard fare,” Lady replied without looking away. “As you were, soldier.”

 

“It’s wonderful to you in good health, Genesis,” Marluxia smiled, teetering on a malicious smirk as the auburn-haired soldier glowered at him. 

 

Genesis stopped, “I wish I could say the same about you, Marluxia.” 

 

_Oh my gods._ Lady eyed them both. 

 

Undeterred, Marluxia continued, “No kind words for your new neighbor? And here I was hoping we could be friends.” 

 

“Perhaps in hell,” Genesis replied. 

 

Marluxia received an elbow to his stomach by Larxene and Genesis received a seething glare from Lady. _‘Behave’_ she mouthed at him and he rolled his eyes in response, taking his book and walking back up to his room. After another second of awkward silence, she heard Roxas talk to her. 

 

“I’m hungry,” the blond said. 

 

“Then get some food, Rox,” she said, with exasperation. 

 

“We don’t have any though. Can I eat at your place?”

 

“None of us do,” Xigbar muttered. “Can we all eat at your place?”

 

“It occurred to us that we don’t have beds either, or any form of furniture,” Luxord added. “Where can we sleep?”

 

Axel grinned. “Sleepover at Lady’s?” 

 

_You can’t be serious._ She turned around, waving at them to dismiss them as she walked away and ignored their further grievances. 

 

*******

 

The rest of her afternoon was spent helping the ex-Organization members settle in their new homes. With her hair tied up and her flannel fastened around her waist, she got to work. Paying off the men who delivered the furniture, she watched as they lined it up in the central courtyard- offering to move it up to the rooms for an extra fee. Declining, she insisted she could do it by herself and thanked them for their services. 

 

It was nothing too extravagant, just beds and desks of the sort for now. The rest of the rooms would have to be items of their choosing, this was just supposed to support them in their endeavor towards interior design. She had the ones needing new furniture come down and get the ones they ordered from the catalogue she showed them. 

 

She saw Vexen struggle picking up his box as Lexaeus and Xaldin picked up theirs with ease and proceeded to the corridor they had opened to their rooms. Walking over to him, she squatted down, grappling the box and hoisting it up on her shoulder. The scientist sighed, allowing her to walk in front of him as she entered his portal to deliver his furniture. Placing it down carefully, she straightened up and stretched her arms over her head. 

 

“If you need help, just let me know,” she told him. “It’s my job.” 

 

Vexen cleared his throat, “Thank you. I’ll be sure to get out the results for your blood tests as quickly as pos-”

 

“Lighten up,” she patted him on the shoulder, giving him a warm smile. “Don’t be in any rush, you’re not obligated to do a job here. This is your home now, right?” 

 

“Right, of course,” he straightened himself up and she gave him one last tap before exiting his apartment through their front door. 

 

Walking down, she saw Marluxia enter his apartment and she followed, poking her head in his  door. “Everything good here?”

 

Marluxia turned to her, a small smile on his face. She could never tell if the smile was genuine or something he used to give people a false sense of security. Like thorns on a beautiful rose. 

 

“Can I have a moment of your time? I want to show you something,” he said and she nodded, following him in and leaving her shoes at the front. Walking past another room, she could see Luxord inside pondering what position he wanted his bed at. Turning her attention back to Marluxia, he opened the door for her and she stepped inside. His bed was already set up as a small corner table that held a single potted plant. 

 

Walking over to it, he gestured to the plant and she inspected it closer. Out of the humble clay plot bloomed a dainty purple hydrangea. It brought a smile to her face as she carefully moved the pot so that it remained in the shadow but still faced the sun to receive it’s warm light. 

 

“Be careful, you don’t want the soil to dry out so direct sunlight isn’t good for this one in particular,” she said, looking up at Marluxia. 

 

“Astute observation,” he said, blue eyes flashing with what seemed like pride. 

 

She raised an eyebrow. “Did you do that to test me?” 

 

A smile appeared on his lips again as he brought his hand up and flourished a single lavender rose, held between his forefinger and thumb. Handing it to her, she received it with both hands and inspected it. A thin glowing sheen hung on the delicate petals and it felt like the softest velvet when she touched it. 

 

“I’m assuming you’re familiar with the language of flowers?” He asked her. 

 

She nodded, “Lavender-colored rose.. It means-” 

 

“-enchantment,” they both said in unison. 

 

“It conveys my,” he paused, chuckling, “feelings.” Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips and looked up at her through a veil of lashes and pink hair. “As well as hope for a fresh start with you.” 

 

“Any more flattery and Genesis might have some words to say to you,” she said. 

 

“Then I look forward to what he has to say,” Marluxia let her hand go, watching her fingers withdraw from his palm. “It’s curious how we can regain our hearts, by simply being with you. Tell me, you can hear the other’s heartbeats but can you hear mine?” 

 

“I can see?” She said quietly, leaning in to rest her head against his chest with her right ear. Closing her eyes, she heard nothing for a bit. Then, a slight beat after a minute or so of waiting. Although very faint, it was there. “Just a little,” she told him as she straightened back up. 

 

“Then it appears I’ll have to spend more time with you,” he said. 

 

“My attention will have to be split up between all of you.” 

 

“I’ll find a way to make sure you enjoy the time you spend with me the most.” 

 

She swallowed. His flirting was much too obvious and while she enjoyed it, she didn’t know how much of it she could handle. 

 

“I should go,” she said softly, her eyes lingering on his face as his was on hers. 

 

“So soon?” His voice was equally as soft as hers. “Take a moment with me.” 

 

“As I said,” she leaned in close, “my attention must be split equally between all of you.” Waving the rose under his nose, she quickly left the apartment.

 

*******

 

“Naminé,” Lady looked up at that girl walking towards her. “Even during naps, you can visit me, huh?”

 

“Yes,” she nodded. “Do you mind?”

 

“Of course not, dear.”

 

Taking a seat beside Lady, Naminé dangled her feet off the metal precipice of the Junon cannon. 

 

“Back here?” Lady asked the girl.

 

“You like it here, right?” She asked. “I thought you might enjoy it since it’s a happy memory for you.”

 

Strong winds blew both of their hair back and Lady blinked, tapping her finger against the metal plating. 

 

“You can see people’s memories, right?” Lady asked her quietly. 

 

Naminé hesitated before answering, “To those I have a connection to, yes.”

 

After a deep inhale and prolonged exhale, Lady turned to the girl so that she faced her. “Is it possible I can have you resurface the ones I’ve lost?”

 

Naminé’s blue eyes looked concerned, almost scared, as she regarded her. “That can be dangerous, often memories that are closed off to us are closed for a reason. What you see could hurt you and bring back feelings you wanted to repress in the first place. 

 

“I know,” Lady held her gaze steadfast. “But I need to see what happened at that lab. I need to know what I should be afraid of.”

 

The girl looked around her, taking a second before giving a small nod. “Okay.. close your eyes.”

 

*******

 

_The newly appointed 1st Class SOLDIER stopped in her tracks, looking at the three young men grouped a ways from her. One with chin-length black hair, another with straight auburn hair, and the last had his silver hair dangling at his mid-back; all three wearing the standard uniform of those sharing her class rank._

 

_Taking a deep breath, she approached them with a fragile smile but was blocked off as a man in a black suit handed her a file._

 

_“You’re needed ASAP. Say your goodbyes swiftly.” Was all the man said before walking away._

 

_Swallowing, she held the file in her arms across her chest as she approached the three._

 

_“Look who finally made it,” the one with black hair grinned, patting her on the shoulder. “You should practice punctuality, now that you’re one of us, huh?”_

 

_“Congratulations, you’ve worked hard to get here,” the one with silver hair said, a subtle turn of his lips was the closest thing he had to a smile._

 

_“Let’s see if you’re any better than when you were 2nd, up for a little spar?” The auburn haired one smirked._

 

_“I can’t.. actually,” she shook her head, holding the file tighter against her._

 

_“Why not?” The auburn haired one said, his dusty blue eyes landing on the papers she held. “What’s this,” he said as he reached forward and swiped it from her despite her protestations. “Project SIREN? Does this have to do with those sessions you’ve been going to? What’s this supposed to be-“_

 

_He was cut off as she stole the file back from him, giving the man a dirty look as she now held the files behind her back. “Don’t worry about it!” She pouted, “It’s a special assignment.”_

 

_“Will you be gone long?” The silver haired one asked, his eyes shimmering with unknown emotion._

 

_“No, I don’t think so,” she said. “I’ll be back before you know it. That reminds me, have any of you seen Cloud?”_

 

_“Who?”_

 

_“Cloud? Cloud Stri- nevermind,” she sighed, she hasn’t seen the blond set of spikes ever since she got promoted. It was starting to worry her and no one seems to know who she was talking about._

 

_“Speaking of which, we got a pretty eager 2nd Class wanting to raise rank,” the black haired one chuckled. “He reminds me of a puppy, so eager but his attention span is somewhat lacking.”_

 

_“Oh yeah?” She asked. “What’s his name?”_

 

_“Zack Fair, comes from a small village called Gongaga.”_

 

_“Sounds backwater,” the auburn haired sniffed._

 

_“Spoiled brat,” she laughed, earning a heated glare from the one she addressed. “Not everyone comes from a good home like you.”_

 

_Before he could retort, a voice called her from behind._

 

_“I told you to make your goodbyes quick.”_

 

_She looked down, ashamed she let herself get into a friendly conversation with them. Now it would just make her miss them more._

 

_“Sorry guys, I’ll.. I’ll see you soon okay?”_

 

_Somehow she felt as if that were a lie. She gave the three one last look before she walked away with the man in the black suit._

 

*******

 

_If she could scream. She would._

 

_Green bubbles rose from beneath her and the tube she had attached to her mouth let her relish what precious oxygen entered her mouth. It felt like smoke entering her lungs and she wanted to cough. She wanted to move but the large steel needles stuck in her veins barred any form of motion, even the slightest waver sent a sensation of sharp pain throughout her body._

 

_From the haze of whatever chemicals she was submerged in, she could see the two figures looking up at her. The closest one was a fat man with a finely trimmed mahogany suit and clean shaven face save for the large handlebar mustache on his upper lip. Crow’s feet creased just below his eyes as he leaned in closer to the glass separating them both, his blue eyes regarding her with savage hunger._

 

_“Is she to your liking, President Shinra?” The other man walked up from behind, pushing up his glasses as he adjusted the collar of white lab coat._

 

_President Shinra ignored the man behind him, only staring at her. “I always knew you were special, pet. You’ve survived longer than the others.”_

 

_She looked up from behind him, at a large computer screen with multiple headshots displayed. All of them female. All of them having a large red x on their faces with various causes of death listed under their names._

 

_President Shinra put his hand on the glass, “Hojo, how long will it take?”_

 

_“A while. She can’t go back until I’m finished.”_

 

_“Take as long as you need then,” he said as his face neared the glass, his tongue farting out to lick his lips. “Whatever it takes, she’ll lead us to the Promised Land.”_

 

_If she could scream. She would._

 

*******

 

_Cold steel chilled her naked body and no amount of shakes or movement warmed her up in the slightest. Stuffed between her lips was a cloth rag that muffled her screams as she was repeatedly stabbed over and over with a syringe. Fluids of mako entered her, coursing through her veins, and burning as they raced around her body. Shackled restraints pinned her down to the table and she couldn’t find the strength to pull against them._

 

_She hadn’t eaten in days. Her stomach felt as if it would collapse in itself yet she feel she could throw up more than her body had intook._

 

_“Stop squirming girl, you’ll make it worse for yourself.” Hojo clicked his tongue as he set the large syringe aside. Mako welling up from her incisions as well as blood that coagulated immediately when it surfaced._

 

_Hot tears ran down her cheeks and she struggled again, stopping when she felt a hand wipe away her tears. Moving her head to see who it was that attempted to comfort her, she wanted to throw up when she saw the familiar rugged face of Shinra’s executive._

 

_“Hojo,” the President turned to the scientist. “These experimentations.. will it affect her reproductive systems?”_

 

_“No, why do you ask?” Hojo‘s eyes flashed, like he already knew what was about to be asked of him._

 

_The President’s eyes looked down at her, his finger sliding down between her cleavage and down to her navel, “When we find the Promised Land. You can be my wife and bear my children.” He looked back up at Hojo while his hand lingered in her flesh, “Just imagine. My blood mixed with that of a Cetra. Our empire would be impossible to topple!”_

 

_She wanted to cry. Scream. Kick. But only the sounds of the two men casually conversing about her future was all she heard. Instead, she chose to drown herself in the white noise it produced, pretending that it wasn’t her life they talked about- as if she had no choice over the matter._

 

*******

 

_“Are you struggling, dearest?” Hojo tutted. “And here I thought we had such a fine specimen. Increase the dosage.”_

 

_“But sir- any more and she will die!”_

 

_“No, as of now she is perfect, now do as I say!”_

 

_Motors hummed louder as it pumped more of the produced chemical into her tank, the sensation of burning files her and she felt as if her skin was being ripped off cell by cell. Every tendon, nerve, and fiber in her body lit on fire and felt like she was being cremated alive. Submerged again in this viscous liquid, no one can see the tears that she produced as her own blood swirled around her and dispersed into particles. Her eyes felt like freshly burned coal inserted into her sockets and she wanted to reach up to scratch them out but her hands were restrained with needles going down her forearm and twisted to be behind her back._

 

_She could see multiple scientists and President Shinra himself looking at her from outside of her glass cell. Watching as she squirmed and thrashed and cried._

 

_“If this proceeds, I may have to list her death as accidental and have her sent to Deepground for more tests..” the President sighed, looking annoyed. “Hojo, is there anything you can do?”_

 

_“Her vitals are dropping but it’s recoverable,” the scientist adjusted his glasses. “You need to send Sephiroth off on another mission somewhere far, he’s been asking about her and it’s getting much too irritating, the boy is too curious for his own good. So have the other two, Hollander’s pet projects.”_

 

_“Why don’t you have a word with him?” The President glanced around at the other scientists which averted his gaze immediately when he looked their way. “He is your son after all.”_

 

_“That may be so, but emotional connections of any kind will prove to be a hindrance to his progress. Let him be and grow into the weapon he was created to be,” Hojo mused. “Hollander thinks his experiments superior to mine- hah! This one will be my crowning achievement, she’s the closest we’ve had to reach this stage without error yet this may take longer than I anticipated.”_

 

_“As I said. We can send her to Deepground.” The President stroked his chin._

 

_Hojo scoffed, “With those other monsters you’ve created and brewed? They would tear each other to pieces until there’s one that emerges victorious.”_

 

_“No, it would just break her. We only need her body, not a working mind.”_

 

_“Very well, we’ll prepare for transport- wait, what’s this?”_

 

_The scientists and president looked on beyond the glass. Purple eyes stared back up at them, irises dilated into slits._

 

_“Finally,” Hojo has a maniacal grin on his face. “Jenova, you’ve finally awakened!”_

 

_The glass in front of her began breaking, webbed cracks forming as blackened mako seeped out in container bursts. Purple eyes flashed before it broke completely._

 

*******

 

_Blood painted the steel walls of the labs. Screams echoed in its emptying halls. Pristine white lab coats stained and paper with black ink soaked in the crimson that littered the ground. A river of thick red ran through the ground, sloshing and moving when she waded through it- her ankles feeling the liquid that still felt warmth and fresh from the vein. Through the mix of deathly red were glowing purple eyes that looked around for beating hearts._

 

_Walking into a desolate room, she stopped when  she spotted a box with things that appeared familiar to her. Tilting her head, she looked closer and found a picture of three boys who were smiling. Mako eyes looked back at her and in the middle of them, the one with black hair held up his arm; assuming he was the one taking the picture. In between the one with silver hair and auburn hair- was another girl that looked vaguely familiar. Who was that girl? Was that her? Who were these boys? Did she know them?_

 

_A whimper elicited her attention and she dropped the picture._

 

_Spotting one trying to hide behind a fallen bookshelf, his own tremors giving him away. She grabbed him, twisting his arm till she heard a sickening snap. He whimpered and begged for his life, but his cries fell on deaf ears as she grabbed him by the neck to drag him out to the hall._

 

_The smell of fire soon filled up her nostrils, the smell of cooking human flesh and iron. A smile crept up on her lips as she kicked the head of a dead scientist out of the way like a ball; cartilage and bone alike being crunched under her feet as she walked. The scientist she was dragging cried out a name, did he know the name of the one who died? Who cares._

 

_She walked until she reached a large metal door that was shut tightly. Fingers found the middle seam and was ripped open with one swift movement of her arm._

 

_Looking up at her as she descended from the steps leading up from the lab behind her were Hojo and Shinra’s executive. They looked at her naked body, illuminated by the catching flames behind her. The fresh blood and ripped organs from various people decorating her nude skin._

 

_“Pet, listen to me, we can make this work. I’ll give you anything you want, a life of luxury can be yours if you cooperate!” The President raised his arms in defense, showing that he was empty-handed. His eyes were filled with fear and she relished them like a delicious meal._

 

_She merely threw the scientist she was dragging down the steps, catching his arm and twisting it till she saw the sinews of his muscles rip open and his limb was ripped off sloppily._

 

_The owner of the arm let out a screech as she held the arm up, fire forming in her palm and traveling up the severed limb until it melted the flesh off in bits that fell down at her feet in slops. Only the stained bone remained, the outer edges crisped slightly. Walking down the stairs, she grabbed the scientist by his neck once more and turned him over to see his eyes. She licked her lips in anticipation as she gripped the bone in her hand, and plunged it right between his eyes. Relishing the fact that the fear didn’t die out in them even as it rolled back and he collapsed back onto the ground._

 

_Her attention now turned to the two who remained. The only two she saved for last._

 

_Before they could escape, she raised an arm up and a barrier formed around them- ensuring no exits._

 

_“Wait, if you kill us you won’t see your friends again!” President Shinra cried. “I’ll have them shot and hunted like dogs!”_

 

_She stopped. Friends? She had friends? She shook her head, approaching the President with inhuman speed. She took his throat, squeezing it and lifting him off the ground. Behind her, a single black wing sprouted and stretched up towards the sky. Feathers floated to the ground, catching on fire with the wayward embers that rose from the burning lab._

 

**_“I won’t kill you now.”_ ** _She said, her other hand holding his face._ **_“You don’t deserve a quick death, so I’ll grant you the mako you crave so much.”_ ** _Blackened wisps of smoke exited her hand and crawled up his nose, for a moment the whites of his eyes turned a sickened green. She dropped him to the floor and he held his throat, coughing violently. She looked to the both of them._

 

**_“You both deserve whatever hell you’ve created.”_ **

 

_Her eyes turned solely on Hojo and she started towards him when the scientist reached into his pocket. Taking out a gun, he pointed it at her. An amused smile appeared on her lips. A gun? She laughed. It would feel like a measly bite of a flea._

 

_A gunshot echoed in the air and she looked down at the blooming red flower on her lower abdomen. The wings behind her disintegrated and she felt weak, her knees were trembling and eventually collapsed. She looked up as Hojo picked up the President who was still coughing and the two men limped away._

 

_“We still need her, damn it!” The President choked._

 

_Hojo groaned. “That will paralyze her for now, we’ll come back with the Turks and subdue her later!”_

 

_She remained on the ground, holding her wound with the last of the fires warming her body._

 

_Then, as if flipping a switch, her entire body began to burn. She looked at her hands and found no visible fire touching her, but her veins felt like they were about to implode. Every receptor of her nerves shot up like a light show and she let out a pained scream that echoed in the lonely canyon. Wails shot to and from the rocky edifices, her own screams seemingly transforming into the sounds of all the people she killed in that building. Forming and coming together to give her one last haunt. She writhed on the ground, convulsing as her own saliva tasted like battery acid and foamed at the sides of her lips; feeling the burning pain of a thousand blazing suns as the smell of smoke and cremated flesh surrounded her._

 

*******

 

Setting down his glass, Vincent looked towards the couch where Lady slept. He heard a faint whimper, then a strangled moan, then a pained scream that pierced his ears and curdled his blood. Running towards her, he saw her writhing and moving about on the cushions. Her face covered in a layer of sweat as she wailed, looking as if she were trying to scrub off some unknown stains on her body. 

 

Kneeling beside her, he shook her shoulders gently. “Hey, hey, wake up!” 

 

Her eyes shot open and she immediately began to try and push him away, her pupils dilated and widened with fear; overflowing with tears as she whimpered unintelligible words. 

 

“Calm down, shh, shh,” he murmured softly, wiping her tears away as she started hyperventilating. “You’re here, you were dreaming. Calm-“

 

He was interrupted as Lady began sobbing, through her tears she began hiccuping, “Naminé, take them back..!”

 

“Naminé?” He frowned, “Who’s-“

 

“Naminé, take them back!!” Lady cried louder, repeating herself and burying her face in his shoulder. She held onto him, fingers gripping his shirt to make sure what she was touching was real. His hand reached up to smooth down her hair while his other patted her back as he rocked her to calm her down. 

 

“It hurts. It’s burning too much,” she whispered, breathless, “Naminé, take them back..” 


	47. XLVII

Axel: Everything okay? Heard a scream last night.

 

Gladio: Sounded like someone was getting murdered, you sure none of you Org XIII members killed each other yesterday?

 

Larxene: You sure it wasn’t Demyx just breathing?

 

Xigbar: Aaallwaays the ray of sunshine, huh Larx?

 

Larxene: Don’t call me that! 

 

Axel: Larx

 

Xigbar: Larxy~

 

Demyx: Larxi-poo.

 

Larxene: Stop.

 

Xigbar: Oops, forgot that only Lady can call you that, right? 

 

Marluxia: Oh Larxene, how sweet of you. 

 

Axel: Someone’s got a soft spot for our landlady, eh?

 

-Larxene has left the chat-

 

-Vincent has entered the chat-

 

Gladio: Hey Vin, everything okay in your end?

 

Vincent: Yeah, I just scared Lady last night on accident. My bad. 

 

Gladio: She okay?

 

Vincent: Yeah. 

 

-Vincent has left the chat-

 

Setting down his phone, he looked at Lady as she laid down on her bed. Her eyes glazed over as she stared up at the ceiling. Jumping on the bed beside her was Cait Sith and Vincent tapped the cat on the shoulder. 

 

“How did the previous president of Shinra die?” Vincent asked him. 

 

“Mako poisoning,” Cait Sith faced the man, “took a couple o’ months before it killed him completely, ‘twas like cancer. He was sufferin’ throughout completely, a slow and painful death. Although there's no love loss for that man.”

 

Out of the order of his eye, he saw Lady’s fingers twitch at the doll’s revelation. Cait Sith hopped back to her side and he sat down beside her shoulder. “You doin’ okay, lass?”

 

Without looking at him, she asked, “Does anyone know who killed the president?”

 

“I told you, lass, it was some sort of sickness. Not a person.”

 

“Right, sorry,” she muttered, sitting up and holding her head. “Sorry I bothered you last night, Vincent.” 

 

“Stop that,” said the man, his voice gruff and she flinched slightly at it’s gravelly tone. “You’re not bothering anyone, you’re being too hard on yourself for no reason. I told you, you can’t expect to take this on by yourself. You have friends here..” he paused, “and you have me.”

 

Lady looked up, her hand raised up to touch his hand, pinching it slightly to make sure it was indeed tangible. “I’m not dreaming right now, right?”

 

His hand raised up, palm facing her as her fingertips ran down his fingers. Noting they were more calloused around his forefinger, presumably so as it was his trigger finger. Stretching out her hand, their palms connected and she noticed his fingers were taller than hers. 

 

“You’re here,” he said, his crimson eyes looking at her. “You’re not dreaming. You’re safe here.” 

 

She waited for him to retract her hand but surprisingly, he kept it up while his eyes remained fixated on her. 

 

“I’ll, er, leave you two alone,” Cait Sith hopped down from the bed, walking out of her bedroom and shutting it behind him.  

 

Vincent searched her eyes for any signs of remaining night terrors. Relieved that it was calmer than the wild look she had in her eye the night before. 

 

“How long did you hold me like that for?” She whispered, slightly embarrassed.

 

“Until you went to sleep again,” he answered and she looked unsatisfied with his answer. 

 

“Vincent. How long?”

 

“... Five hours and thirty-one minutes.” 

 

She buried her face in her hands, sighing heavily. “I’m losing it,” she whispered, “is this how it feels to have Chaos inside of you too?”

 

“I can barely hear it sometimes,” he admitted, “but when I do and it tries to take over- I can hear Lucrecia’s voice.”

 

“It seems like you were in love with her,” she said, almost scared to state that in fear that she was wrong. 

 

“It doesn’t matter now, she’s gone.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s fine. Let’s change the subject.”

 

Lady pinched her bed sheets between her fingers and she looked up at him with a tired smile, “Did you eat breakfast?”

 

“No, I didn’t want to burn down your kitchen,” he said. 

 

“You’re kidding-” she laughed but stopped when his facial expression didn’t change from the regular stoic facade of his. “-right?” She sighed, “What are you in the mood for?”

 

The cooking was done in quiet, his eyes watching her fatigued hands chop carefully and he moved to stop her whenever he felt that the blade was coming too close to her fingers. She would nod her thanks, the sizzling of the frying pan was the only sound between them. Although there were no words exchanged, she still felt comfortable. Hopefully he did too. With the way he watched her, moving out of her way if she needed something behind him, or how he handed her tools and ingredients whenever they were too far away- she felt as if he did. 

 

Once their meal was finished, Vincent got up quicker than she could and collected the plates. The sink turning on and showering the ceramic with water and soap before he came back towards her. Noticing that she moved from the dining table to her couch. 

 

“You need to get out,” Vincent looked down at Lady as she lounged on her couch. Her eyes fixated on the ceiling and glazed over. It was only when she made eye contact with him that the light returned to her eyes. 

 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

 

“You know what I mean,” he said. “You can’t sit in here for the rest of the day. They’re asking for you.”

 

“They can survive without me,” she muttered, “I just want to be alone.”

 

“To be alone with your own thoughts could prove your undoing.”

 

“What, are you a poet now?”

 

“Lady.” He crouched by her, crimson eyes looming over her like a red shadow. “I’m serious.” 

 

“Hey ‘serious’, you can call me Lady,” she mumbled, turning her head towards him and sighed when he didn’t look the least bit amused. “What do you want me to do? Go for a walk? Stretch and lounge on the beach? I can’t walk two steps around here without someone wanting something and I just want to be alone.”

 

“Then leave.”

 

“My own apartments?” She scoffed, sitting up and looking down at him. “Should I go out to the city then for a night out?”

 

“Sure, if that’s what helps.”

 

“But what about-”

 

“Cait Sith and I can watch them for the time being, in the meanwhile, you need to leave.”

 

“Okay, okay, geez..” she bit the inside of her cheek, feeling like a child being reprimanded. Getting up, she stopped and turned to him, “Hey, what do you classify as a monster?” She hoped her question was as covert as possible, hiding her inner turmoil as that very question racked her mind endlessly. 

 

“A monster is something or someone that doesn’t think,” he responded without skipping a beat. “It’s a thing that doesn’t care about the well-being of others and you-” he approached her close enough so she can see the ruby flecks of his eyes, “-are not one. Far from it.”

 

“Thank you,” she muttered gratefully. “I’ll at least wait till it gets darker before leaving.”

 

*******

 

A careful knock on the door got both Zexion and Vexen’s attention and Lady poked her head out from behind the corner with a nervous smile on her lips. From behind them, she could see various papers with neat script printed on them. Along with diagrams of she couldn’t make sense of from afar, but right at this moment she didn’t want to know any further. 

 

“Lady, how can we help you?” Zexion set down his pen. His room was turned into a makeshift lab with various tubes laid about as neatly as they could set it up. 

 

“Ah, nothing. I just wanted to stop by and check up on you two,” she said, coming out from behind the corner to reveal what she held behind her back. With careful balance, she pulled out a small tray holding two cups of tea. “It can’t be good to be holed up in here, right?”

 

She set the tray down and looked up at them, her eyes heavy with fatigue but offering them a light smile. “Find anything interesting in my blood?” 

 

Zexion and Vexen exchanged a look and she immediately regretted asking. Their shared glance warned her of results that might be distressing- but perhaps it was her jumping the gun. 

 

“So?” She prompted them, her finger twitching nervously and balled her hand into a fist from preventing any more unwanted movement. 

 

“I think it best we just show you,” Vexen muttered, moving over and showing her the microscope behind him. 

 

Looking up at him, he only glanced at the oculars and she bent forward. Placing her forefinger and thumb on the neck to steady herself, she looked into it and saw platelets surrounding the red discs. Typical of those found in anybody’s sampled blood; after a while of watching them float around-suspended in plasma, she straightened up and looked at Vexen. 

 

“I see nothing out of the ordinary,” she said. 

 

“Look again and observe,” he responded almost in a sigh, looking to Zexion he nodded. “Do it.”

 

Taking his instruction, she looked into the eyepiece again as Zexion lifted up his hand and a beam of darkness left his fingertips. Floating in the air for a split second with no direction before flashing and flying towards the microscope. She watched, hand on the fine tuning knob as she observed the darkness surround the minuscule platelets and red blood cells into a corral and began smothering them. Twisting the coarse adjustment knob, she moved the mechanical stage down just a smidgen to see the darkness absorb into the cells. Her brow furrowed against the lenses; holding her breath as she watched the darkness dissipate, the outer rim being tinged with a burst of bright green as it completely absorbed by the cells.

 

She stepped back again, swallowing and finding her mouth to be dry. “So, it absorbs darkness?” A dumb question, she just saw that happen. It sent a wave of nausea throughout her when she had to remind herself that _that_ was her sample.

 

“Yes,” Zexion paused, “your cells are unique in which they absorb whatever can be digested, metabolized, and produced into power. Mako, being one of them, can be absorbed and exploited as you’ve previously demonstrated. Although, we’re not sure if it’s you doing it consciously or subconsciously.”

 

She processed the information. “Okay..” 

 

“It corroborates my theory on you,” Vexen interjected. “At Heron Point, we saw your heart come out of you yet your body didn’t split into two- a Nobody or a Heartless. And so I thought, is it possible that your body simply refused to let it go?” 

 

She thought back to that fight with Jenova in that strange place shrouded in darkness, and of that stained glass platform that showed her likeness. She could hear the voices of people around her but couldn’t see them. Was that truly taking place inside of her? 

 

“Another point of contingency,” Zexion picked up where the other left off. “Your heart. It’s made purely of light, now that in itself is an odd phenomenon. Usually everyone has a mix of dark and light within them, but what if-“

 

“Your body consumed the darkness in your heart. Churning and processing them within the mitochondria of your cells and producing power that’s transferable throughout your body,” Vexen said, his eyes flashing as his thought processes were visible on the minute changes on his face. “You’re a walking powerhouse. Much like how a nuclear reactor exercises energy.”

 

The salivary glands in her mouth dried up. She could feel every taste bud slide against the roof of her mouth in an overly abrasive manner. 

 

“A siren, in legends and myths, they call to sailors and unknowing people alike. In this case, you call to energy,” Zexion treated his words with care, watching her with worry. “Project SIREN.. that’s what you are.”

 

“A siren,” she whispered, her nails digging down painfully into her palm. “Leads people to their deaths.” Her next words left her in a shaky manner, “Have you took the other three’s blood yet?”

 

Zexion shared another worried look with Vexen before he responded, “Lady, we-“ 

 

“Did you or did you not?” She tried silencing her rising tone.

 

“We did.” Vexen answered, his green eyes quickly flashing to the other slides resting on the smooth countertop. The older scientist knew she wanted more answers without her even saying anything. “We’ve yet to test all possible variables.”

 

“Will you let me know once you do?” she said, eyes darkening. 

 

“Of course,” one of them replied and she looked out the window to see Sephiroth and Genesis walking around the courtyard side-by-side. A sense of dread washed over her even when she saw them both share a laugh over something they conversed about. _My cells are capable of calling things to it as if compelled, then maybe..._

 

She didn’t finish the thought, instead looking at the two scientists with a grateful smile and eyes filled with grief. She uttered a quick thank you and reminded them to drink their tea all the while excusing herself quietly.

 

*******

 

Slipping by Vincent, the man spun around, he sniffed and frowned. His crimson eyes widening slightly and returning back to normal when they finally spotted her in the dimly lit room. 

 

“You.. why are you dressed like that?” He finally said after seconds of staring. 

 

A tight-lipped smile and a wink was her only response before she opened the door and slipped out without a word. 

 

***

 

Reno raised his drink to his lips and tossed his head back, letting the alcohol sear his throat on the way down. 

 

“Any more and you won’t remember the rest of the night,” Rude ran his hand over his shaved head. His tanned skin illuminated by the different colors flashing overhead while music bumped and shook the building. 

 

Both of them were standing near the bar, leaning against the smooth laminated wood while those around them ordered their first drink with certainty or their last as they stumbled with their words. 

 

“Come on, the guys want us to pick up their drinks,” Rude nudged his friend and Reno groaned. He could barely hear him over the pulsating bass. And why the hell was he still wearing his shades in here? 

 

“They got feet, why can’t they get it themselves?” He grumbled but picked up the bottle that the bartender set in front of them. Both of them getting up and moving towards a secluded table sectioned off from the rest of the club. Half of the table was concealed by a sheer dark curtain that shimmered everytime a stray strobe of light hit it. Moving it aside, Reno looked around at the other black suits sitting around the table. 

 

“Lighten up guys and gals,” Reno hummed, setting the drink down in the middle of the table. “We’re not at work, remember?”

 

“Wish Tseng and Elena came,” a girl with brown hair sighed, the wavy brown waves going down to her shoulders and rested on her suit daintily. 

 

“Surprised you even came, Cissnei,” another snickered, a shock of dirty blond hair resting on his head with a dark undercut. “You’re usually so dutiful, tsk tsk.”

 

Cissnei shot her accuser an annoyed look, “Keep your mouth shut, Wren.” 

 

“Take a shot and loosen up a bit,” Wren sat back, crossing his leg over the other. A smug smile on his lips as libations were being poured. 

 

“Poor girl,” an older woman in her early thirties picked up the shot with a forefinger and thumb. “Elena should make it less obvious that she has a crush on Tseng.” 

 

“How do you know that?” Cissnei said. 

 

Wren rolled his eyes, pointing at the woman who was now downing her shot. “Did you forget that Sera and Elena were related?”

 

“You don’t have to be her big sister to find out she has the hots for our dear director,” Sera’s pale yellow eyes flashed mischievously before disappearing as her head tilted back for another shot. “What swill is this, Reno? It tastes terrible.”

 

“This _swill_ -“ Reno grabbed the bottle back from her, “-cost me a pretty penny so be grateful and shut up.” 

 

Wren leaned forward on his knees, “Yo, Reno, Rude, wanna bet we can pick someone up here for a little fun?”

 

“Oh you two are gross,” Cissnei made a face. “I thought we only went out for drinks?”

 

“We are,” said Wren. “But I wouldn’t mind a little company tonight.”

 

“Ours not good enough for you, Wrenny?” Sera cooed. 

 

“Hell no,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “I want someone who can rock my world- not annoy it.” 

 

Reno downed a shot, passing the bottle to Rude and pulling the dazzling gossamer curtain to reveal a clear view of the dance floor. Writhing bodies mingled with each other, lust and alcohol coursing through each of them. Not one person was alone, this place was guaranteed to have you leave with someone by the end of the night.. if one plays their cards correctly. And most of the time, he did.

 

A flick of a lighter caught his attention as Rude held up a cigarette between his lips, the lighter illuminating his face briefly before disappearing. Smoke exited the sides of his lips as the cigarette burned. 

 

“Ugh,” Cissnei sighed. “Why do you have to smoke here?” 

 

Reno swiped a cigarette from Rude’s pack, balancing it between his lips as he shot Cissnei a wink, “‘Cause this job’s stressful, sweetheart.” 

 

“When do the other guys even get here,” Wren massaged the back of his neck. “I want to go upstairs already.” 

 

“Patience is a virtue,” said Sera. 

 

Reno dug in his pocket for his phone, scrolling through his messages. Conversations with unknown numbers from people he’s picked up went unopened as he tapped on the Turk’s group message. Typing in a quick reminder of their group meeting tonight for the members who were unaccounted for. Before slipping his phone back in his pocket, he looked at the tiny icon of an alstroemeria flower as it received multiple pings, alerting him of the activity within. Clicking on it, he couldn’t help but smile when he saw the amount of chaotic insults thrown and jokes made in others’ expenses. He began typing. 

 

Reno: what are you guys doin

 

Zack: nothing :( 

 

Xigbar: Pretty slow here, time to bully someone. 

 

Larxene: Who the hell is this new guy?

 

Axel: He’s been here longer than you!

 

Roxas: its Axel’s twin brother lmao. 

 

Axel: stop that

 

Marluxia: Is there proof of this?

 

Zack: -attachment sent-

 

It showed a picture of one of Zack’s many selfies, the spikes of his black hair pointing up and back at the two red-heads standing in front of each other in the back. Reno and Axel were talking casually, even their lax way of standing seemed similar as they both didn’t even notice their picture being taken. 

 

Axel: We do NOT look alike! If anything Reno looks like me.

 

Xigbar: As if! It’s the other way around, flamesilocks.

 

Zack: Why don’t we meet up at the apartments and do something there?

 

Reno: I’ve already got plans.

 

Reno: -attachment sent-

 

A rather blurred picture of the nightclub scene popped up in the chat, displaying a new group of women who showed up on the dance floor. The prospect of finding a partner was undoubtedly high tonight.

 

Before he could reply with the guys asking if they can tag along, Reno felt a hand shake his shoulder as Wren let out a howling whistle. 

 

“Oh man,” he grinned, tracing the outer rim of his empty shot glass, “take a look at that one dancing.”

 

Reno followed his gaze towards the middle of the dance floor where a raised platform stood. A pole was erected and a fluid body danced to it to the beat of the music that was now slow and sensual. The dim lights didn’t show whoever’s face it was, only illuminating the sequined dress that ended right below her upper thigh. The red-head Turk’s gaze followed as he looked at the black open-toe strapped heels, up her bare legs, and around the tight dress that hugged her body tightly. The colors on the dress shimmered from a light purple to black, depending on the way the strobe light hit her before finally deducing that it was a darkened violet. 

 

But her outfit wasn’t what concerned him, no, it was the way the body within those clothes _moved._

 

As the bass thumped and everyone found a partner to dance with or resigned to sitting alone at the bar, the mystery woman acted as if the pole was her partner. Treating it with love as she dipped low and even wrung her hand around it as she tossed her head back, earning another howling whistle from Wren. 

 

“Damn, I want to see if she wants something else to hold,” Wren got up as Sera clamped her hand down on his shoulder to sit him back down. 

 

Reno tore his eyes away from the body and looked down to see the group chat still active. Holding his phone up, he got a quick video of the dancing woman just as she held her hair up with both hands to expose her neck and the long v of her dress dipping down her back before sending it with another quick message. 

 

Reno: -attachment sent-

 

Reno: Bet you all ten gil I can score her number by tonight. 

 

Axel: If you don’t, you have to give US ALL ten gil. 

 

Xigbar: Wonderful, he can help us pay rent. 

 

-Reno has left the chat-

 

The Turk went back to watching the mystery woman dance and sway, as if the melody of the music were hands that moved her hips side-to-side. Her back sliding down the pole as she turned on her heels and slid back up, the pole squeezed tightly between her cleavage as it ran up her body. Reno reached over to steal the shot that Rude had in his hand. Downing it, he slammed it back on the table with a satisfied hum and stood up to walk towards the dance floor. 

 

*******

 

“There’s no way in hell he’s gonna get her number,” Axel snickered, setting his phone down. 

 

“You know if you’re about to insult how he looks.. you’re essentially insulting yourself,” Roxas looked up at him before turning back to his game to avoid the scornful look. 

 

A choking sound was heard from the kitchen as Xigbar sputtered into his canned beer. His phone shining directly on his eye as he held it close to his face. 

 

Axel frowned, “Hey, those are _our_ drinks-“

 

“Where did that red head fuck boy go off to?” Xigbar lowered his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Walking over to Axel, he showed him the picture of the dancing woman. It was zoomed in on the neck that was exposed. 

 

“What am I lookin’ at?” Axel squinted. 

 

Xigbar pointed his index finger at the center of the neck, showing the subtle and silvery x that shimmered under the low light. 

 

“Shit, is that Lady?” Axel sat up and Xigbar nodded as the popcorn he was microwaving exploded behind them. 

 

*******

 

Lady was grateful that she was alone in the restroom. It was dark inside except for the lights that illuminated the mirror around its whole circumference. She leaned over the counter, using her fingertips to wipe at the smudged mascara under her bottom waterline. Adjusting the straps that wrapped around her neck, she admired how the sequins of her dark violet dress sparkled under the LED lights. Looking in the mirror, she found that her reflection looked slightly blurry and when she stepped back her foot almost slipped to the right. The shots she took earlier were beginning to get to her. 

 

Leaning forward again, she held her hand up to her head and closed her eyes. A sound crossing between a laugh and a cry escaped her as she looked up again. “What am I doing here?” Her inquiry echoed out into the empty bathroom and bounced back at her. She straightened up after making sure her lipstick wasn’t smudged and grabbed her clutch, missing it entirely and having her palm touch the counter instead. _Fuck._ Just how many shots did she take again? 

 

*******

 

Reno’s head swiveled back and forth as he tried looking for the mysterious dancer, trying to spot the dark violet sequin dress in a sea of dresses that looked almost identical. Not to mention the fact he had been stopped many times- by women he’s seen before. 

 

“Reno~” two women approached him, his name a sing-song hymn as they giggled. Stopping in front and barring his path, he shoved his hands in his pockets and flashed them his signature smirk. 

 

“Ladies, how can I help you?” His eyes met theirs briefly before looking up for any traces of the mystery woman. 

 

“Want to come over tonight?” The one with brown hair pulled into a ponytail asked, her eyes half-lidded with lust. “Carine wants to see you again too, we can invite her over if you want?”

 

Who the hell is Carine, he thought. Now that he thought about, he didn’t know the names of these women either, nor did he remember even asking. 

 

A flash of violet sequins caught his attention and he looked up to see someone slip out of the women’s restroom and down the hallway. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the two women in front of him. 

 

“Reno, c’mon! Do you have to work again tonight?” The other with curled black hair pouted. 

 

“Yeah, sorry ladies,” he slipped in between them, throwing them a wave. “Maybe some other time okay?” He then sped off down the hall, ignoring the sound of his name being called and looked around for signs of that dress. Seeing another flash of violet, he looked up just as someone ascended the stairs leading to the suites. Following, he saw the same person enter one of the empty rooms, closing the door behind her. 

 

Slowing his pace to a casual walk, he ran a hand through his hair and adjusted the low ponytail that swung behind him. To his left was a clear view of the first floor, the lights shining through the impeccable clean glass. He could see Rude raising a glass with the Turks that just arrived, all of them toasting and downing their shots respectively. Dusting down the front of his suit, he popped the collar of his shirt up and undid one button. Stopping in front of the door, he decided whether to knock or just come in uninvited. With reckless abandon, he chose the latter and opened the door; expecting to see more people inside with the woman. Instead he was surprised to see her laying on her side on the velvet couch in the dark, her clutch on the table and her head hidden in the crook of her arms. 

 

Clearing his throat, he worked up that charm as he flicked on the light switch. “‘Scuse me, miss?” Instead of an overhead light, mood lighting came on and floated around the room like wayward luminescent jellyfish in a sea of dark blue that shrouded the room. The lighting was no better as the woman finally stirred and got up slowly. 

 

Sniffing, she looked up as Reno’s eyes widened in recognition. 

 

“Lady, what are you doin’ here?” He said. 

 

She shrugged in response, once she confirmed the identity of her intruder she simply moved to lay back down again. 

 

“Woah woah woah,” he moved and held her shoulders to hold her up. He noticed her eyes were glazed over and a solemn look was on her face. There was no way someone who looked so sad could dance like that, right? “You can’t sleep here, you know you gotta pay for these rooms, right?”

 

She pointed at the bag on the table. “Money’s there,” she muttered, seemingly struggling to keep her head up. Falling forward, her forehead hit his partly exposed chest and she sighed. 

 

“Are you.. drunk?” he asked. 

 

An up-and-down movement of her forehead confirmed his question and her hair tickled his skin. 

 

“C’mon, I’ll take you home.” 

 

She shook her head, “Don’t… wanna.” After a moment, she spoke again, “Just leave.” The two ‘e’s in her ‘leave’ was pronounced with extra care. 

 

“Those three are gonna kill me if I leave you here,” he sighed. 

 

“Don’t care what they think,” she growled. “They should just-” she hiccuped. “-leave me alone. I wish we all never met.” 

 

She pushed away from him, turning her face down. “I wish I never joined Shinra, I wish I never left home. I wish I was _normal_.” Leaning back against the couch, she covered her eyes as she let out a somber laugh. “If my mother could see me now… I should’ve stayed home.” 

 

“Lady,” Reno’s face was now distorted into worry. He didn’t know what to say. Not for situations like these. He’s never seen her so miserable, usually just an air of irritation would cross her face whenever he was around. But to see her so exposed brought him unease, no doubt the alcohol was the reason for the sudden chink of her armor when it usually was spick-and-span. 

 

“I should go,” she mumbled, getting up only to start forward and her body stilled before falling back as he caught her. Securing her in his arms, she just sighed. “You should leave me alone, Reno. Go have fun and don’t worry about me.” 

 

“Shut up already,” he snapped, moving her body up and forcing her to look at him. “Don’t talk like that, it ain’t you, alright?” 

 

“How do you know what’s me or not,” she shot him a glare, air exhaling through her nose as she laughed bitterly. “I don’t even know what’s me.” 

 

“Whaddaya mean?”

 

“Nothing,” she looked away. 

 

Frowning, he brought his fingers up to the far left of her and snapped loudly. Her eyes lit up and she looked around; although she responded, it was a delayed reaction and he tutted. “I’m taking you home.” 

 

*******

 

“Renooo!” Sera hiccupped, covering her mouth first before raising her glass. “You missed out on the fun, come take more with us!”

 

Wren got up, his tie wrapped around his forehead like a bandana, his cheeks flushed red but his eyes brightened in recognition of the woman who he saw dancing alone earlier. “Oohoo, you actually found her! Reno, you sly dog.” 

 

Rude finally turned around and froze when he saw the ‘mystery woman’ from earlier- and found she was no mystery to him at all. 

 

Lady was hanging off Reno’s arm, her own cheeks pink and she was looking up at him through her eyelashes. Her lips had a shade of sinful red on it and it was slightly parted, her whole face looking as if she was flustered. 

 

Cissnei leaned to the side, her own eyes widening as she saw who it was. “Reno,” she said softly, “isn’t that-?”

 

“We’re all off duty,” he said quickly, a firmness in his voice that caught the attention of the other Turks. “That means were not on the job now, right, _fellas_?” 

 

The other Turks nodded and were subtly reminded on who was Director Tseng’s second-in-command. It was none other than Reno, of course. 

 

“Gonna take her home,” Reno leaned in to whisper to Rude. “Have fun, yeah?” 

 

Rude adjusted his shades, they were dark but Reno could still see the worry in his eyes. “You sure you want to? President Shinra has it out for her, you know that.”

 

As he said Shinra’s name, Lady tensed under Reno’s grip and for a split second he could feel her tremble before she recomposed herself. 

 

“Like I said,” Reno shrugged. “Off duty, so it’s not my problem and neither is it yours.” 

 

“Alright, I trust you,” Rude replied. “Seeya at work tomorrow.” 

 

“Seeya at work.” 

 

*******

 

“Reno, I can walk,” Lady huffed. 

 

“Uh, I really don’t think so.” 

 

As if to prove it to him, she let go of his arm and took a step forward as if she were only a year old. To her delight, she could plant her feet firmly on the pavement and spun around to look at him with a smug smile on her face. Unfortunately, the spinning movement made her world shake just a bit and she closed her eyes to still herself. 

 

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” she whispered, her hand covering her mouth. 

 

“Come on, you can rest at my place for a bit and I’ll take you back when you’re better,” he moved to support her again and she backed away. 

 

“You live at the Shinra HQ right?” She asked. 

 

“Well, yeah, just in case we’re needed at a minutes notice, y’know.”

 

“I’ll just go home by myself,” she waved away his concern, “I really don’t want to go to anything that has to do with Shinra right now.” 

 

Reno’s face softened into one that looked almost sympathetic, “It can’t be that bad, right?”

 

“It is,” she glared. “Please, Reno. I don’t feel like arguing right now.” 

 

His face didn’t look too convinced and she steeled herself, standing up straighter and staring at him straight in the eye. “I’m fine,” she repeated, “it’s gonna take a lot more than that to take me down.” 

 

Her eyes looked down to his exposed chest and her hands moved to button up his shirt. After he was properly concealed, she smoothed down his collar with a satisfied look. Both of them staring at each other until one would give.

 

After a while, he exhaled heavily and shrugged. “Fine, whatever, but-” he raised a finger, “-you text me as soon as you’re home, alright?”

 

“Yeah yeah,” she waved a hand as she turned- slower this time- to walk away. 

 

She waited until he was out of sight and safely concealed by a building corner before she returned back to her melancholic mood. Thankfully no one was around her to see the sorry state she was in. Her eyes spotted a bench and she quickly went towards it and sat down. Once her bottom had hit the hard and cold surface of the wood, her feet suddenly began to scream via her nerves and reminded her how much pain they were really in. Reaching down, she unclasped the straps and brought her feet up to the side. The dress, although beautiful and expensive, was constricting any real movement and she wanted to rip that off too. 

 

“‘Have fun’..” she said aloud with a bitter laugh. “Yeah, right.” A sudden fit of anger and frustration welled up inside of her and she gripped her heels, throwing it at the darkness, and hearing them clatter on the ground. The gratification that action had granted her lasted only a minute before regret settled in. She would have to fetch those later- whenever she decided to get up, which wasn’t any time soon. 

 

Allowing herself a moment of rest, she closed her eyes and used her hand to prop up her head as her elbow rested on the side rail. Footsteps soon echoed over the lonely pavement and she willfully ignored it as it stopped for a short moment before picking up the pace again. She heard it approach and her eyes cracked open a smidge to see a pair of polished black shoes walking on the cement towards her.  

 

Opening her eyes fully, she looked up to see Xemnas approaching her. He was wearing that all-black silken suit he wore when she first laid eyes on him. Although she barely noticed it back then, she could see it in full clarity now- he looked absolutely stunning. 

 

In his hands were her discarded heels and she almost felt embarrassed. He knelt down in front of her and she wanted to stop him before his knee hit the floor, not wanting his suit to be sullied in any way. But he was already taking her leg gently, running his palm on the underside of her calves as he slipped on her shoes for her one at a time. 

 

Standing up, he moved to sit next to her and she sat up with her back stick straight. The reality of this dawning on her, this was real, he was really here. 

 

“Can I help you?” Was all she could say. Wondering if he had some sort of elaborate scheme hidden up the sleeves of his finely trimmed suit. 

 

“You look lost,” he responded. 

 

His words made her shoulders sag in defeat, she leaned back on the bench and crossed her legs. “Maybe,” she said softly, “aren’t we all lost sometimes?”

 

“Some more than others.” 

 

“What are you doing here,” she tried again, the man was obstinate on not answering her directly. 

 

“I came to see you,” came another direct yet still vague response. 

 

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “But what do you _want_ with me? If you’re here to kidnap and kill me, I guess now is the perfect time.” 

 

A noise that sounded almost like laughter escaped him, rumbling gently in his chest. “If I wanted to, I would’ve done so by now. But I haven’t.”

 

“Fair point, so this is an obligatory visit for you?” 

 

“Indeed.” 

 

“And what may I oblige you with?”

 

Instead of responding with words, his body turned to look at her. She looked back at him, unsure of what to do under his tantalizing gaze. His warm amber eyes sending cold shivers up her arms and her revealing dress did nothing to help alleviate that. 

 

Seeing the chilling night air affect her, he raised an arm and brought her closer to him. Her head rested against his shoulder and she looked up at him in shock, his eyes were looking up at the night sky and studying the stars. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed and leaned against him, inhaling his scent. It was that same spiced musk that he wore that day too. 

 

To her delight, she found him warm. Everything about him was warm: his cologne, his skin, his eyes, all save for the cool-toned silver hair that she felt against her forehead. Against her better judgement, she reached up to touch the tips of those silver strands and she felt him stiffen as she did so. He finally relaxed when she moved slowly to touch them. She smiled as she did, pleased to find out that it was truly as soft as she felt in her dream. 

 

Her eyes followed his gaze and found that his was still upturned towards the sky, as if he was looking for something with retained feverish desire. 

 

“You know,” she murmured, loud enough for him to hear but soft enough so that their conversation remained intimate, “I find that the longer I look up at the sky, the lonelier I feel.” Her hand hesitated before resting on his. It was the first time she saw his bare skin this close without the gloves. 

 

“You should spend more time looking down here where you are, you won’t feel as lonely.” 

 

“Is that so?” He sounded amused, his gaze torn away from the heavens and down at her. 

 

“Yes,” she said, steadfast in her resolve. 

 

They sat there for a moment, she didn’t exactly know how long it was. Time around them seemed to slow and it felt like they were the only two people in the world- despite the sounds of cars driving on the road not too far from them as well as people milling about in the late hours of the night. His tense posture softened and she heard his breathing become even, his hand moved to cover hers; melding together with his fingers moving into the cracks between her digits, intertwining until she gave in and let him.

 

“Perhaps you’re right,” he said while his hand squeezed hers tightly. Xemnas closed his eyes, focusing instead on the hand that he was holding rather than the unattainable celestial bodies. 


	48. XLVIII [Special V.2]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is dedicated for everyone who's supported me and read everything thus far and always coming back, thank you! :)

Lady toweled her hair, pouting when she tried to pat down the stray fly-away that refused to settle. Tilting her face, she looked into the body-length mirror in her room and turned away from it, opting to go back to the bathroom to discard her towel. 

 

 _Knock_. 

 

Frowning, she looked to her bedroom door and walked over to open it. Peeking out, she didn’t see anyone outside, not even a single soul in the living room. Closing it again, she tightened the bathrobe around her and went back towards the bathroom. 

 

_Knock knock._

 

“The hell,” she muttered, it sounded like it was coming from near her window. Walking towards it, she drew back the curtains to see who would be stupid enough to knock on her window of all things. Angling her neck to see better, she shook her head. Reminding herself that her window was standing at least twenty feet off the ground. 

 

_Knock knock knock._

 

The sound grew more rapid and louder and she froze when she realized it came from the mirror. Walking over until she could see herself in full length with her concerned expression reflected back at her. Her hand reached up to press her palm against the glass. A gentle tremor under the glass’s surface made her jump. As she took a step back, a hand emerged from the glass and dragged her in. She watched with panicked awe as her hand, arm, and body sank into her reflection. Darkness soon enveloped her and she couldn’t see a thing, only feeling the secure grip around her wrist. 

 

Opening her mouth to scream, lips met hers before she did and her eyes widened in shock to see a single golden eye with a feline slit looking back at her. A flick of a dark gray tail caught her attention and a deep chuckle made her shiver.

 

“Heya there, sweetheart, I missed you.”

 

Her mouth dropped in surprise, “Xigbar!” 

 

His cat ears twitched with delight as his tail curled up behind him. He was still wearing that fur-trimmed coat, the edges tickling her face as he caressed her cheek. 

 

“Are we back in Wonderland?” She breathed, the environment them was dim. The only source of light was behind her where she saw a hazy view of her bedroom. 

 

“Got that right, kitten,” he purred as the floor beneath them cracked with slivers of sunlight coming up from the fissures. His hand wrapped around her waist and fumbled with the sash holding her bathrobe together. In one quick swish, he unlaced it as the floor cracked more beneath them and soon gave way- an expansive blue sky with fluffy white clouds now surrounding them.

 

She didn’t have time to process that he was undoing her robe as she clung onto him tightly while they plummeted to the colorful landscape below. Looking up, she saw her bathrobe fly up towards the clouds and she looked down expecting to see her nude body. Instead, she was met with the same dress she wore last time she was here. Her white apron and blue frills fluttering haphazardly between the rushing winds.

 

Xigbar scooped her up in his arms, a mischievous grin on his face as their descent slowed when they reached the lush treetops that dotted Wonderland. His feet walked across the trees but never making full contact with them, giving the idea that they- rather, he- was treading on air. 

 

“How you been, kitten?” He looked down at her, adjusting his grip on her body. “Miss me?”

 

She nodded, it was odd to say she missed a man that she saw everyday, she kept wondering if these dreams weren’t just an elaborate fabrication that the guys back home made to mess with her. To test out her theory, she reached up and stroked his ears with her fingers. Her eyes widened when they twitched in response and he looked rather pleased. Nope, this was all definitely real and not a curious by-product of Sora’s mushrooms. 

 

“Come on, let me hear you say it with those pretty lips of yours,” he smirked, squeezing her tightly.

 

“I missed you,” she said softly and he nodded with satisfaction. 

 

“Hope you’re in the mood for tea, there’s others that want your attention too,” he said as they slowed down. 

 

Looking down she saw an amalgamation of mix-matched colors consisting of blues, reds, blacks, and greens. Black roses had grown over the bushes that lined the colored stone paths and seemed to be the only thing that was uniform amidst the chaos. Xigbar’s shoes settled down on the stone and he let her down while she dusted down her dress. Her hands reached up to touch the top of her head and felt the large ribbon that adorned it. 

 

Ahead of them, she could hear the sounds of people arguing rather loudly followed by what sounded like ceramic crashing on the floor. 

 

“Ooh, we better hurry before the Hatter gets annoyed,” Xigbar tutted and he put his hand on the small of her back to push her towards the noise. 

 

“Does Sephiroth here get annoyed easily?” She looked up at him, her Sephiroth back at home was always so calm. Rarely did he show any type of emotion, but if any- they were subtle. So far she hasn’t seen much of the Hatter, only a brief visit. And she has yet to find out if everyone she knew here truly shared the same characteristics as the ones back home. 

 

“They don’t call him the ‘Mad Hatter’ for nothin’, he’s got a reputation here in Wonderland,” he grumbled, “but he’s not so bad, really helpful guy actually. Just doesn’t like being bothered when he’s thinking or taking his tea.”

 

Another round of ceramic broke against the floor and Xigbar pushed her faster until they reached a spiraling arch with black roses twirling across the silver poles. 

 

“Get your own damn drink if you don’t like the way I prepare it then!” Someone roared. 

 

“Calm down, I was just thirsty!” A whine echoed in the courtyard. “Is this how you treat all your guests?!”

 

“Guests are people we like, you’re just annoying.”

 

An exaggerated gasp was heard. “How _dare_ you, I’ll rip that fluffy tail off of you!”

 

The arguing stopped when they both were in full view to the ones who already inhabited the courtyard surrounded with mixed colors and black roses dotting deep emerald leaves. A long rectangular table with a delicate white cloth covered the entirety along with tea cups and other snacks that made her mouth salivate just by looking at them. A three-tier cake piled high with cream and candied strawberries that looked like jewels sat proudly in the center. Pots of tea that were still steaming were rested in random spots on the table along with tea cups that sat sadly empty.

 

“Lady Alice!” Two flashes of red rushed towards her and she braced for impact as she felt her arms being pulled in opposite directions. She looked helplessly back at Xigbar who merely shrugged. At the head of the table, three pairs of eyes watched her. Eyes that belonged to Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth. 

 

“Ow!” She yelped as Reno and Axel pulled her with them, indecisive on which part of the table they wanted to sit down on. “Let go!” She cried, “You’re pulling too hard.”

 

“This way!” Axel pulled her to the right. 

 

“No, this way!” Reno pulled her to the left. 

 

“How about you both shut up and let her decide?” Genesis slammed his fist on the table, his mouse ears twitching with irritation. 

 

“Touchy touchy,” the twins muttered as they inevitably decided to sit on the left where they were in full view of the ones sitting at the head. Situated between Axel and Reno, she couldn’t bother to listen to them arguing what kind of tea and cake she preferred and it seemed like she wasn’t the only one annoyed. The table shortened till it became a slightly elongated square, this way she could see the other guests and hosts in their entirety. 

 

Xigbar shot the twins a warning look as he sat opposite of them, his eye shifting nervously towards them and the Hatter himself. Silently, Sephiroth reached for the black top hat resting on the table to the left of him. It wasn’t until the twins saw that he was reaching inside the hat did they shut up and grabbed onto Lady for safety. 

 

Watching, the guests anticipated with fear as Sephiroth began pulling out what appeared to be a handle. Lady frowned when he kept pulling it out and it revealed a knife- wait, no. 

 

The man kept pulling it out of the hat like an elaborate magic trick and she heard the twins swallow heavily. He stopped when he took out a long sword measuring about forty-five inches and he lifted it up in the air without much effort. 

 

“This is how we’re gonna die-” Reno gulped.

 

“-by a ridiculously long sword,” Axel sighed. 

 

“But better than getting beheaded by Xemnas,” both of them shared one last look. 

 

With one fell swoop, Sephiroth brought the blade down and Lady watched as it came down on the cake in front of them. Reno, Axel, and her being splashed with frosting as the blade came back up and withdrew. By the time she wiped the sugary cream from her face, the blade was gone. 

 

“Was that really necessary?” Angeal sighed as Sephiroth set his hat back down. 

 

“I thought they wanted some cake,” Sephiroth muttered, his fingers intertwined and resting under his chin.  

 

Genesis snorted,“I think you frightened our guests, dear Hatter.”

 

“You got some left right here,” Axel leaned down and licked the frosting from her right cheek. 

 

“Ewww, get your tongue away from her, ugly bastard,” Reno growled, pulling her onto his lap. 

 

Before Axel could retort, Angeal groaned aloud, “Please stop this before it continues. It’s grating on my ears,” As if to prove his point, he tugged on the tall rabbit ears that popped up from the top of his head- they were twitching and he looked ready to rip them off just to experience peaceful silence once more. 

 

“Sorry, Angeal,” she muttered and the twins followed suit while she shimmied off of Reno’s lap.

 

Genesis passed her a slice of cake and she took her fork and began digging in. Scooping it in her mouth, she felt her jowls numb up from the amount of sugar that assaulted her tongue. Seeing Sephiroth’s watchful gaze, she decided not to say anything and swallowed what would be her last bite of that cake.

 

“So, when can we take our leave?” Genesis leaned back in his chair, a mouse tail curling up from under his waistcoat. 

 

“Whenever the fates allow,” said Sephiroth, bringing his cup to lips and taking a tentative sip. His piercing eyes looked around the table, “Does everyone have their tickets?”

 

“Yep,” Xigbar pulled out a crumpled ticket, gold-leafed and glimmering every time he waved it. Reno and Axel pulled out theirs while Angeal took three out of his pocket. 

 

“Oh,” Lady looked lost. “Um, I don’t have one.”

 

“Yes you do,” Angeal said, pointing at her apron. “Did you check in there?”

 

Shooting him a confused look, she dug into the front pocket of her apron and felt around the bottom until a piece of paper brushed against her fingertips. She let out a soft ‘oh’ as she pulled out her ticket for full view for everyone to see.

 

“Shall we go then?” Genesis stood up.

 

“Where are we going?” Lady asked him and he looked at her, his nose turning up at the sight of frosting covering her face and dress. 

 

“Nowhere, while you’re like _that_.” He said, looking to Sephiroth. “Can you do something?”

 

She was pushed towards him by the twins as she stopped in front of the imposing figure, his eyes giving her a once-over until he put a hand on her head. He lightly patted her until beams of soft light emerged from under his palm and fell around her, turning into strips of black ribbon. They covered her as water would, fluid and moving; shutting her eyes tight, she waited for his magic to pass and only opened her eyes when she no longer felt his large palm on her head.

 

Looking down, she saw her short blue dress was changed. It turned into an off-the-shoulder dress that was the color of green that could only be found on the clearest oceans at dawn. Lace fluffs hung above her knees and trailed down longer in the back, giving the illusion that her dress looked like freshly churned waves. Ribbons of periwinkle and baby pink tied the bodice of her dress while a hairpin studded with pearls held her hair back to expose her neck and décolleté. Picking up the bottom hem of her dress, she saw white stockings tucked into white flats. Around her left ankle was a corsage with small white bits of baby’s breath surrounding a large black rose and even from the ground she can smell its lovely fragrance. 

 

“It’s doable,” Angeal hummed, looking at her up and down. 

 

Genesis let out another snort, reaching up to give Angeal’s rabbit ears a quick flick. “You know it looks good, don’t be difficult.”

 

“Well she’ll look like a VIP guest so the Red King can’t say anything,” Xigbar circled her with his cat tail following and swishing about.

 

“Xemnas is gonna be there?” She frowned. “But he tried to imprison me last time!”

 

“He’ll get over it,” Reno shrugged, “always does when he has something more interesting to look at.”

 

“Wait but you haven’t even told me where we’re going yet,” she asked the redhead, feeling the large ticket stub in her hand. Looking down she read out the words ‘The Mock Turtle’s Spectacle’. 

“Who is this ‘Mock Turtle’?” Was her next question. 

 

“Did you get everything prepared?” Axel whispered to his brother and his brother nodded in response. 

 

“Alrighty, let’s get a move on then,” Xigbar stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking besides Angeal as the group moved forward.

 

Lady huffed in frustration, there was no use in getting direction answers to her questions here.

 

*******

 

Wood rocked and creaked beneath her, above her she could see a large red sail flapping with pride. On it was an embellished turtle with what appeared to be a bovinal head that took place of what was expected to be a regular turtle head. The ship they boarded was big enough to accommodate their party and more, but it seemed they were the only ones there. Ahead, she saw a storm arriving, lightning outlining the crevices between the darkened clouds.

 

“Where we sailing to?” She hopped next to Xigbar, noticing he looked unsettled as he leaned over the port side. “Xigbar?”

 

He whipped around, his face looking a slight tinge of green. “Sorry kitten, I’m not feeling too well.”

 

She put a hand on his back and rubbed between his shoulder blades. “What’s wrong?”

 

“The Cat hates water,” Genesis smirked as he walked past, a bundle of rope sling over his shoulder.

 

“At least I got a better chance than you if we were to sink, _Mouse_ ,” Xigbar shot him a heated glare, spitting out the last word with spite. 

 

“Genesis, don’t antagonize the Cheshire,” Angeal called from the top deck. “Lady Alice, come up here with us.”

 

Hopping up the stairs, she saw Angeal waiting at the helm but not touching it. He sniffed the air and sighed, “Big storm’s coming. Where are the twins and Hatter?”

 

“Cowering below deck, Sephiroth is in the captain’s quarters,” said Genesis. “Can we get a move on?” 

 

“Are we sailing towards that?” She pointed at the brewing storm. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” 

 

“Relax,” Angeal stood steadfast as the wheel beside him started to turn starboard and towards the open sea. “We’ll be fine.”

 

The ship lurched and she stepped forward to catch herself. Angeal reaches forward and wrapped a hand around her waist, holding her still while the ship moved. 

 

“How does a ship sail without a captain?” She breathed, watching the sails of the mizzenmast and foremast unfurl- catching winds and propelling them forward. 

 

“You ask a great deal of questions,” he chuckled and brought her closer to his chest. 

 

His rabbit ears twitched and she reached up to touch them, petting them softly while a pleased look crossed his face. 

 

“You look good with ears like these,” she whispered, admiring how soft the fur was. Before she could touch them anymore, the hull let out a groan. 

 

“You should go below deck,” he said, nodding to Genesis. “It’s gonna get rocky from here and Sephiroth will be upset if your clothes get ruined.”

 

The seriousness in his eyes told her she should do so without question and left the March Hare and Dormouse on the top deck alone. Opening and closing the trapdoor to the level below, she squinted in the newfound darkness and found that most of it was empty save for some barrels and piles of ropes.. as well as some cannons that looked unused. Hopefully they remained in that condition for the duration of this trip.

 

“Over here, Lady Alice!” 

 

She saw Reno wave to her from an open door down the hall, firelight seeping through the crack and casting an orange shadow on the dark floor. Following him in the room, she heard the door shut behind her. Axel gestured her to sit next to him on the bed, scooting over for her to plop down on the rather soft mattress. 

 

It didn’t make a sound as she sank in it’s cushion-y envelopes and the next thing she sank in was Axel’s arms as Reno stationed himself beside her. Around the small cabin was an array of floating candles that illuminated softly yet gave no heat. She could hear rain beat against the porthole glass window above her head and the clap of thunder somewhere in the distance.

 

Leaning over, Reno whispered and for once she’s never heard his voice so husky- even back in her world. “You know, you look really good in that dress.”

 

Turning her face to him, she studied his face and a small smile formed on her lips. “Thanks, Reno.”

 

“Don’t forget about me,” Axel scooted in closer to her and her body temperature felt like it got considerably warmer as his skin made contact with hers. “You do look really cute. But then again you look cute in everything.”

 

“Why don’t you stay with us?” Reno asked her.

 

Axel nuzzled his nose on her neck, “In Wonderland? Sounds like a good idea right?”

 

“You’ll be comfortable here,” Reno rested a hand on her leg, sliding up slowly until he moved the lace fronts of her dress. 

 

“We’ll make sure of it,” they both said in unison while they continued their soft touches on her. Her cheeks heated up and she gulped, feeling how their fingers dragged across the surface of her skin. 

 

To counteract Axel’s hot touch, she felt Reno come close to her neck and felt his tongue slide up the side that sent chills up her arm. She jumped and Axel held her still, turning her back to him while Reno got even closer to her front. 

 

“You don’t mind, right?” Axel whispered, kissing the top of her ear as his hands slowly came over her breasts. Massaging them while whispering sweet promises. “We’ll be nice to you.”

 

“Unless you don’t want us to be,” Reno winked up at her. Lifting up her legs from the side of the bed and spreading them out so he could crawl in between them. His lips found hers and he bit down on her bottom lip gently, wanting to taste more. She felt him smile when she cracked her mouth open slightly and his tongue slid over hers. Fingers squeezed her thighs and he slid them over her stockings, rubbing them up and down her slit.

 

From behind her, Axel moved her hair to the side and nibbled on her neck before sucking the spot he was working on. His hands were still covering her breasts, massaging them and pinching her hardening nipples when he felt them. She thanked the Astrals for Reno smothering her mouth with his as this almost felt like too much stimulation on both ends at the same time. Letting out a soft moan the twins stopped.

 

On her lips and on her neck, she felt both of them smile against her skin. 

 

“You like that?” Their voices purred.

 

She nodded. 

 

Reno looked up at his brother, “It’ll be awhile before we land in our destination.”

 

“Did you lock the door?” Axel whispered hastily, wanting to continue his exploration of her body.

 

“I did-” Reno grinned as Lady blushed. 

 

_These two were planning this all along..!_

 

“-but it still won’t conceal the sweet noises she makes,” Reno finished, moving to nip at the base of her throat. 

 

“Just don’t tear the dress,” Axel tutted, reaching down to move the hem of her dress up to expose her legs to his brother. “The Hatter will have none of that.”

 

“He won’t have none of this either,” said Reno as his bright red hair moved and disappeared between her legs. With his teeth, he grabbed the stockings and ripped it to reveal the pure white panties underneath. 

 

“Reno,” his brother warned. 

 

“Calm yourself,” the other replied. 

 

“ _You_ calm yourself.”

 

Another sensation nipping and sucking had her release another soft mewl all the while Reno ran his tongue against her clothed slit. When his tongue found her clit, she felt him move aside her panties with a simple twist of his finger and sucked hard on it.

 

This made her throw her head back, covering her mouth to stifle any surprised yelps she wanted to let out. 

 

Together the twins orchestrated their dual-ended attack. Reno’s mouth on her soaking pussy and Axel’s hands squeezing tentatively on her breasts. 

 

Reno’s tongue circled around her clit and he made a show to slurp up the juices she released, moving up with a loud pop. His fingers moving inside of her in tandem with his tongue.

 

“Reno!” She squirmed as Axel held her still for his brother. His fingers curled up inside of him and she felt it stretch out the inside of her walls. Her hands reached up to grasp Axel, fingers running through the spikes of his red hair. 

 

“I’ve never tasted an Alice before,” Axel whispered in her ear. “Are you as good as the stories say?” 

 

“Yessir, she is,” Reno came up from under her dress. Digging two fingers inside of her and retracting quickly, Reno displayed the viscous fluid that webbed between his index and middle finger. A mischievous glint shone in his eyes as Axel reached over and broke the web, picking up some of the fluids on his brother’s fingers and bringing it back to taste.

 

“Never had anything like it,” Axel chuckled. “Are you gonna let me have a turn?”

 

Another clap of thunder garnered her attention and she looked up at the porthole, seeing bubbles form and rise from the depths. The waves looking like it was sinking the ship and swallowing them whole. 

 

“What’s going on out there?” She said. 

 

“Just relax,” Axel said, pulling her onto his lap, “and enjoy the ride.” His nonchalant mood calmed her down, reminding herself that nothing had to make sense in this land for things to work. 

 

Twisting her body around so that she was facing him, Axel held her face between his hands and brought it close to his. His lips grazed over hers before she- much to his surprise- pushed forward and kissed him with impatience. His hands ran down her back until it grappled her ass and gave it a generous squeeze; pushing her bottom to grind against him as they kissed. Behind her, she felt Reno move his hair and suckled her neck where his brother left off; his own hands sliding up and down her waist. 

 

Axel pulled her legs around him as she felt his member harden against his pants. He then lifted her up just enough to unbuckle his belt and unfurl it for his dick to come out and spring against her. “Come on, babe,” he murmured. “I told you to enjoy the ride, right?” He lifted her up again, just enough to lower her onto the head of his length. 

 

“You’re going first, huh?” Reno muttered, helping her hips sink lower onto his brother. A strangled whine escaped her closed lips as he bottomed out completely, not an inch of his dick was left untouched and unburied in her.

 

“You can have the other one,” Axel leaned back on the bed, bringing her down with him as he reached for her stockings and ripped it up more. He moved the panties aside to reveal what ‘other one’ he was talking about. 

 

“Don’t mind if I do,” Reno grinned, unbuckling his own pants and palmed his cock. Lady noted they were both the same size and length and wondered if that rule applied to the Axel and Reno she knew back home. 

 

Bringing his hand over to her mouth, he bent over her and whispered in her ear, “Spit on my hand, darling.”

 

Her eyebrow was raised in confusion and she opened her mouth to protest against such a request when he stuck her fingers in. Her tongue swirling around his digits and he took them out, looking at the saliva coating his hand with satisfaction. Bringing his own hand to his palm, he began licking it to spread whatever saliva was present; proceeding to use it to lubricate himself with a single stroke.

 

She then felt the tip of his dick nudge into her asshole and she gripped onto Axel for support, biting her bottom lip as she felt it stretch her painfully even if it was made easier by their conjoined spit. 

 

This time it was Axel who helped her ease into Reno as he pushed her shoulders towards his brother until he too was sheathed fully inside of her. 

 

Thankfully it seemed that they both had enough mercy to see that she caught her breath before continuing. Her body being assaulted on both fronts and her breathing became short and jilted. 

 

Once they were both readied, she felt them move and there was no force on this land that could prepare her when they both exited and entered at the same damn time. Their dicks thrusting into her in similar methodical strokes that left her unraveled with each time her skin met theirs. It was as if her body was the ship and she was being battered by waves of red that gave her more and more pleasure.

 

She felt like her body was being choked between the two and she heard the Tweedle Twins speak but couldn’t differentiate who was who as her eyes wandered up to ceiling. Her elbows were pulled back by Reno as he increased his rhythm, his strokes elicited a soft groan from deep in his diaphragm everytime he did. She swore he was muttering something about ‘tight’ and ‘feeling as if he was being milked’. Meanwhile below her, Axel’s eyes were half-lidded with lust and seemed to turn darker in shade while the marks under his eyes seemed to accentuate them.

 

Grateful for the sound of roaring waves that hid her moans, she bit her lip hard when Axel reached down to thumb her clit. Pinching it, he urged her to ride him faster and she could only do so under Reno’s guidance while he took her from behind. 

 

Liquid ran down her thighs and she felt enamored by how the twins moved as if they were one and the same. Perhaps in this case, they were and she was left amazed. Whether they thrusted deep into her at the same time, or if one exited while the other entered- they knew what to do without speaking to each other. Only non-verbal cues to let them know how to send her over the edge in the best possible way.

 

A jilted gasp came from Reno while Axel looked as if he was reaching his end soon. As for her, she had a pile of her own lustrous fluid to showcase how many orgasms had hit her while the twins had their way.

 

Soon, she felt their hot climax shoot inside of her as she fell forward on Axel’s chest. Panting, she tried to collect herself while they continued on to play with the parts of her skin that was revealed by her elegant dress while at the same time doing their best to avoid creasing the fabric. 

 

Reno looked out of the porthole, a wide smile that was worthy of the Cheshire appeared on his face. 

 

“We there yet?” Axel asked him. 

 

“No,” came Reno’s reply. “Reckon we got about forty more minutes, maybe an hour if we’re lucky.” 

 

“Perfect.”

 

Lady felt her body being pulled up and twisted around till she was facing Reno. Her mind was in a hazed dream that she quickly snapped out of when she realized that Reno was positioning himself underneath her, the head of his dick circling her wet entrance. 

 

“Wait!” She exclaimed, looking behind her as Axel was doing the same to her ass. _Oh, Astrals._

 

“Enjoy the ride,” they both said as they once again thrusted into her.

 

*******

 

“Damn those twins,” Lady muttered, getting up as fast as her legs allowed her. She stumbled up to the deck, trying to look as composed as she could be. Above deck, her exhaustion was quickly replaced by awe when she realized that the ship indeed sank beneath the ocean’s tumultuous waves. Despite the belief that ships were useless below water level, it was a miracle that it was gliding gracefully though as it would above never mind the fact that she could breathe air as normally as she would on land. 

 

Huge pink jellyfish swam by them in herds, their tails looking like long strips of ribbons that gave off a bio-luminescent glow along with silver fish that turned different colors of the rainbow depending on how the light hit them. They all seemed to go towards one direction and she looked at their purported destination, the sight of it took her breath away. 

 

Running towards the fo’c’sle of the ship, she stood on her tiptoes to see what appeared to be a large tiered building resting atop chunks of coral that formulated into a single beam of support that held up the building atop of it. Beams of light flashed up and down to indicate where the building  was- as if it would need such a thing, the place was flashy enough by itself. 

 

Xigbar appeared beside her, his face a normal color as opposed to the green pallor earlier. 

 

“Are we seeing a show?” She asked excitedly. 

 

“Yep, the Mock Turtle likes music,” he massaged the back of his neck, “he also doesn’t like violence so that’s why he prefers to stay beneath the waves. There’s a well-known rule that no denizens of Wonderland can do any acts of brutality here.” 

 

“Gotcha,” she nodded, wondering who the Mock Turtle would be. So far, everyone she’s met that seemed important in Wonderland’s society was someone she knew back home to. For now the identity escaped her as she was amazed by the scene around her. 

 

“We’re landing, hold on tight!” Angeal called from the quarterdeck. The ship slowed to a halt and she hung onto the railing while it slid into a makeshift port that appeared to be the same coral fibers that held up the large building in the center. Her excitement was made evident on her face when she saw many people milling off their own ships of different shapes and sizes. 

 

On a landing port not too far from theirs, she could see a red heart displayed largely on a black canvas and she swallowed. “Is that Xemnas’?” She pointed. 

 

Squinting, Xigbar nodded. “Yep, the Red King of Heart’s own vessel. Hopefully he didn’t bring his little beast with him.”

 

“And what about Terra?” 

 

“He’ll be here, he was asking about you before I went and fetched you. Poor Knave misses you so,” he chuckled. “Come on, we should get inside.”

 

He guided her off the ship, leaving behind the others as they weaved in and out of the crowded docks. The entrance was a large arch that had different colors of pearls ingrained within its spiraling columns. Nailed to the top was a long plank of wood that looked like it was pried off of an old ship, in sloppily painted letters were the words ‘the Mock Turtle’s Theater’. Out of the entirety of the area, that sign alone looked out of place with how humble it appeared. 

 

As if to answer her question, Xigbar looked up at the sign. “The Turtle started out small. That was the first ever sign he put up when he made this place. He still keeps it up there as a reminder even if the rest of the place is upgraded. It started out as a smaller building no bigger than a shack, but now look where he is,” he smiled, “I’m proud of him.”

 

She didn’t get to question him further when a familiar voice stopped them.

 

“So, Cheshire, _you’re_ here. Thought you would die from seasickness.”

 

Xigbar let out an exaggerated groan. “Well isn’t it the resident Nymph, good evening to you too.”

 

Lady peeked over his shoulder to see Larxene, her bright yellow hair combed and slicked back per usual. At the ends of the two strands of hair that stuck out were glowing yellow orbs that seemed to hover everytime she moved- the orbs themselves giving out a subtle cackle of electricity. She wore a long, thin-strapped black dress that pooled around her feet to reveal lace-up black heels that wrapped around her ankles. Wrapped around her arms was a gossamer shawl of shocking yellow that shimmered every time she moved, it floated around her with the grace of a mermaid’s tail. Around her slender neck was a string of white pearls that only served to accentuate her glass-like skin; a swath of black lipstick standing out against her pale pallor. All-in-all, she was as beautiful as the Larxene back home. 

 

The Nymph’s eyes skipped over Xigbar with boredom and landed on Lady, and suddenly the latter felt small under her scrupulating gaze. 

 

“An Alice? Here? Is this the one who was imprisoned?” Larxene looked back up to Xigbar. 

 

“The one and only,” he replied with a grin. 

 

“Hmph,” she walked past him and towards Lady, circling her. “Hm, nice outfit,” she stopped when she noticed the black rose corsage hanging on her ankle. “Did the Hatter dress you?”

 

“Yes, he did,” Lady met her gaze as an expression of disgust crossed Larxene’s face. 

 

“If the Hatter’s entourage is here, are those twin _idiots_ here?” She asked Xigbar.

 

“Lady Alice!!” Two voices exclaimed in unison and Larxene’s disconcerted face only grew more extreme when she spotted two heads of bright red hair running towards them. 

 

The look of disgust was matched when the Tweedles saw Larxene. 

 

“Lookie here, isn’t it the _witch_ of the sea,” Reno made a face. 

 

“Careful, she might turn you into stone if you stare long enough,” Axel muttered, his eyes narrowing at her. 

 

“Charming, as usual,” Larxene’s words were complementary but the tone gave it an underlying layer of pure acid. She turned to Lady, “You threw in your lot with these peasants?”

 

“I, uh, didn’t have much of a choice,” Lady replied, thinking back to how she was brought here against her will. 

 

Turning her nose up, Larxene grabbed Lady’s hands and pulled her away from the others. “You best stick with me if you want some quality company.”

 

“Hey, that’s _our_ Alice!” Axel growled, stepping forward but stopped when the Nymph shot him a glare. 

 

“Come on,” Larxene pulled Lady along and she followed obediently. 

 

Even though the Nymph’s dress was pooled around her feet and was in constant danger of being stepped on, everyone around them made a perfect circle to avoid such an incident. Even when Lady’s feet were close to the hem of her dress, it moved away from her with the motion of water being repelled. Her eyes looked up at the back of Larxene’s head, watching how the orbs of light on her hair glowed bright then died down. 

 

Larxene turned to look at her over her shoulder, “What are you looking at?”

 

“Nothing!” Lady smiled nervously. “It’s just, well, you’re really pretty Larxene.”

 

She swore she could see a flush of pink on her cheeks as she turned away. “Don’t say such stupid things.” 

 

Stopping at the ticket booth, she looked at the usher and held up the hand that was intertwined with Lady’s. “She’s my plus one,” Larxene didn’t wait for the usher to confirm and walked right past with Lady in tow. As they walked, Lady stared at everything that was worth staring at- which, unfortunately for her, was every single piece in this theater. 

 

Whimsical was the best description for this structure. A slew of pink and green bubbles passed her nose and one of them popped in front of her face, showering her with droplets that felt like little kisses. She couldn’t help but giggle as she wiped the liquid off, catching Larxene look back at her everytime she made a noise that was evidence of her amazement. 

 

“It’s not that great once you get used to it,” Larxene said, “the only thing I’m still not used to is the owner.”

 

“The Mock Turtle?”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“What’s he like?”

 

“Irksome.”

 

Lady neared the blonde woman. “Do you find everyone irksome, Nymph?”

 

With only a single glance back at her, Larxene responded. “No.”

 

While the rest of the crowd took to entering the auditorium, Larxene led her up a set of stairs that traveled up in a spiral. Reaching a certain floor, she opened the door to reveal a curtained alcove that overlooked the stage below. A raised circular platform was surrounded by several rows of seats while floating balls of light hovered about the guests finding their seats. 

 

Peeking over, Lady saw a familiar set of brown spikes next to a head of silver hair. A worried pout crossed her lips and Larxene scoffed. 

 

“He’s not gonna touch you here,” she said. 

 

“How do you know? Isn’t he a king?” Lady asked. 

 

“Even a king has limits,” Larxene hissed, her eyes narrowing down at Xemnas. “Besides, if he’s looking for a fight, I’m willing to oblige.”

 

Not wanting to upset Larxene any further, Lady took a seat and patted the cushion next to hers on the velvet couch. “Come sit, Larx!”

 

Larxene shot her a confused look and Lady replied with a sheepish grin. _This isn’t the Larxene that you know normally know. Chill._

 

Right as they sat down, the floating orbs that lit up the round auditorium popped into bubbles that showered down on the audience below. Overhead, an opening formed and retracted back to reveal the ocean and hundreds of fish of different sizes, shapes, and colors that swam past. Bubbles formed around the stage and rose to the top before forming together and exploding in massive droplets that gave off brilliant shimmers akin to how a diamond looks under sunlight. Squinting, Lady saw the light disappear and float around a figure. 

 

Dispersing, she saw dirty blond hair combed messily back with a couple of stray strands covering his forehead. 

 

Lady gasped, “Demyx!”

 

His cerulean blue eyes were bright as he estimated the large amount of guests sitting around the auditorium. His tailored suit fit to his slim figure handsomely, the lapel of his suit had a glistening green cloth that was textured to look like the shell of a turtle. A couple open buttons revealed the light blue undershirt that revealed a generous amount of his collarbones. His pants were white and folded up to his ankles to reveal the lace up boots underneath that he had also folded down. Under his left eye was a diamond painted with gold-colored ink that shimmered every time he moved to look at a different section of the audience. 

 

“What a crowd,” he grinned, bowing, “I’m honored.” Standing up, he pouted and searched the crowd with a pontificating finger on his chin. “I’m going to need a volunteer by the way, do we have any brave souls out here tonight?”

 

His cerulean eyes searched the audience below before looking up and seeing Lady. His face lit up with a grin as their eyes connected. 

 

“Perfect! I’ve already spotted one,” he pointed towards her and she frowned. 

 

“Wait, I didn’t even volunteer myself-“ she was cut off as a bubble formed around her, growing from the floor beneath her shoes and enveloping her. The bubble carried her down towards the stage as she tried to keep her dress from flying up for the audience to see.

 

As the bubble popped and she landed, she stumbled forward into Demyx’s outstretched arms. He then took her hand and held it up, his other to make a gesture of displaying her. 

 

“Tonight we’ll have this lovely Alice perform with us, so it’s gonna be quite a show!” The diamond under his eye twinkled when he winked.

 

Looking up, she saw waves churn and form before pouring down into the stadium. At first it looked to cascade over the guests but stopped over an invisible barrier just above their heads. 

Demyx leaned close and whispered, “Mind helping me out?”

 

He took a step back, taking one of her hands in his and gave her a single graceful twirl. The train of her dress lifted up and a swirl of pure blue water left her in spinning circles that spread far out across the auditorium. From those makeshift waves formed women of water with tails, a group of sirens coming out to see what had summoned them. With a single flick of his finger, Demyx had commanded their attention, silencing their murmuring as well as the audience who was still stuck in a state of awe. 

 

“Now you all know what to do already, right?” He spoke to the sirens, their long liquid hairs dripping down in waterfalls around their tails. Without another second wasted, the sirens let out a slow hymn that reverberated throughout the auditorium; a symphony of sopranos singing notes that seemed inhuman and reaching a level that could only be described as ethereal. 

 

“This is a siren’s song,” Demyx whispered as the notes changed shifts, a symphony of unseen harps setting a lower rhythm for the sirens to match. “No one can escape it.”

 

She stared into his eyes, feeling lost in them as a weary sailor would that looked for escape. Tearing herself away from his eyes, she chose to watch as the sirens jumped up and down from their floating rivers; continuing their songs with ease as they continued to swim throughout the crowd without effort. To match their vibrating vocals, the welcome sounds of a cello echoed out into the room- providing a much needed bass to the high notes. 

 

Together, the instruments and vocals combined into one song. Like a mix of sweet cream with bitter beans to form the perfect coffee. 

 

The crowd below only watched as the sirens blew them kisses and giggled when some tried to reach for their outstretched hand. One guest touched the hand of a wandering siren and another guest pulled him back down to his seat, snapping him out of his daydream. ‘Oohs’ and ‘ahs’ were the only anomalies she heard in the song as well as cheers, whoops, and hollers. 

 

Her hand was lifted up as a siren tried to pull her up into the rivers above. Lady hesitated, looking towards Demyx to make sure it was safe. When he nodded, only then did she let herself be dragged into the siren’s arms with her body feeling light as a feather. All around them were the wonder stricken eyes of the guests that were watching her every move dance with the water around her. Some of the more flirtatious and outgoing sirens attracted the attention of the other guests while a whole host of lights flashed in the room, zooming around and tempting people to try and catch them. 

 

Music and dance were the norm as of now, even as the sirens lifted her down in the middle of an aisle just enough for her to see Marluxia’s smiling face. Before she could be lifted up again, he brandished a white lily and tucked it into her open hand as the sirens took her once more. Twisting her in the air, she felt as if she was being tossed by waves. An exhilarating feel if not anxiety-inducing. 

 

It seemed the sirens were mischievous by nature as they dropped her onto a guest’s lap. More specifically, the Red King of Heart’s lap. Looking up at him sheepishly, she internally urged the sirens to grab her before his amber gaze melted her on the spot. Over his shoulder, she saw Terra who gave her a small wave and nervous smile. Shooting him the same gleeful grin, she gulped when Xemnas didn’t retract his accusatory gaze. 

 

“You should smile more, Your Majesty,” she murmured to him, feeling her body being lifted up by the water creatures. 

 

Deciding that they had enough of her, they dropped her onto the platform where Demyx took her hand. Holding it up with his other hand over his heart, he took a low bow and she did the same- even when she felt like she did nothing but partake in frivolous activities and not a stellar performance that had the crowd cheering loudly.

 

“Wasn’t that lovely?” He asked the crowd and received a standing ovation as well as a chant of his name and title. 

 

Taking her in his arms, he gave her a smile before bubbles began to pour over them and concealed their bodies. To the rest of the audience, the Mock Turtle and the Alice disappeared from the stage. 

 

*******

 

“That was fantastic,” Lady grinned, tucking in the white lily she received from the Duke in the folds of her dress. “I felt like I was flying!”

 

“I’m glad you liked it,” Demyx smiled, walking her towards the docks. “I would pull in a lot of crowds if you worked here, ya know.”

 

“I’m sure you can do that just fine without me.”

 

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t mind having you around.”

 

Demyx reached up to tuck in a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his eyes looking down softly on her. “You’re as beautiful as those sirens today.”

 

She leaned into his lingering touch, shivering at the feel of the air caused by the ocean’s currents around her. In the distance she could hear the chime of a clock go off. 

 

“There you are!” Larxene marched up to Demyx, “You’re just hogging her to yourself, like Tweedle Dumb and Dumber!”

 

“Hey, whaddaya mean by that?” Reno appeared from behind a corner with Axel beside him. 

 

“Rude,” Axel added, backing up his brother of course. 

 

“Fools,” Larxene hissed. 

 

“Witch,” they both retorted back at her. 

 

“Gonna leave without saying goodbye, kitten?” Xigbar phased in front of her, his hands stuffed in his pocket and a disappointed pout on his face. “Wish you could stay longer.”

 

“I’m leaving?” She tilted her head in confusion. “But I thought I could stay here for just a bit more..”

 

“Why don’t you?” Reno and Axel said, excitement in their eyes. 

 

Larxene scoffed. “If you do, you won’t be able to go back home ever again.” She stepped forward to conceal the twins, “Is it worth it to leave your world behind for this fantasy?”

 

Lady looked down. The Nymph was right. 

 

A finger lifted up her chin as Demyx offered her a cheerful smile, “We’ll always be waiting here to show you more of Wonderland.”

 

“Don’t pout, kitten,” Xigbar said. “We’ll always be with you.”

 

“Right,” Lady nodded, she felt overcome with emotion. Finding this odd, she let out a laugh. “It’s weird saying goodbye to people I’ll just see again.” She looked at all of them, “But everyone here is their own person, even if someone home shares your face.”

 

“No tears,” Xigbar swiped a thumb under her right eye, “goodbye’s aren’t supposed to be sad. See us off with that beautiful smile of yours.”

 

Nodding, she stepped back as Demyx walked her over to where the pier dropped off towards the trenches below. Taking her hand, he kissed the tops of her knuckles and she felt her feet lift up from the wooden pier. From where he kissed her hand, a bubble formed around her fingers, then her hand and her arm, and soon enveloped her entire body. Lifting her as the sirens did earlier, she floated upwards. 

 

She gave one last wave and did her utmost to give the group below her best smile. Reno and Axel waved, a sad pout on their lips. Xigbar put two fingers to his lips and blew her a kiss. Larxene gave her a small upturn of her lips, a small wave being her goodbye. Demyx stood at the forefront, his eyes watching her with careful perception as the bubble he formed carried her off. 

 

Levitating up, her hands slid down the interior of the bubble to find that it was quite sturdy. To her far left, she saw the ship she embarked on earlier. At the helm were the Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse. She gave them a wave and they waved back. A pang of pain was felt in her heart and she turned away. 

 

To her right, she saw another ship; this one flying a large heart insignia on black sails carrying the Red King, the Knave, and the Duke. Xemnas looked at her with Terra standing steadfast at his side. Inhaling, she willed herself to wave to them. She smiled when Terra waved back, Xemnas giving her a subtle nod. Near the railing, Marluxia brought a rose to his nose, raising it up to toast her. 

 

 She gave the inhabitants one final smile full of longing before the bubble took her further up. Up and up till she saw the sun’s rays displayed on the surface, ready to be broken through. 

 

*******

 

“Oh, I’ve got something!” Noctis exclaimed, pulling up his rod. “Guys, help me out- it’s heavy!”

 

Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto stood beside Noct- ready to jump in and grab whatever prize the prince had fished up. 

 

Soon the surface of the water broke and instead of seeing the typical scales or fins of a fish, he was staring at Lady. Gasping for air and coughing, her bathrobe floating up around her as she tried to unpin the hook that had stuck to it. 

 

Gladio reached over and offered his hand which she gratefully took. Pulling her up onto the deck, she squeezed out the saltwater from her robes, hastily tying it back together, and took out the hook to hand back to Noctis. 

 

“What the hell- what were you doing down there?” Noctis asked her. 

 

The rest of the Lucians were giving her odd looks as she stumbled away, feeling the bitter regret of salt water filling her mouth even when she spit it out. Her bare feet tapping against the wood as she twirled around to face them. 

 

“I was, uh,” she searched the skies as if the clouds had answers for her, “sleepwalking.” She nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer and turned to leave. The Lucians looked to each other, confused and concerned and looked back at her retreating figure soaked in sea salt. 


	49. XLIX

A silken black coat covered her body as she blinked, adjusting to the darkness that filtered into her room. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and found she was still wearing the dress from last night. Grimacing, she felt fatigued and didn’t remember how she got back home. Picking up the coat, she instinctively brought it close to her nose and inhaled. 

 

Amber musk mixed with spice filled her nostrils and she sighed as the cologne left vestiges within her that made her miss the scent within seconds.  _ Xemnas.  _

 

Holding the piece of clothing up, she wondered how the man brought her in. And why he would leave such an expensive looking suit jacket. Crawling off her bed, she winced when her calloused feet felt raw against the floorboards. She shook her head.  _ Heels. What are they good for? _

 

She showered off last night’s attempt at having a girls night out by herself, as well as the misery that followed her. The steam rolled by her ankles as she checked her phone and cursed aloud when she saw the amount of missed calls from Reno. 

 

Reno : I thought I said shoot me a message when you’re home. 

 

Lady sighed, immediately texting him a quick apology. 

 

Lady : Sorry! I’ve been home, I just fell asleep.

 

The response was almost immediate as not two seconds later her screen lit up with another text. 

 

Reno:  You are killin’ me here, woman. 

 

Tossing her phone on the bed, she sat at her vanity mirror. Putting her elbow down and drumming her fingers against the polished surface. She looked up at the mirror, seeing the black suit jacket resting neatly on her bed. Her heart had skipped a beat and she pinched the skin of her cheek.  _ Stop that _ , she told herself. Getting up, she took the jacket and held it to her face once more to inhale the deep fragrance that seemed to cling onto it fiercely. 

 

Questions left her mind, the first and foremost being: how the  _ hell _ did she get back home? Did he take her back? And when did she even fall asleep?

 

Opening the window to look outside, she waited to see the tell-tale signs of her barrier. Hexagonal shapes connecting together shimmered against the waxing dawn, albeit faintly. Raising her hand, a sphere of energy left her palm and darted out. As it hit the barrier, it burst into pieces and the hexagons shone with more luster and brilliance. Satisfied with her added defense, she closed the window and walked to the living room after getting dressed. 

 

Smiling at how Vincent slept soundly on the couch she walked past, she stopped midway and stared at the floor. She didn’t feel exhausted like she usually did after strengthening the barrier around the perimeter. 

 

Zexion’s words came to mind:  _ Your cells are unique in which they absorb whatever can be digested, metabolized, and produced into power. _

 

Her stomach flopped and she remembered the days when even setting up the barrier all around the perimeter of the Alstroemeria was exhausting for her- maintaining it even more so. And just now she reinforced it without even a bat of an eyelash. 

 

_ Think.  _ What changes happened since those times? 

 

The truth came to her and crashed like a train running full speed with no intent on stopping. 

 

It had only been Roxas and Axel that’s been with her in the beginning. 

 

Her head slowly turned to the man sleeping on her couch and counting every new tenant she’s accumulated in the past few months. All of them powerful within their own right.

 

She cursed under her breath and flinched when Vincent began to stir. Next thing she did after shutting the front door after her with care, she bolted towards Zexion’s shared apartment. It was still early in the morning and the sun had not even broke through the coat of night that was hanging heavily over the city of Elera. But she knew the scientist, like her, did not know of sleep. 

 

Three petite knocks summoned a surprised Zexion as he opened the door for her and she quickly pushed him, silencing his open mouth with a finger. Shaking her head, she shut the door and pointed towards his room. Taking the hint, he followed her in her to his room as she peeked in the other rooms to make sure the other two were still sound asleep. Xigbar had a magazine covering his face with his hands crossed behind his head in his room while Demyx was on his stomach, half of his body on the edge of falling off the bed. She would go in there and set them right, take the magazine off Xigbar’s face and push Demyx back on the bed to a proper sleeping position- but now was not the time, not until she confirmed some things. 

 

Shutting the door quietly after he entered, Lady pressed her back against the wall and looked up at him. 

 

“Lady,” he said softly, “what’s wrong?”

 

“Show me the results again,” she said. He hesitated, visibly reluctant, and her patience teetered, “Zexion. Show. Me.”

 

The microscope he and Vexen used was still resting on the desk. Standing at least a couple feet from it, he raised his hand as a ball of darkness formed in the palm of his hand. Lady watched as it hovered for a few seconds before shooting towards the sample in the slide. She swallowed hard. 

 

“Have you tried putting the other three’s samples near mine?” She whispered. 

 

A nervous glance at the other slides so carefully placed by the microscope betrayed his answer and she stalked over to the desk. Despite his protests, she took the slide labeled ‘Genesis’ and held it up near hers. His blood contained the regular anomalies: red and white blood cells, platelets.. but a small amount of his was tinged with a purple glow on the outside. 

 

Looking through the eyepiece, she watched as green and purple light escaped his cells and ran towards hers. The latter sucking up the mako and whatever else that purple irregularity was and ingesting it. She set down the slide and picked up the one labeled ‘Angeal’; watching as more of the green and purple light exited his cells and entered hers. 

 

Setting his slide down carefully besides Genesis’, her hands shook when she picked up Sephiroth’s. Steeling her nerves, she held up the slide and held her breath when she saw a copious amount of the same light-considerably more than the other two- exit his cells and into hers. Her cells glowing brilliantly in response before dying down and appearing to turn back to normal on the outside. She set the slide down, both hands on the desk to hold herself up. The first noise that escaped her was a laugh laced with bitterness. 

 

“So, I guess it was never my personality and charm after all,” she said sarcastically, her shoulders shaking with laughter. Looking up at the ceiling to prevent the hot tears that formed in her eyes from falling- she cursed, “Damn you, Hojo. Damn you to hell.”

 

“Lady.. that doesn’t confirm anything,” Zexion started and she whipped around with rage emanating from her eyes. Even from where he was standing, he could see the purple in her eyes beginning to take over the original color of her irises. 

 

“Yes, it does,” she hissed. “I’ve been feeding off of you guys like a parasite.”  _ Like Jenova. _

 

“But you’ve been healing our hearts as well!” He protested. “There’s evidence of that, doesn’t that mean something to you?”

 

“It does,” her anger faltered for a second, “but that doesn’t make up for what I’ve been doing in exchange.” She looked out of his bedroom window, watching the sun peak over the horizon. “You all need to leave,” she said softly. 

 

He started towards her. “No. You don’t mean that.”

 

“I do,” she looked at him, her face hardened with determination yet her eyes were softened with despair. “I can’t- you all can’t trust me. There’s too much we don’t know and I rather not wait to find out and by then it would already be too late. I don’t want to cause anyone here more pain.” 

 

“But neither do we,” Zexion approached her and she backed away, her body pressed against the wall. “I know you won’t hurt us and we can do something about this, just give us time, please!” His steel-blue eyes turned darker as he pleaded. 

 

“So what, until you find some type of breakthrough you all will just live here with me?” She shook her head, “That’s as good as locking you up in a cage with a monster.”

 

“You aren’t a monster,” he said, “and we will find a way to help, I know we will.” He grabbed her hands and held them, “So until then, please don’t give up.”

 

She moved and he held her steadfast, his eyes filled with sorrow. “Don’t leave,” he said and she couldn’t bear to look at the pain she caused him. 

 

“How do you know you all care about me,” she said, “how can you be so sure?” Another surge of raw anxiety fled throughout her body that pushed anger into her heart. “Are you sure all of you aren’t just  _ compelled _ ?” 

 

She pushed him away, restraining herself from a louder outburst that would wake up the denizens next door. “You all came here not because of me.. but because my cells-  _ Jenova’s cells _ \- were calling to you.” Her eyes shimmered with raw pain. Her worst fears had been confirmed. 

 

Without another word, she exited the apartment swiftly and walked down the hall towards the stairs leading down. She stopped near the door by hers, turning towards it and bringing her fist up to knock. Surely, Angeal would be up right now and she wanted to hear his voice, or see Sephiroth and have him hold her, or have Genesis say something to her- even a snide remark would do, anything! Holding her hand up till her nails dug into her palm, she forced it back down and bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t. 

 

Hurrying past the gazebo as she heard a voice call her name; she turned around as Roxas ran towards her with a smile. The Keyblade wielder reached to grab her hand and she instinctively flinched and slapped his hand away. The look of pain that flashed in his eyes was enough to send her on a verge of tears. He looked at her with confusion and dejection, emotions she never wanted to cause him under any circumstances. 

 

“I’m sorry Roxas,” she whispered, turning her face away before she had to see those blue eyes of his widen with her violent rejection. Her feet picking up the pace as she left him standing in the courtyard, his hand still outstretched to reach for her. 

 

*******

 

Lady wandered without direction, much like how her mind was this morning. The setting sun was the only indication of how much time had passed and still she felt as if she’s only been out for mere minutes. Sitting down on what she thought would be the twentieth bench she moved to throughout the city, she sighed and buried her face in her hands. 

 

All viable options she could think of were going to hurt somebody if not herself. Either she leaves while they find whatever cure they can or they leave her in isolation. Nails dragged across her scalp and she thought about all of the books she’s read in the past about Jenova and cell research. The very idea made her head spin as she tried to think of ways around this. Unfortunately, it made her even more nauseous when her conjured theories stopped at dead ends. 

 

“You doin’ okay?” 

 

She looked up to see Eli’s ever smiling face look down at her. He sat down on the bench beside her, his apron rolled up neatly, holding it in his arm. “How is it, every time I find you, you look absolutely miserable?”

 

_ Because I am.  _ “I’m fine,” she muttered, playing with the drawstring of her hoodie. “Clocking in?” She was eager to change the subject.

 

“Yeah,” he groaned, “night shifts, hate ‘em. But at least today’s a slow day so I can close early.” He got up again, offering her a hand, “You look like you need a cup of coffee, come on, let me make you some.”

 

Lady nodded, “Maybe that’ll help.” She took his hand and he hoisted her up onto her feet. 

 

*******

 

A knock on the door made her look up from her phone, her mobile game still on as Eli poked his head in. He hid her in the back room while he worked the front, finishing off the last orders of the day and cleaning up. 

 

“I’m almost done,” he smiled apologetically, “I’ll be back shortly with a special mug for you, ‘kay?”

 

“Yeah,” she replied weakly and waited till he closed the door to look down at her phone screen. Her game menu had invites from Noctis. He was online and wanted to team up for the massive raid that promised loot galore, but she wasn’t in the mood. Messages from the others also filled her notification tabs and she thumbed over them, reading them briefly until another knock on the door elicited her attention. 

 

She turned her phone face down on the table and looked to the blue-haired man that entered with petite cup of coffee balanced on a small plate. 

 

“For you, pretty lady,” he winked and she thanked him. 

 

Bringing up the mug to her nose, she inhaled and let the strong brew invigorate her tired soul. 

 

“So you gonna tell me what’s going on with you?” He took a seat in front of her, his leg crossing his other. 

 

“It’s a long story,” she took a sip. “I don’t want to bore you.”

 

He laughed, “Trust me, I’ve a  _ lot _ of time.” His deep blue eyes watching as she downed the whole cup in one go and set the empty dish down. 

 

Leaning back in her chair, she swallowed and tasted the remains of the coffee. An underlying note of bitterness hit her palate and she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. “I don’t know,” she said, “I guess it started out with those disappearances in the city.” 

 

“Oh? You mean the one in the sewer with those missing 2nd Class SOLDIER’s, right?”

 

“Mhm,” she stifled a yawn. Blinking, she processed his words and the fine hairs on her arms stood up. She looked up at him, his handsome face set in an expression of nonchalance. “Eli..” she said softly, “how did you know about that?”  _ Those details weren’t made public, Shinra had seen to that. Lazard said so! _

 

His eyes widened slightly in shock, “Well, I thought it would be nice to leave you a gift down there in those decrepit tunnels-seeing as how you would be the one to find it. Did you enjoy it?” 

 

Her body seized up as Eli stood. “Forgive me, I must have forgotten,” digging in his pocket, he took out an empty glass vial that had remains of a viscous black fluid inside. His kind eyes inspected it with interest before they leered down at her, “How did you like your coffee again?”

 

She glanced down at the empty cup in front of her and stood up hastily, the chair sent backwards as she started towards him, her right hand balled into a fist ready to attack. Yet her body betrayed her desired move and instead stumbled backwards. The floor and walls around them seemed to sway and distort and she felt nauseous, the bitter taste of bile rising up in the back of her throat. 

 

“Eli..” She pinched her skin hard until she felt the sharp pain as blood pushed through the broken skin; trying to force herself to stay awake as her vision blackened at the edges. Her breathing became strained as fatigue overtook her. “Why are you doing this?!”

 

"Allow me to formally introduce myself since we’ll be getting to know each other for a while,” the man before her smiled as he approached closer. His long blue hair shortening a few inches until it reached the tops of his broad shoulders, it then turned into the rich color of dark wine. Kneeling down, he grabbed her face roughly and brought it close to his. Just enough so she could see the blues of his eyes get taken over by flecks of bright gold and dark amber. His lips forming a disarming smile that looked at her with the familiarity of two friends.  

 

His fingers dug painfully into her cheeks. “You may call me Ardyn.”


	50. L

“Lady?” Vincent opened the door to the landlady’s room. His brows furrowing when there wasn’t anybody present. Walking back out to the living room, he looked up at the analog clock hanging near the kitchen. 

 

It had been almost ten hours since he last saw her, and deep down in his gut- he had a bad feeling.

 

Checking his phone, he made sure he didn’t miss any calls or texts from her. Something that would tell him where she went. He remembered hearing the door open and close earlier in the morning, but that was all the provided evidence that she was even there. 

 

He decided to stroll about the grounds, crimson eyes searching with stern perception for any signs of her. He checked the beach, the gardens- outside and in, as well as silently seeing if she was with any of the tenants. 

 

He came up with nothing. 

 

Roxas strolled by him, his face looking like a rumbling storm- indicating his desire to avoid talking to anyone. Vincent decided to ask anyways. 

 

“Roxas,” he called and the boy whipped around, his blue eyes darkened at the sight of him. 

 

“What,” Roxas replied, looking clearly annoyed. 

 

“Have you seen Lady?”

 

Vincent’s eyes caught the boy’s fist tightening up as he responded. “No.. no I haven’t. Not since this morning.” Roxas’ eyes softened at the mention of her nickname, “Why? What’s going on?”

 

Without a word, Vincent decided to ask somebody else on her whereabouts when he felt his arm being pulled back with surprising strength. Looking down at Roxas, he was surprised to see such raw emotion canvas his face. The most prominent one being rage. 

 

“What _happened_?” Roxas growled, his tone sounding like it belonged to an adult rather than someone his age. “Where’s Lady?”

 

“You better ask everyone if anyone else has seen her.”

 

“That’d be a waste of time,” the blond’s eyes narrowed. “It’d be quicker to ask Xigbar.”

 

Vincent motioned for him to lead the way and so he did, not bothering to knock when he approached Xigbar’s apartment. Inside, crowded around a table, were Xigbar, Luxord, Demyx, and Axel. In front of them were cards and everyone save for Luxord looked like they were having a bad night. Without a single word, Roxas marched into Demyx’s room- ignoring Demyx’s protests- to take the map of Elera he had on the wall and slapped it onto the table.

 

Pointing to it, Roxas looked at Xigbar, “Pull up Lady’s location.”

 

“Not even a ‘please’?” Xigbar scoffed, looking annoyed as he flicked the corner of the map that began to soak into his glass of beer.

 

“ _Now_ ,” Roxas’ voice was low and the recipient of his gaze sighed. 

 

Xigbar rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, kid, you can’t keep hanging onto her. She’s a grown woman and can take care of herself-“

 

“I said _now,_ dammit!!” Roxas’ voice got louder. 

 

Axel frowned, “Rox, chill out, what’s wrong?” He looked over to the door to see Vincent waiting patiently, only then did he understand the possible gravity of the situation. Looking to Xigbar, he too, asked. “Just check.”

 

Shrugging, Xigbar raised his hand over the map. “I think you guys are overreacting-“ he stopped when the paper shimmered and came up with nothing. Grumbling something under his breath, he did it once more. And again, the paper came up with nothing. “Shit,” he shut his eye and exhaled before looking up at Axel. “She’s not in the city anymore.”

 

Roxas didn’t hear anything further of their conversation when he bolted out of the door and out of the apartment grounds. Only the sound of rumbling lightning and his shoes hitting the pavement were heard as he ran towards the city.

 

*******

 

“So the other night, I caught this guy sneaking in, right? And I totally-“ 

 

_Riiiiiinngg._

 

Reno groaned, rolling his eyes as he dug for his phone in his pocket. He was in the middle of a funny story and he so hated being interrupted. His annoyance disappeared when he saw the caller ID and answered. 

 

“Heyyy, what’s up-“

 

His relaxed expression turned to one of concern as he straightened up and looked out of the window, seeing streaks of rain starting to pelt against the glass.  

 

“Yeah, we have _some_ security cameras. But they’re all over our building.. sure, I’ll give it a look.”

 

Rude gave him an inquisitive raise of his eyebrow and Reno shook his head at him. 

 

“Have you checked her phone? Called it? Traced it?” Reno stopped pacing, sighing heavily. “Call me when you find something. You guys better hurry, it’s gonna storm soon.”

 

As soon as Reno hung up, Rude started his inquiry. “What’s up? Something bad happened?”

 

“Our favorite landlady disappeared,” Reno said, his eyes narrowed and serious.

 

“Doesn’t she, y’know, always do that though?” 

 

“Yeah but, she doesn’t leave without letting at least someone know,” the redhead mumbled, “c’mon Rude. Let’s go help them out.” 

 

“You got it.”

 

The two Turks got up and left to go to the security room. Sitting down, Reno stretched his hands and cracked his knuckles. Panning the cameras, he and his partner began to go through the footage to see if there was any indication for the missing landlady.

 

*******

 

Zexion looked up from his table, his eyes soaked in grief as he saw Xigbar standing in his doorway. 

 

“Can you trace her phone?” The man asked, walking over to Zexion and stealing a glance at the slides of blood samples laying near his microscope. 

 

“I-,” he shook his head, “-that’s a violation of her privacy. I wouldn’t do so unless it was an emergency.”

 

“Trust me, it’s an emergency,” Xigbar turned around to walk out. Stopping and giving him one last look. “She’s gone missing. I can’t feel her presence in the city anymore. We’re gonna go out to look for clues so give us a call when you pull it up.. oh, and one more thing. You should send those to Roxas first.”

 

Zexion nodded, “I’ll let him know.” He didn’t bother waiting for the other man to leave before pulling out his laptop and syncing it with his phone. Thumbing through his contacts, he typed in Lady’s. One thing he didn’t tell her, out of fear of retaliation, was that he installed a security measure on her phone that would let him know where she was if he prompted it. Given the tendency of other’s malicious intent towards her, he deemed this feature a necessity. 

 

Closing his eyes, he could still see her face fresh in his mind. Her face contorted into that of heartbreak when she discovered what her cells could do. It sounded like her voice almost cracked when she asked them to leave and asked _him_ what drove his feelings for her. With a hand over his heart, Zexion shook his head. _No._ What he felt was true, he just knew it. It wasn’t compulsion of any sort. He hoped he would get to tell her that- hopefully it would make her smile. 

 

In just under a minute, her location pulled up and he swallowed. Taking a screenshot of the coordinates, he then sent it to Roxas. All he could do now was wait.

 

*******

 

Roxas looked down at his phone and the picture of the coordinates. It was just on the outskirts and he ducked in an alleyway, raising his hand up to summon a corridor. 

 

Walking in, he felt the familiar tendrils of darkness lick against his skin as he traversed it. The cold was always something he got used to, even the way that he felt like he was always being watched. Steeling himself for what he might find on the other side, he walked out. 

 

Rain hit the heavily-leafed trees as Roxas stepped out of the corridor. His eyes looked around for any sign of her. Slowly, they fell onto a square object almost concealed by trees and grass. Walking over to it, he bent down slowly to pick it up. 

 

A lump in his throat formed when he realized it was her phone. Except now, a large crack appeared on the corner of it and there was blood seeped between the traumatized glass. He hoped it wasn’t hers. 

 

Looking around, he walked near a tree and his teeth clenched when he there were was what appeared to be nails dragging against the bark. He lifted up his hand to mimic the trajectory of the marks, the ends of it being pulled away westward. 

 

In the ground he could see footprints that looked like it could be hers. Their footwork was confusing to him, his eyes watching how they went back and forth and side-to-side. He thought about; the blooded and cracked phone, the footprints that were in disarray- she had been fighting for her life.

 

Another question pricked his mind: who would be that strong to overpower her? It didn’t add up to him. The Lady he knew was powerful and smarter, surely.

 

He thought back to earlier this morning, the way she slapped his hand away. It didn’t necessarily hurt, but he felt something ache deeply in his heart and he couldn’t shake the feeling when he saw how close she looked to breaking down. He wanted to run after her. The side of his fist collided with a tree trunk. He should’ve ran after her.

 

Anger started to well up inside him, making his breath shaky. Anger at himself, at everything, at everyone- he stopped. Putting his hand on his head, he counted to ten. A memory of Lady came to him. She did this for him when he and Axel first moved in. Once she saw how quick he was to lose his temper, she taught him this.

 

_“Roxas, focus,” her melodic voice quelling his rising rage and put a hand on his head. Rubbing it, she instructed him, “Count to ten for me.”_

 

Once he whispered the last number aloud, he opened his eyes again and felt his focus being honest and tempered. Going over this with a fresh mind, he looked around for more clues. Sniffing the air, he frowned when he picked up on hints of.. coffee grounds?

 

Thinking about who would have the audacity to kidnap his landlady, he stopped when he could only come up with one name. The same name who kept popping up this whole time. Without another thought, he opened up another corridor. Pocketing her phone carefully, he walked through. 

 

***

 

Genesis was pacing in front of the gazebo, his middle finger flicking with agitation against his thumb. His mind was racing with countless thoughts, all of them sharing a common theme which circled around his woman. Despite labeling her this, he knew of the other’s feelings and their concern when most went out to follow Roxas to look around. His patience grew thinner and thinner until he could feel the poorly kept veil of his vexation grow weaker. 

 

Angeal and Sephiroth sat under the gazebo, their eyes glazed over as they thought of possibilities where she could run off to. 

 

“Maybe she went out for a while,” Angeal mumbled, his fists brought together and hovered near his mouth, eyes staring at the ground blankly. One would assume he was calm, one who would be a fool. Genesis knew better, he knew his friend. As for the other silver soldier, he too had a vacant stare in guise of his thoughtfulness. 

 

All three of them were wrought with worry. 

 

“You know better than that,” Sephiroth muttered, “something’s amiss.” 

 

“I know, I’m just-” Angeal sighed, running a hand over his hair, “why is it that when we’re all together, she always seems to disappear before our very eyes.”

 

Genesis pondered his words, bitter that he didn’t even think that something was wrong. Only after Vincent had alerted them did they realize the gravity of the situation. He cursed himself in verse inside his head. 

 

Before he could give out an opinion, he heard the apartment gates opening and closing. All three brought their attention to it, hoping to see a bashful ex-SOLDIER walk through and profusely apologize. Saying she had napped somewhere and forgot to tell someone, or she was at the arcade all day, or went shopping and had stopped for snacks- 

 

“Hey,” Reno interrupted Genesis’ thoughts, the Turk’s face was solemn. “We thought you might want to see this..” He brought up a phone with a timestamp labeling the bottom-right corner. On it was footage from last night and Genesis heard Angeal and Sephiroth walk up beside him to watch.

 

Shooting Rude a look, Reno pressed play and handed it to Genesis. The three watched as the timer indicated the time to be around twenty-two hundred hours. Just around the time where he went to sleep, Genesis thought bitterly, resisting the urge to laugh. 

 

They saw as two figures entered into view just where the camera was pointed towards the street outside of the Shinra building. One of them dragged behind while the other was upright and seemingly supporting the other. Angeal’s breath did a sharp intake when the person who was dragging along pushed the other person, running into the street and towards the Shinra building. 

 

Even in the darkness, they knew who it was. 

 

They watched as Lady struggled to even right herself, her steps look unsure and almost timid as she caught herself on the floor. Her face turned up to the building and her mouth poised to scream for help. Just as she did, the person behind her dragged her up and covered her mouth quickly as she felt slump against his arms. Playing it off as a drunken encounter, the other man dusted her off and held her as if he were just walking her home. They left, the camera’s view- but not before the man gave the camera a careful glance. It was enough so that they could see his face and Genesis began to seethe. 

 

It was that barista. 

 

“Bastard,” Genesis scowled, tearing his eyes away from the security footage. “He’ll regret ever hurting her, I’ll make sure of it.” He stalked towards the entrance and heard the other two follow him. “Are you coming or what?” Genesis called to his friends. 

 

Without another second wasted, they followed him. Turning to Reno, Angeal muttered, “Make sure you send that to everyone. That we’re looking for that blue-haired man.”

 

“Roger that,” Reno nodded and the three soldiers left to go to the coffee shop to investigate.

 

*******

 

Larxene felt raindrops on her head and static electricity ran up the strands of her hair in response to the stimuli. Scowling, she looked up at the darkened clouds. It was like an omen had made itself clear to her. A beep on her cellphone made her stop and examine it. Her green eyes widening when she saw the attachment. 

 

Walking over to where Demyx and Axel stood on their portion of the rooftop of the ten-story building they were situated on, she whistled to get their attention. Once they both turned to her, she showed her phone screen to them. 

 

“We’re looking for this guy, seen him before?” She said. 

 

“That’s the barista guy,” Demyx’s eyes narrowed. “The one who always comes by to see her, I forgot his name.”

 

“Eli, or Helios,” Axel answered, his fist tightening, “I knew something was fishy about that guy.”

 

“Doesn’t matter now,” Larxene said coolly, although her eyes indicated a storm within her. “Whoever he is, he’s as good as dead.”

 

“Should we head over to go see where he is now?” Demyx’s tone took an uncharacteristic hint of darkness and malice. 

 

Another beep made Larxene look at her phone and she made a face. “No. Those soldier guys are already looking into it. They said to meet back home.”

 

The word had tasted weird in her mouth when she said it: home. 

 

She never considered the Castle to be home. No fucking way. In years, this had been the only place she would ever think to call home. Before following Demyx and Axel into their corridor, she stopped. Ever since she met that landlady, all she could feel was the hollow threat of another enemy. Their last big fight against her was nothing more than that and she didn’t think she would ever cross paths with her again. Her home felt complete with her and she somehow could feel the remnants of happiness within herself. But now- now, she felt anxiety. It was most unpleasant.  

 

Larxene snorted when the other two were out of earshot. Nobodies weren’t supposed to feel…  And yet there she was, feeling every fiber of her un-being tantalized with the disappearance of one person. 

 

*******

 

“Sir, we haven’t even opened yet-”

 

“Out of the way,” Genesis glared at the employee and he could only hang his head and let the man do what he wanted. 

 

“I apologize,” Angeal said to the disgruntled employee, “but this is urgent business.”

 

“Aren’t you guys.. SOLDIER? I can see mako in your eyes,” the employee said, his irritation replaced by wonder. 

 

After a while, Angeal responded, “Yes, we are. Please excuse us.” 

 

Sephiroth slipped past them, his watchful eyes looking over every possible clue in the shop. He stopped when he saw the closed door to what he assumed was the backroom. Walking over, he jiggled the doorknob, concerned that it was locked. 

 

Angeal caught this and turned to the employee again, “Was that door locked since last night?”

 

The employee shifted his weight on his feet. “It’s always locked when we close, usually I would have it open by now but I don’t know where Eli put the key..”

 

“There’s no need for a key,” Angeal said under his breath, striding over to the door and in one swift movement brought his shoulder against it. His weight against the frame made the wood groan and Angeal brought his foot up to kick the door. The lock loosening and breaking as the door swung back to reveal the darkened room beyond. Reaching for the light switch, all three of them filed into the room. What they saw next formed lumps in their throats. 

 

It looked like a battlefield. Splinters of the wooden chairs lay scattered about as well as pieces of broken glass. On the wall was a splatter of blood with tails going to the right, indicating a lateral slash that hit the surface during a struggle.

 

Sephiroth knelt down, tracing the outline of the glass shards lightly with a finger and bringing one up to his face to inspect. 

 

“She tried to fight,” he said softly, seeing how the glass broke on impact and crashed onto the ground. “But she couldn’t fend him off.” Standing back up, he looked around the room, waiting for the mess to tell him a story, “But why?”

 

The question remained a mystery to them: how could someone with military training fail to fight off a civilian?

 

“The footage,” Angeal said aloud. “She looked like she was incapacitated.”

 

“With the way she was walking, I would assume she was drunk,” Genesis added. “So he drugged her, but with what?”

 

Sephiroth spotted a small cup that remained mostly unbroken, it rolled onto its side underneath a shelf. Bending down, he reached for it and brought it up his nose. A bitter stench assaulted his senses and he immediately brought it down. He showed it to the other two, “With this.”

 

Angeal took the cup from him and wafted it into his nose. He made a face and shook his head as he handed it to Genesis, “Doesn’t smell like any poison I know.”

 

“Poison disguised with coffee, it’s almost juvenile how simple it is,” Genesis gave a bitter laugh, turning the cup in his hands. 

 

“Let’s go back and report our findings.”

 

*******

 

Xemnas stopped when he sensed another approach him in the darkness. Someone who didn’t belong to this world anymore. He turned around just to see a familiar set of blond spikes and eyes of blue that always seemed to be filled with hate and mirth. 

 

“Xemnas,” Roxas said coldly. “Where is she?”

 

Turning to the boy, his prolonged silence only angered him more. 

 

“Where is Lady?!” Roxas held his hands up and brandished both of his Keyblades. “You took her didn’t you?” 

 

“I’m afraid not,” the Superior said, his eyes watching the boy, fascinated that such emotion flowed off of him naturally. 

 

“And how am I supposed to believe you?”

 

Xemnas motioned to the pointed spires of the Castle That Never Was. “Search the castle yourself, you know it by heart don’t you?” 

 

Roxas collected his breaths while Xemnas only regarded him silently, not even willing to brandish his weapons himself. His grip tightened on his Keyblades. “How am I supposed to believe you- after all you’ve done? To her- to me!”

 

“Number XIII, Roxas,” Xemnas said, his face looking almost amused. “Surely you are more intuitive than your counterpart?” They were both silent until he broke it, “I am not interested in harming her.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Roxas scoffed. “Your words don’t mean a thing.”

 

“Then perhaps action will convince you,” he said as rose his hand, a silver x displaying in front of his fingers. Roxas watched as the silver x hovered, shimmering and then disappearing. 

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The Key of Destiny looked visibly frustrated. It was the same silver x that Xigbar pulled up earlier as well as the same fruitless result that lead him on this chase. 

 

“It means that she is concealed by a power much older than you and I, even I can’t see where she is right now.”

 

“‘Older than you and I’?” Roxas repeated his words. His stomach felt like a pit landed in it. Was she being held by something more powerful? More powerful than Xemnas? Shaking away his thoughts, he focused on the potential threat in front of him. “Why do you care so much? Thought all you cared about was your Kingdom Hearts.”

 

Xemnas pondered his answer before replying. “She helps me to see.”

 

“See what? You know what, never mind,” Roxas conjured up a corridor, “I don’t care.” Turning his back to his old Superior; stopping, he spoke again. “If I find out you were responsible for her disappearance, I’ll make you regret it.”

 

Eyes of seething blue detestation disappeared as he turned his face away and walked through his own sliver of oblivion.

 

*******

 

“So what, wanna contact Xemnas and ask him?”

 

“No, that’s not what I’m saying-“

 

“Hey boss, so I know we all betrayed you or whatever but you could do us this _one_ solid?”

 

“Stop being a dick.”

 

“This is getting us nowhere..”

 

“Oh, so we can at least agree on that!”

 

“Enough! This is tiresome!

 

By the time Roxas arrived back at the Alstroemeria, arguments were breaking out amongst its tenants. Their bickering silenced when they saw the Keyblade wielder approach.

 

“What did you find?” Angeal pushed to the front and without a word, Roxas set down Lady’s phone on the table in the middle for everyone to see. Some of the tenants were under the safety of the wooden roof of the gazebo while others were pacing outside of the circle, their faces fraught with worry. Roxas saw the black-haired soldier’s eyes harden when he saw the blood spread through the cracked glass. 

 

“Is she.. did you find a body?” Prompto asked quietly, fearing his response. 

 

“If I did, I would’ve brought it here,” Roxas glowered at him. “She’s not dead. No way.”

 

“When was the last time anyone has seen her?” Larxene stepped to the front, looking at everyone in turn. 

 

“She left this morning,” Zexion answered her. “Very early.” His head hung down in shame. 

 

Demyx twisted his fingers nervously. “You don’t think that Xemnas came back, plotting something, and-“

 

“No,” Roxas cut him off, “he didn’t.”

 

“And how do you know this?” Axel spoke up. “Did you talk to him or something?” He added sarcastically. 

 

“Yeah, I did actually.”

 

“Roxas, what the hell-“

 

“He said he didn’t do this!” Roxas couldn’t trust the words coming out of his mouth. “And.. I believe him.”

 

“You wanna believe _him_ ?” Larxene scoffed. “Are you an idiot? I’d trust anyone- _anything_ , but him!”

 

“I’m just telling you what he said!” Roxas snapped and the Nobodies watched his anger grow to extremities. “Lady’s gone, let’s just focus on that and who took her. I found her phone near some footprints, she was trying to fight off whoever took her-” he hesitated before continuing, “-but they were sloppy.”

 

“She was drugged,” Sephiroth motioned to the chipped coffee cup resting near the other pieces of evidence. “She trusted him enough to take the drink he gave her.”

 

Angeal and Genesis shared a glance before Angeal faces Roxas. “Did you see anything else? Trails she made? She would’ve left behind something if she was being taken, something for us to follow. In Wutai, she left behind a trail of cloth from her own coat.”

 

“No,” Roxas shook his head, “the trail disappeared and I couldn’t pick up on anything after I found her phone.” 

 

“Shit,” Gladio cursed, “what now? That barista probably skipped town too. No way he would stay here knowing that all of us would go looking for her.”

 

Xion tugged on Angeal’s shirt, her eyes widened when she looked up at him. “Is Lady going to be okay?”

 

He didn’t reply, hesitating when he tried looking for an answer but came up with nothing. He didn’t want to give the girl nor himself false hope. 

 

“Looking around for him would be a waste of time,” Axel added. “What did he say about himself, any home or friends she would mention?”

 

“None,” Xigbar replied. “He would only stop by to see her and leave.”

 

“He’s been staking us out and waiting for the opportune moment,” Zexion whispered.

 

Larxene gritted her teeth. “I’ll kill that barista.”At the mention of the other man, Saïx’s jaw clenched into a hardened line. 

 

“Conjecture gets us nowhere,” Genesis scowled, “we need more to go on.”

 

“At the very least we know she is alive and unharmed,” Ignis pointed out.

 

“How do you know that?” Noctis asked him. 

 

Pointing up at the shimmering wall above them, the tenants followed Ignis’ upturned gaze. “As long as the barrier is up, then we know she is at the very least unscathed,” the tactician said with assured authority. 

 

Just as his words left his lips, the hexagonal guardian’s shimmer dulled down and a cracking sound echoed into the courtyard below. The tenants watched in palpable horror as the point where the barrier’s juxtaposed shapes were broken and rendered imperfect as fissures perforated throughout- as if someone had penetrated it with an invisible blade in the middle and brought ruin to the once proud wall. 

 

They could only watch as the barrier defected and left the Alstroemeria - as well as it’s tenants- defenseless. 

 

Terror, not for themselves, filled everyone who watched the barrier break. Those present had distress penetrate their beings -despite possessing a heart or not- thinking as to what happened to their landlady. 

 

*******

 

Lady gasped softly as the dagger left her lower right iliac region. She would have made more noise if her mind wasn’t so heavily influenced by the drugs that coursed violently within her veins. 

 

“I told you there would be consequences if you don’t behave, sweet girl,” a velvety voice coaxed her. 

 

Her eyes had trouble focusing on the man in front of her, his wine-colored hair and golden eyes the only splash of color in the darkness and she felt herself fall forward and getting caught in his open arms. A hand reached up to caress her hair as her breathing slowed and her eyes closed slowly, despite her struggle to keep them open. 

 

“Shh,” that voice said again.

 

 Who was he again? It started with an ‘a’... Before her fatigue washed over her, she muttered what she remembered, or thought to be his name. “Ardyn..”

 

“That’s correct,” he chuckled, “now rest until we get to our destination.”

 

With his voice carrying her into a deep sleep, her body went limp and relaxed in his arms. The last of her will to fight back leaving her as quickly as the aircraft that carried them away from the city of Elera. 


	51. LII

Lady woke with a jolt, her body cushioned on a relatively soft pillow and mattress; her sheets were flung off to the side as a layer of sweat covering her had seen to her body’s natural process of cooling her down during what felt like a fevered dream. Her hand immediately flew down to her lower right abdomen right where her appendix was. She looked at the freshly scarred skin, appearing as if it were a healed wound that had already undergone months of tissue recovery.  _ Impossible.  _ She had a faint memory of it being punctured. Did she heal it herself or.. 

 

She looked around the room, tall walls of dull metal made up the length of her dwelling. Oddly enough, her bed was placed right in the middle and naught else was in the room beside that. The only other thing besides the walls, floor, ceiling, and bed- was the large metal sliding door that already told her it would not open if approached. 

 

Sitting up, her body ached as if she swam against a riptide during a full moon. Her breath escaped her in ragged exhales as she tried to roll over but ultimately failed and decided to rest down on the bed. 

 

Lifting up a hand to her forehead, she desperately tried to conjure ice; thinking of all things cold and desolate as she did so. When her attempt proved fruitless, she tried again, her eyes squeezed shut. And again- nothing. 

 

“I’m afraid your magic is useless here.” 

 

The sliding doors opened and she rolled her head to the side to see a man walked in. Heavily dressed in layers of coats and shirts comprised of darkened hues that seemed tedious to take off; he took off his black fedora and held it to his chest. Bowing deeply, he looked up, his golden eyes filled with amusement as he walked over to her bedside and took a seat. She held her ground, her fist tightening up into the bed sheet to steel herself as she met his gaze. 

 

“What do you want with me,” she asked him. “Who are you?”

 

“Well,” he started, that amusement never leaving his eyes, “you know my name don’t you? You already know who I am.”

 

“Who are you really? Your name doesn’t indicate anything.”  _ Wait.  _ “You’re the guy who took Vincent, you-!”

 

He tutted, “Calm yourself, my mighty soldier, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” He stopped and set the fedora to his side, “But ask yourself- do you  _ really  _ want to know the answers you’ve so longed for? Even after your little revelation with what you’re doing to your precious friends?”

 

Lady felt her breath lodge in her throat, hardening into something she couldn’t swallow and she gripped onto the bed sheets tighter. “Is it true then?” She asked softly. 

 

“Do you want to find out?” Ardyn asked her. “Before you asked me who I was, dear girl, but ask yourself this: who are  _ you _ ?”

 

“I’m..” she shook her head, refusing to give out her real name. “You know my nickname, leave it at that.”

 

He looked up at the drab steel ceiling, appraising the room as if it were a furnished piece of art. “I bet you’re starving, poor thing.” He looked at her with a disarming smile and she dug her nails into her palm. Eli used to smile like that at her; this whole time was she really just falling for Ardyn’s smile instead? 

 

“Would you like dinner?” He asked her. 

 

The hollowness in her stomach screamed for sustenance. She bit her bottom lip, hesitating. Should she or should she not? If she wanted to escape then she would have to be smart about this and save whatever energy she could. On the other hand, she would be accepting food from  _ him _ and not know what’s in it.

 

“It’s not tainted this time I promise you,” he said when he saw her hesitation. 

 

“Oh, how considerate of you,” she sneered, her eyes narrowing. “You still haven’t told me what you want with me,  _ sir.” _

 

“Aw and here I thought we’ve already skipped the formalities, feel free to call me by my first name.”

 

“No thanks,” she said. 

 

“Suit yourself,” he simply shrugged, picking up his fedora and walking back towards the door, “dinner will be ready soon nonetheless, you’ll be escorted to the dining room shortly.”

 

The doors slid tightly shut after him and had the chamber she was imprisoned in not been one that was hollow and resounding- she would’ve yelled in frustration. 

 

*******

 

Sephiroth’s finger traced the white and green crystalline gem necklace that shimmered when it shifted. A souvenir of sorts from the geodes that held his mother’s lingering will; serving also as a reminder and physical link when he could not see her personally. It hung around his neck with a simple black string tied to keep it fast. Nowadays, it seemed he always fiddled with it when he was nervous, as a young boy would cling to his mother’s skirt in times of uncertainty.

Closing his eyes, he practically forced himself to enter a state of tranquility. Letting the problem transcend him and go far away so he could look at it in its entirety. 

 

_ Where is she?  _

 

“Sephiroth..” 

 

He opened his eyes, surprised to feel warm sunlight on his face when it had been raining for the past couple days. Looking around, he found himself to be sitting upright against a tree trunk with his mother close beside him. 

 

“Mother, you’re here,” he stated, looking down at the brunette woman beside him. Her head on his shoulder as they both laid comfortably in the tree’s leafy shade. 

 

“I’m always here with you, remember?” She chuckled, putting a hand on his. “A mother’s love always stays with her son, whether or not the son can’t see it.”

 

A small smile appeared on his lips that quickly disappeared when he became aware of how the sun felt sublime on his skin.  _ She  _ could be trapped somewhere dark, where  _ she  _ couldn’t feel the warm embrace of the fiery star. 

 

Lucrecia turned up to look at him, “Something ails you.”

 

“She’s gone,” he murmured, afraid that if he said it any louder, his despair might hear this and do something to make it worse. “I don’t know where she is.”

 

“Your Lady?” 

 

He nodded in response. “What do I do, mother?”

 

“I-“ Doctor Lucrecia Crescent was at a loss for words. “-I don’t know how to help find her, I’m sorry. I can only offer words of encouragement and my support.”

 

He nodded again. He understood. It wasn’t her fault. 

 

“At times like these, it’s good to let others know how you feel. Your friends- Angeal and Genesis, I’m sure they feel the same. It’s good to remind each other that you aren’t suffering alone.”  _ Misery loves company. _

 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “It would be easier if you’ve simply asked me help on your homework or how to tie your shoes or to read to you,” she laughed at the thought of her baby boy learning and growing, and her laugh subsided when she remembered she couldn’t even do these things for him when he was at that age where learning these skills were necessary. “Sephiroth?”

 

“Yes?” He replied.

 

“Stay strong for me, and stay steadfast with your beliefs. Do you know what you believe in?”

 

“I believe,” he paused, changing his words, “I  _ know  _ I love her and I will find her and bring her home.”

 

She smiled, holding his hand tighter. That’s my son, she thought. “Good, I love you Sephiroth,” she whispered. 

 

“As do I, mother.” 

 

Lucrecia’s spirit began to fade and he would soon find himself back in his bedroom, laying on his bed as he was before. What the good doctor failed to tell him during their conversation- was how she could not feel Jenova’s influence inside him anymore. A most curious thing. 

 

*******

 

Lady was sat down rather forcefully in a long mahogany dining table. Although there were a row of seats going down either side, there were only two that were occupied.

 

She pulled down the long white button-up that dangled over her lower thighs as well as the long white coat she was given to change out of her tattered clothes. She surmised not a lot of women stayed here, as the clothes were too loose and large on her, more fitting for a man rather than a woman. She also came to the conclusion that she was in the Empire’s custody as seen by the red logo embroidered over the breast pocket of her coat; two twin red dragons that curled over a red long sword, the famed and feared insignia of the Imperial City of Niflheim. 

 

If it weren’t the clothes that gave it away, it would definitely been the marching soldiers in armor with heavy rifles and the banners that were displayed proudly along the metal hallways. 

 

Despite the formality of the clothing items, it was still a makeshift dress, one she would expect to wear after a midnight session with an estranged lover- not being holed up in an Imperial base. 

 

Her eyes set next onto the plate of food in front of her. Hers being filled with char-grilled poultry, baked buns that looked like it would crunch delightfully if taken a bite out of, and a healthy offering of greens. She wanted to laugh, it reminded her of how Noctis avoided anything green on a plate like he would a plague. She missed him, she missed everyone. 

 

Curious, she thought, looking up to the only other that joined her for dinner. “You’re not eating?” She asked. 

 

The candles that lit the room flickered in his amber eyes as he gave her a soft smile. “I’m rarely hungry,” he said.

 

“So, what does the Empire want with me?” She asked, regarding the baked goods on her plate. They looked rather inviting but she abstained. 

 

“Smart girl,” he had that amused look on his face once more. “You’ve figured out your new home?”

 

She scoffed, pointing to the bold red insignia on her coat, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.” 

 

“But you are an observant one aren’t you? Why don’t you tell me what else you’re thinking of in that head of yours?”

 

“Why don’t you?” She met his gaze. “You promised me the truth.” The truth always eluded her by whatever means possible and now she felt as if it was finally in her hands, ready to be revealed. With a simple pull of a string, the curtain would rise and she would see, confirm,  _ realize _ \- what her part was in all of this.

 

“You should eat first before you hear your bedtime story, else you might feel nauseous,” he warned her, seemingly sincere. 

 

“All the more reason why I won’t.” 

  
“Very well,” he stood up and walked over to the door, “follow me then, if you please.” 

 

She passed along the table, waiting until his back was turned before her hand trailed across the smooth wood and hastily picked up a serrated carving knife meant for the meat platter. She gave it a good squeeze. It was small and of course looked rather suited for cutting meals than for battle, but it would have to do. Desperate times called for desperate measures she told herself as she tucked the knife into her sleeve with the blade pointed downwards. 

 

Lady followed Ardyn down the hall, the passing soldiers saluting and about-facing whenever he passed. He would merely nod or simply ignore them when they walked. She stared at the back of his head, no soldier would give respect like that to just anyone who walked by: this man was someone important. She cursed herself silently for not paying attention to the current news, if she had, it would give her a clue on the world outside of her apartment. As they walked, she tried to make mental markings in her head on the path they were on. This place appeared simple and straight-forward on the surface, but such underestimates would cost her if she wasn't careful; if it were anything like the Imperial base she broke Vincent out of, then this place would be just as confusing, that time there were four pairs of eyes that contributed to their escape; this time she was alone. 

 

They stopped when they reached another large sliding door, this one had a scanner and she watched as he placed his palm over it and the doors opened at his touch. Following him in, the first thing she noticed was the large hologram of all the continents present on the planet laid out on a long wooden table stretching from one side of the room to the other. A row of paintings were decorating down the walls of all sides of the room, the first painting on the left was of a beautiful woman showered in light pouring from the heavens, her blonde hair looked like gold silk that slid over ivory clouds. It looked as if she was bestowing a gift to the ones gathered below her, ready to receive whatever she gave with utmost gratitude. 

 

Ardyn caught her staring at it for an inordinate amount of time. “When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the goddess descends from the sky, wings of light and dark spread afar-”

 

“-She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting,” she finished for him in a hurried whisper, eyes looking up at the man. “Loveless, Act 1.”

 

“You know it by heart don’t you?”

 

She thought of Genesis and her heart felt heavy. She missed him so much. “It’s just a poem,” she said, “nothing more.” 

 

“Did you ever ask yourself if that poem was derived from mere fancies? Or from a prophecy long ago?”

 

_ Prophecies,  _ she grimaced at the word, as long as she has lived she always believed that the sole driving force for someone’s fate was the person who controlled it. No outside forces should force what you do with your life. “Are you saying you believe in them?”

 

“I could attest there may be a shred of truth in them,” he admitted as he walked by the paintings one by one, his gaze lingering on the one with the ethereal woman with golden hair bestowing her light to the world. Lady saw his shoulders slump slightly and then rise back up as if nothing had even bothered him in the first place. He continued his walk until he reached another painting portraying a small figure poised atop a flaming red asteroid suspended in space. A silver-skinned creature contrasted greatly against the fiery magma it was on, and when Lady walked closer, her breath hitched. 

 

From the portrait, staring back at her, were those damnable purple eyes. 

 

Adryn watched her as she approached, her hand going up and wanting to touch it; ultimately, she decided not to and only admired in horror from a distance. 

 

She swallowed, “That’s.. Jenova, isn’t it?” 

 

The silver creature riding the rock was headed straight for a planet that was lush with green and filled with blue, what she would safely assume was their planet if she remembered the reports correctly. Her eyes went to the next portrait; a vast farmland with ripe grains swayed in the canvased wind as farmers went about their day. They looked like they used magic to coax the seeds into sprouting from the fertile dirt, the whole thing would’ve been a quaint painting to hang in one’s room had it not been for the second half. Just on the other side of the painting was that same silver-skinned creature, except it was now in a village. It seemed to look different from the previous painting, it had the appearance of a young man with short brown hair holding another villager up with wisps of black smoke exiting it’s hand and into the other’s mouth. 

 

Lady walked without Ardyn leading her now, the next portrait showed the creature again. Except it looked like a small girl with rust-red hair braided into a braid with a dainty pink ribbon. She stood in the middle of another village that was in flames. Faces contorted in fear and pain were shown without censorship, fire catching onto them as easily as it did to the straw huts of the village. They all seemed to come alive, pushing against the frames of the painting in a desperate attempt to get out of the burning environment; the only thing remaining still was the small girl, unbothered by it all. 

 

Lady took a step back, the figures shown in the paintings were all different. They only shared one trait in common: purple irises filled with malice and indifference to those suffering around them. 

 

“About two-thousand years ago, an alien lifeform crashed onto our lovely planet,” Ardyn stood beside her, “you may know it as Jenova. But Jenova was not it’s true name, instead your scientists chose to label it as they do.” He motioned to the other two previous paintings, “It takes on the forms of loved ones to gain trust and invade their homes- their towns and their villages and their cities. It would always leave those behind afflicted with a disease that would corrupt their bodies and revert their humanity to nothing until they became monsters.” 

 

He pointed to another painting beside him, illustrating horrendous creatures that still had vestiges of what made them human. Floating above them was another creature that took the form of a slender young woman with flowing silver hair. Two large black wings sprouted out of her back, both of her eyes looking down at her creations as they attacked numerous people. 

 

“There’s a lot of paintings aren’t there?” He mused and she was sure he was talking to himself. “This is but only one room of many. There are so many supposed prophecies that plague this world, it’s almost laughable.” 

 

Continuing, he looked at her to gauge her response. “Jenova landed on this planet, carrying a disease that brought darkness to this world.” He pointed to another painting, one with towering spirals and floating airships; technology she didn’t think possible back then, “Only till the Cetra or Ancients, the race that your scientists have confused to what Jenova is- brought a stop to the foreign threat.” He was almost reaching the end of the row of paintings displayed on the wall. “But alas, even with the Cetra’s technology and ingenious, their fight with Jenova almost drove them to extinction when at last the creature was slain.” 

 

“Of course,” he chuckled. “This one won’t have a happy ending.” He motioned to the next which portrayed Jenova, still in the form of a young woman, standing in front of what looked like a large kingdom in the distance. “By the time it was slain, it’s disease already infected the world and turned more than half of the human population into monsters. It was so detrimental, that even the mighty Six decided they needed to do something about it. A war between gods’ and monsters was born and almost brought the world to its knees. After, a few of the Cetra survived while humanity struggled to recover, still fighting the disease that slowly ate away at them.”

 

“What does this all have to do with me?” She asked and regretted it when his eyes flashed with grim satisfaction. 

 

“The gods’ sent forth a healer in the world, one that would ascend the throne and become king,” he said as he took a step toward her. “To take the disease left behind by that alien life form so that its people may prosper.”

 

“And?” She took a step back, her eyes flashing up to the black mass leaving the possessed boy and entering another. She remembered the previous president of Shinra’s face twisted with fear as she did the same to him. 

 

“The disease wasn’t healed, instead it was merely absorbed into the body of the healer, corrupting him, corroding his chances of ascension.”

 

He took another step toward her and she took one back. 

 

“It then made the very people he healed turn on him, his gods reject him, his own brother cast him out and labeled him as a monster and locked away in a repulsive prison for two-thousand years.”

 

And another. 

 

“And, to the gods’ humor, he was granted life eternal. Undying and unfeeling for the rest of eternity, until the one ordained by the Crystal fulfills his destiny and destroys the usurper.”

 

“An immortal?” She said, feeling the edge of a table behind her. She had run out of room to walk back. “Don’t be absurd, no one lives forever.” 

 

A wicked grin appeared on his face, “Jenova lives on inside of you, sweet girl, and soon you will become the dark harbinger to bring upon destruction to this world once more.”

 

_ That’s it. _ She had enough at this point. Her left foot was planted firmly on the ground while her other was poised on her tip toes, ready to push off. She let her sleeve open out and the knife fall until she caught the handle, bringing her other hand to back the handle as she pushed herself forward until the knife buried directly in his chest. Unrelenting, she shoved harder until she was sure the surface of his sternum was fractured and she could feel the knife’s point dig into the fleshy pericardial membrane. 

 

Blood ran down her wrists and she watched as Ardyn stumbled back. He coughed, letting out a low grunt as his hand fumbled to grip the knife embedded in his chest. Then, much to her horror, he let out an amused chuckle that roared to boisterous laughter that echoed in the room. Standing upright, he took the knife out and she watched as the freshly inflicted hole was covered with an oily black mass and smoke, it soon retracted and revealed smooth skin where the hole used to be. The white sclera of his eyes turned black like the void as his irises glowed a piercing yellow, black oil seemed to drip from his smiling face and the hideous visage quickly disappeared. 

 

_ Impossible.. I stabbed his heart!  _ She was speechless; her mouth hanging open when she watched him stand back up. The attempt on his life was swatted away and treated only as a minor wound that wouldn’t even require aid. She wanted to pinch herself to see if this was all just another bad dream. 

 

Gripping the knife, he approached her and she bumped back into the table again as he reached for her throat. Her breath was choked out and he slammed her onto the table that only made her lose more of her precious oxygen. With one hand wrapped around his wrist to alleviate his grip, another was posed to land a punch on his face; he brought the butt of the dagger down to slam against her wrist. The combined force of his hit and the table pushing her carpals together made her release her fist. 

 

He then flipped the knife in his hand with the blade facing downwards; widened eyes watching as he forcefully brought it down to pierce the middle of her palm and pinning it to the table. The pained scream she wanted to let out was cut off shortly as he tightened the grip around her throat. Only when she tasted iron run down her tongue did she realize that she was biting down on her lip hard enough for it to break through the skin. 

 

Relenting, Ardyn released her but left the knife in her palm. As soon as he got up, she reached for the blade and pulled it out of her hand. Panting, she sat up on the table as Ardyn grabbed her palm and held it there while she struggled against him. His eyes trained on the gaping hole that separated the sinews of her hand as the same oily black mass that healed him earlier appeared on her and healing the wound as it did him. 

 

“Don’t be afraid, this is  _ your  _ disease after all,” he cooed in a mocking tone, the curled black mass looking similar to the artist renditions on the walls. 

 

“What are you talking about?” She said through gritted teeth and suddenly the purple eyes of all those displayed on the paintings seemed to stare directly at her. “I-I’m not Jenova!”

 

“This says otherwise,” he raised her freshly healed palm closer to her. “Four years ago you were made subject to an experiment that implanted you with Jenova’s cells rather than mimicking it as they did with those other three.” He was so close to her that she could see the dark flecks of amber spread out across the honey gold of his irises. “To recreate Jenova, Project SIREN, that’s what you are and so you have become.”

 

“You’re lying!” She pushed him away and he allowed her, stepping back as she walked down the row of paintings, ignoring their story-telling illustrations. “They gave me Jenova’s powers, I’m not really- I can’t be..”

 

The room seemed vibrate around her, her head throbbed painfully that increased with every step he took towards her. “It’s almost convenient that those lot of empty husks came into your life, no? It makes them easier to control since they have nothing to fill themselves with and so your cells take place where there hearts should be.”

 

She looked up at him through blurred vision distorted by hot, angry tears. Stepping around him so that his back was turned towards the wall. 

 

“You’ve been curating your own army, completely devoted to you and compelled by the cells that call to them from within and they don’t even realize that the one they look to with such certainty and hope-” he reached forward to bring her face close to his, “-is actually a mere monster.”

 

“Liar,” she said softly, tears running down her cheeks and she forgot the reason as to why she was crying. Ripping her eyes away from his face, she looked at the painting behind him instead. It portrayed two men, one in white and one in black. The one in black had dark blue hair and faced the one in white with long wine-colored hair. Her eyes shifted back to the man currently in front of her. Looking back and forth at the man in the painting and at Ardyn; in a split second she could see Ardyn’s hair grow longer, soft curls framed the sides of his strong face and his darkened coat changed into a humble white robe, a lump then formed in her throat. “You- is that you in that painting?” She whispered. 

 

Without looking back, he smiled and released her face. Taking a step back, he bowed in a similar fashion to when he first greeted her when she woke up. 

 

“I suppose  _ genuine  _ greetings are in order since we’ve laid out bare to each other, hm?” He looked up at her, his face proud and set in an almost regal manner. “Ardyn Lucis Caelum is my proper name.” 

 

_ Lucis Caelum?! That’s.. Noctis’..  _

 

“Yes,” he said as if to answer her inaudible question, “after my dearest brother Somnus absconded the throne from me, he cast me out and struck my name from the records- cementing my identity in history as nothing more but a monster named ‘Adagium’.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?”

 

“Because my dear,” he approached her and cradled her face with both hands. “You and I are the same, made into monsters by forces that worked against us while we only did what we could to serve others.”

 

“I’m not-” she cried, attempting to push him away. Her fingers felt the skin that was exposed from where he was stabbed. “I’m not a monster, I just wanted to help them, I wanted-“

 

“It doesn’t matter what you want,” his voice was low and his eyes darkened as he spoke. “All  _ I  _ wanted was to live in solace with the gods’ blessing and to be with my betrothed- but we all don’t always get what we want.” His thumb grazed under her eye and caught a stray tear, “All you wanted was to be with the ones you care about but that was taken away from you, same as I. Don’t you see? We’re the same.”

 

“What do you want from me?!” 

 

A smile appeared on his lips. “Help me with my problem, and I shall help you with yours and we can both benefit from each other. A happy ending for the both of us, doesn’t that sound delightful?”

 

*******

 

Genesis set his sword against the wall of his room, taking a seat at the foot of his bed. Glancing at his clock, he grimaced when not even a minute had passed since he last checked. Was he really that jittery? He scoffed in response to himself. Falling back onto his bed, he looked up at the ceiling. Another sigh escaped his lips. Dormancy, how he hated it. He wanted to do something, anything, damn it, anything! But all he could do was wait and the infernal waiting was driving him towards madness. 

 

Getting up, he reached for his well-used copy of Loveless. Reciting the first act in his head without even opening to see it. When his eyes fell upon the leather bound cover, he flipped to the first page, sighed, and immediately closed it. Usually reading the vague and provocative lines provided him with a blissful white noise that silenced all other worries in his head while he ruminated over the meaning of the verses. But now, he thought as he set the book back down on his nightstand, now my head is filled with thoughts of  _ her.  _

 

He murmured her real name, letting the vowels and consonants flow from his lips as a choir singer would with practiced skill. His heart then began to feel heavy and he clutched his chest. 

 

_ Please be okay, please be okay.  _ He kept repeating. He promised himself silently on that day when he held her in his arms after so long: that he would want to spend the rest of his life with her after all of this was over. He looked toward the clock and grimaced when he saw that only a mere minute had passed.

 

This would be a long day. 

 

*******

 

Lady hugged her knees to her chest, laying on her side on the bed. She was tired but couldn’t sleep. This type of tired was one that wasn’t easily alleviated by just sleeping and so she stayed up, occasionally pinching herself to remind herself to stay alert. But,  _ what was the point?  _

 

She wouldn’t allow them to get close to her again in fear of what Ardyn said would be true. Would they even ever find her? She didn’t know where she was, she didn’t even know what time it was right now or whether it was raining or snowing or sunny outside of her dull metal room. 

 

_ Perhaps _ , she closed her eyes, relaxing her body,  _ perhaps it’s better if I stay in this cage.  _

 

_ “You and I are the same.” _

 

*******

 

Angeal brought the whetstone across his sword with patient strokes, it was all he could do right now. The tension around the Alstroemeria had raised considerably the past couple days. Not to mention how he felt himself. Passing by her apartment door made his stomach turn. He had lost her, again. 

 

Her existence was beginning to imitate that of smoke, every time he tried to hold onto her, she would merely slip through the cracks of his fingers and he would be forced to wait when she would show up again. 

 

It was unbearable but he has to remain calm. 

 

Xion already knocked on their door in a total of four times today. She would come to him, eyes wide with fear and asked if they found anything that would help their search for  _ her _ . Four times she knocked and asked- and four times he had to disappoint her. 

 

Setting down the sword against the wall and made sure that the handle wouldn’t slide down. He chuckled when he thought of what  _ she  _ would say to him if there was a skid mark against the wall due to his large sword falling over. His small laugh disappeared when he realized how he missed hearing her voice. Sitting back down on the bed, he buried his face in his hands and let his heart weight him down into his despondency. 

 

*******

 

_ I, II, III, IV…  _

 

Lady choked on her tears but couldn’t make any other audible sounds when she felt the blade press harshly into her skin until the flesh broke at the seams. Not deep enough to pierce anything below the dermis layer but enough to leave a lasting scar. 

 

“You’ve stopped counting, dearest, remember to count,” Ardyn coaxed her, brushing her cheek with his finger. With his other hand held the knife that dragged across her arms. The same knife she sneaked from the dining table to attack him with. 

 

“Five.. six.. seven,” she counted, her voice shaky.

 

_ VIII, IX, X, XI… _

 

She was counting her head again and he looked up at her expectantly and before he could open his mouth to reprimand her she immediately began counting aloud to which he hummed in approval. 

 

“Twelve.. thirteen.. fourteen..”

 

“That was perfect, now once more,” Ardyn’s voice was smooth like honey and it contrasted greatly against the rough ridges of the serrated knife that danced forcefully on her skin. 

 

Time was a mystery to her. It felt like they’ve been doing this for hours. The way he carved up her skin was so graceful, she couldn’t even feel the entirety of the cut before he finished until she felt a sharp sting to signal his finished work. Looking at her other arm she saw the numerals I, II, III- all the way to the number XIII. 

 

“Ah, but we forgot the other one didn’t we, the extra?” He sighed, tutting and shaking his head. “Her name escapes me.” 

 

_ Xion.  _

 

“Xion, that’s right,” he affirmed it verbally as well as making another mark on her skin. He sat back, admiring his work and tossed the knife onto the bed. The white sheets it landed on quickly absorbed the red liquid and turned it darker, looking almost black. Another tear escaped her and he was quick to catch it before it hit her pillow.

 

“Your tears are exquisite,” he purred. “But don’t fret; you have your friends with you,” he motioned toward the red numerals bleeding on her arms. “And of course,” he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “you have me.”

 

With that he stood up and Lady felt cold, her body feeling like it was plunged deep into the ocean’s abyss. “I’ll be back to check on you later, dear girl,” she heard him say, followed by the door sliding close. 

 

Moving her body to her side, she winced when she felt the open cuts move and she was reminded just how many were on her arms when she moved even at the slightest degrees. Another tear fell down her face and there was no one was there to catch it this time. She inhaled. A whine wanted to escape her but she held it in. What use would it be to cry for help here? 


	52. LII

“Whaddaya want, book boy,” Xigbar gave a quick glance over his shoulder to see Zexion’s hair. It was messier than usual and he could see the dark circles that stood out against his skin. “You should take better care of yourself,” Xigbar mumbled, “she would scold me if she saw you looking like  _ that. _ ”

 

“Xigbar,” Zexion stepped in, closing the door behind him. “How do you feel about her?”

 

Sighing, he turned around and faced the other. Xigbar reached around his head to tug on the band holding his ponytail back. “I  _ feel _ the same as everyone here I suppose-“

 

“I’m asking  _ you _ , not about everyone,” Zexion cut him off.

 

“Why are you asking me this now, kiddo? You already know the answer to that question.”

 

“Because,” said Zexion, “I want to know if what you feel is real or is it a product of something.. else.”

 

Xigbar raised an eyebrow and chuckled bitterly. “You think it’s her cells don’t you?”

 

“How did you-“

 

“I’m nosy, kiddo, remember?” He tapped a finger against his forehead. “Got it memorized?” He snorted at his own sorry attempt at mimicking Axel. “But to answer your question, no, I don’t think it is.”

 

“What is it then?” Zexion demanded an answer. “Out of all of us who’ve been in the Organization, Larxene’s the closest to getting her heart fully revived, and it’s because of when she carried Lady’s heart for that fight. I need to know- if it’s her heart, or her cells, or just  _ her _ .”

 

Xigbar looked up at the ceiling, stuffing his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. Finally taking out his phone, he showed Zexion the picture he took of her so long ago that he still saved as his screensaver. Suspended in holographic stars and lights, her laugh was genuine and she looked almost ethereal, like an angel lost in the multi-colored dusts of space. 

 

“I felt something when I saw her like this,” Xigbar muttered, “I don’t know if it really was because of her cells but I knew something changed in me when I started seeing her more. I wanted to see her smile. What about you, book boy?”

 

Zexion pondered on his answer. “When she gave me a home, even after all of those things I did to her- she still believed in me and took me in.”

 

“Just like Even and ol’ Ansem the Wise did when you were a kid, huh?”

 

“...Yes.”

 

Xigbar walked past him, patting him on the shoulder, “We’ll find her. We just gotta keep trying.”

 

*******

 

Lady looked up from her spot under the dimly lit tree to see a young girl with light blonde hair and a white dress look around frantically. They were feet apart if not closer and Lady stepped out of the shadows to let herself be seen better.

 

“Lady?” She called out, still failing to notice that the person she called out for was right in front of her. “Lady where are you?”

 

“Naminé..” Lady called back weakly, “I’m here.”

 

Naminé turned around towards Lady’s direction and her eyes looked straight through her. Blue eyes widened in confusion- the girl turned back around to look for her. 

 

“Lady, answer me!” Naminé cried into the woods with only her voice echoing back and returning her plea. “Where are you?”

 

Before she could reach out for the girl, a hand grabbed her and pulled her back into the clutches of the shadows.

 

Waking up with a jolt; the first thing she saw were golden eyes flanked by wisps of wine-colored hair. “You looked troubled, so I woke you up,” he said in an apologetic tone. “I thought you might want breakfast.”

 

_Breakfast?_ _Is it morning already? I felt like I only slept only minutes._

 

“There won’t be knives to butter your bread with I’m afraid, but you’ve only yourself to blame for that,” he tutted at her with the authority of a school teacher that just caught her cheating on an exam. She got up, wincing when her arms began to burn painfully in small slivers all across her skin. Looking down, her eyes widened when her white bedsheets were now stained with splotches of differently hued crimson. 

 

_ They haven’t healed??... But why?  _

 

Lady’s eyes were slow to meet his and when they did, she felt a knot form in her chest. His lips curled into a smile, leaning forward and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I believe you’d enjoy a hot shower too, wouldn’t you, pet?”

 

_ Pet _ . The word sent shivers up her arms. The late President Shinra would call her that more often than her actual name. In one way she would be grateful that her name would never leave his foul mouth, but in another she hated feeling like nothing more than an underling that he had under his thumb. And now, looking at the man before her, the nickname ‘pet’ had so much more of a repulsive feel to it. This man, if she could call him that, wanted nothing more but to subjugate her into submissiveness. Time would tell if his attempts would work, but she didn’t want to stay long enough to find out.  _ But where else can I go?  _ She bit down on her lip to prevent herself from speaking his name and he looked eager to finally have her say it- but she declined him the pleasure. It was the only form of power she had over him; and she wanted to keep some form of control no matter how small it was. 

 

Sitting up straighter, she felt her empty stomach scream at her while her head felt full with nausea. Holding her head, she tried to swing her legs over the bed and pushed herself off. When her body was standing up straight on the metallic floor, she felt her knees buckle and tried to catch herself on the bed frame. To her displeasure she felt Ardyn’s arms catch her, the fact that he pulled her so easily into him was a testament to his strength- or just how disoriented she was. There was no way she would feel this weak after a day of not eating..  _ right?  _

 

Balancing her on his knee, poised like a doll, he lifted her chin with his finger. When her face was level with his, his finger trailed down over her clavicle and down her left arm where the tips of his digits dug lightly into her still-open cuts. She winced again and he hushed her. “If you behave I’ll give you something for your wounds, my dear.”

 

“How long do you plan to keep me here..” she whispered so faintly that he had to turn his ear towards her. 

 

“You tell me, dearest,” he answered, his voice as hushed as hers. “You can stay for as long as you like. After all, where else would you run off too?” His palm ran over the underside of her forearm, “These are the arms of a monster, and it can only be embraced by those akin to you such as I.” 

 

With that, Ardyn got up and walked towards the door, he turned around. “Well? Will you follow? I assume you don’t want to stay in those filthy sheets for long.” Without a word, Lady got up and silently followed him out the door. As they walked down the hallway, her bare feet felt frozen against the polished metal. 

 

“If you step out of line once more, I’ll sever the nerves in your feet,” he said, his tone laced with icy coldness and she knew he would keep his word. She did her best to keep up with him, feeling a figurative leash tugging her alongside him as they walked. 

 

Her head throbbed with pain and she felt the air entering her lungs taste like acid on her tongue. She stopped and leaned on the wall to hold herself up. Ardyn stopped and turned around, his cold golden eyes looking at her and she felt a sense of panic. “I just need to catch my breath,” she told him almost pleadingly.  _ Don’t hurt me again. _ Her head throbbed once more and she held it in her hand, putting her forehead against the cool wall in an attempt to alleviate the pressure building up inside her frontal lobe. Usually she would try to identify the signs and symptoms of whatever ailed her but everytime she tried to intake to find out was wrong was immediately regurgitated when a new wave of sickening nausea washed over her. 

 

“My dearest,” he purred, picking her up with ease in his arms and she was once again surprised at how deceptively strong he was. Assuming he was bulky in size only because of the layers he wore, but now as she was cradled in his arms she could feel the hardened mass of muscle that lay just below his coat. It felt like the arms of a seasoned warrior.  _ A warrior, a healer, a fallen king… _ It was just added to the list of reasons as to why she wouldn’t be able to escape without losing at least something to someone with such an extended résumé. “If you require my help, you need only but ask,” he said softly and his tone was that of a secret lover. And it made her sick. 

 

Although she admitted that their trek was made much shorter as Ardyn carried her swiftly into his room and plopped her down on his bed. He soon left her and went towards what she assumed was the bathroom. Tucking her legs closer to her chest, she looked up at the high ceilings and walls. This room looked no different from her own, save for the fact that it contained much more furniture and four sets of extensive bookshelves that spanned from the floor to the ceiling. The bed she sat on was neatly made up except for the indentation she made on it when she was dropped. The couches, desks, chairs all shared the look of being untouched for a certain amount of time. This room didn’t look lived in, but then again- she assumed  _ Ardyn _ didn’t do much living at all. 

 

“Leave your clothes on the floor, my dear and someone will fetch you new ones.”

 

Lady hastily got up before he could get any closer and she almost regretted it as her blood rushed to her head and made her dizzy; clutching the stained coat around her shoulders, she carefully stepped around him and towards the bathroom. 

 

“I’ll be waiting out here should you need me,” he said.  _ Don’t you mean if I step out of line again?  _ She thought, biting down her remark.

 

Stepping into the bathroom, only an opaque sliding door separated this room from the other and she leaned against it- happy to have at least  _ some  _ type of barrier between them, no matter how fragile. Her fingers began unbuttoning her shirt and she frowned when they were shaking. Stopping, she clenched her fists and opened them- repeating this motion until she could feel them shaking much less. The shirt followed by the coat fell around her in a heap of white and red and she wondered when it got that filthy. How long has it been? She hadn’t seen a clock for days, only the passing of soldiers and Ardyn’s timely visits were her only means of keeping track. 

 

The shower was already on and she reached for the water carefully and became pleasantly surprised to find that it was the temperature she usually liked. Stepping in, she flinched when the hot water seeped into her open cuts and dripped liquid crimson down her legs. Her hands reached up to comb through her hair and she froze when she felt how tangled, matted, and  _ grimy  _ it was.  _ No,  _ she shook her head,  _ it couldn’t have been that long.  _

 

*******

 

Larxene was at her wits end when she saw how wilted the flowers in the Alstroemeria’s gardens became. She already tried summoning a storm to keep it watered but some wilted completely because of that. She also tried letting it soak in the sun but watched in poorly contained annoyance when more flowers died. She threw the book she retrieved from Lady’s room, the one containing all of her anecdotes on how to keep a garden alive. The book clattered to the ground and flipped to a page where doodles of flowers with badly shaped bees and butterflies flitted across the page. 

 

Scowling, she picked it back up and dusted it off. Half a mind to apologize when she set it, lightly this time, on the table under the gazebo. 

 

“You look like you’re having quite the predicament,” Marluxia hummed as he took a seat next to the table, his eyes regarding the book on gardening. “Never knew you had a green thumb, Larxene.” 

 

“I don’t,” Larxene grimaced, “I’m only doing this because-” she stopped. What was she doing this for? “For her,” she finished, turning back to the garden. “She’ll be sad and she’s gonna whine about her garden not being taken care of and blah blah blah.” Larxene turned back around to see a smug smile on Marluxia’s face. 

 

“You miss her as much as we do, admit it,” he said. 

 

“Shut up and leave me alone.” 

 

“If I leave you alone, you’ll just end up killing every plant on the premises,” he sighed. “They’re delicate blooms, so you must exercise caution.”

 

“Delicate? More like sensitive,” she scoffed, pointing to the book next to him. “I’ve read that thing and it’s telling me some need more sunlight than others while others need more water and some can only grow in certain soil? How can she keep track of all these stupid flowers and keep up with their needs without complaining?!”

 

Then it hit her and with the way Marluxia’s face softened, it seemed to hit him too.

 

Lady took care of her garden like the way she took care of them: by paying attention to their individual needs and making sure they had everything in order to grow and thrive. 

 

Inhaling deeply, she turned around and focused on a spot on the ground in front of her. Immediately, a corridor of darkness was conjured and waiting to be used. 

 

“Where are you going?” He called after her as she walked. 

 

“To get help,” Larxene muttered, letting the inky black take her in as she disappeared into it. “I’m tired of waiting around.”

 

*******

 

Terra walked the zenful mountain paths of the Land of Departure; making his way towards the spiraling towers of the building that housed generations of Keyblade wielders and master. His eyes looked up to see the way the golden chains held the castle-like building fast to twin peaks on either side of it. It glinted in the morning sun and he puffed his cheeks to let out a swath of air. Tomorrow was the day.

 

“Terra!” 

 

The brunet turned around to see a young boy with spiked blond hair and bright blue eyes bound towards him. At his side was a young slender woman with chin-length azure hair and eyes that were equally colored as her tresses. Both of them wearing the trademark armor of one who wanted to fulfill their role and undergo rigorous training to become a Keyblade Master. 

 

“Aqua, Ven,” Terra greeted them as they got closer. “Some session, huh?”

 

“Don’t change the subject,” Ventus pouted, “you said you were gonna tell us more about that girl you’ve been hanging out with.”

 

Aqua grinned, bumping Terra on the shoulder, “You’re blushing.”

 

“Wha- no I’m not!” Terra suddenly found the grass-capped peaks dotting the horizon to be extremely fascinating. When blond spikes rose from his peripheral he sighed and looked down to see Ventus again with that usual puppy-like expression. 

 

“Come on, you said you’d tell me about her! Show me a picture at least,” Ventus cried. 

 

“Ven, maybe Terra doesn’t want to tell us just yet,” Aqua said softly. “You’ll tell us when you’re ready, right Ter?” 

 

“Come onnn, you were gone for two weeks on vacation with this girl, I wanna see!” Ventus was relentless. 

 

“Fine, hold on,” Terra seceded, taking his phone from his pocket. He had it on silent this whole time ever since the Mark of Mastery exam was coming. He wanted to focus; that’s what he told himself anyways. In truth there was a feeling of guilt that shadowed him for not protecting Lady properly and now she would carry a keyhole-shaped scar for as long as she lived. Whenever he saw a glimpse of that silver colored scar on her, he would be hit with a thousand regrets. It was his Keyblade that struck her after all. 

 

Looking through his phone, his eyes narrowed when he saw the numerous text messages and calls from different tenants in the Alstroemeria. Thinking nothing of it, he scrolled through their group chat and was surprised to find no one else was in it. Usually there would be at least four or five people chatting in it but it was empty and this was a first for him. Thumbing through, he found a picture of Lady when they were coming back from vacation at Heron Point. On the train, they found numerous ways to keep themselves occupied and so Lady and Terra were playing cards against Luxord and Ignis. Her face was still with concentration while she looked at the deck in her hands. Terra’s face was stoic as well as they both wondered how they would play their hand without looking like an absolute fool. 

 

Terra smiled at the photo, even when she was focusing on something so trivial as their little card game- she still gave it her all. Opting to show Ventus another picture, he saw one that showed Lady sitting in the midst of her garden. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead and some of her hairs stuck to her face, but her smile was radiant and the hard work she put off in her garden showed. The sun draped her in a blanket of light and she looked happy and content. Flipping his phone to show Ventus, the boy took it and his eyes searched the picture hurriedly. Soon his thumb flipped through all the pictures that were collected in the group chat that was made up with all the guys. The pictures were either them doing something that they thought was impressive or sneaked shots of Lady going about her everyday life. 

 

“Hey, don’t snoop around like that!” Terra made a grab for his phone and Ventus swerved out of the way, still swiping through it. “Ven, c’mon.”

 

Aqua strode over to Ventus and snatched the phone out of the boys hands, giving a quick glance at the landlady in the pictures before handing it back to Terra. 

“Sorry,” Ventus grinned sheepishly, “I’ve never seen someone so beautiful.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aqua put her hands on her hips and faked a pout. When Ventus opened his mouth to quickly apologize, Aqua laughed and ruffled his hair. “I’m kidding.” She turned to Terra, “She seems like a kind person, will you ever introduce us to her?”

 

A flash of pain crossed Terra’s eyes. The thought of himself bringing her here and having something happen to her made him re-evaluate his own strength. What if something happens to her again, what if she gets hurt and he can’t protect her, what if  _ he’s  _ the one that hurts her again-

 

“Who are you?!” Aqua said, a swatch of pink petals swirling around her arms as she summoned her Keyblade. Terra turned around to see a corridor of darkness appear in front of them, that didn’t surprise him at all, the thing that got him was who he saw walk through it.

 

“Hey,” Larxene walked towards Terra as Aqua and Ventus brandished their Keyblades at the Nobody. Larxene’s bright green eyes glared at the other two and then at Terra. “Tell your  _ friends _ to put their oversized tools down.”

 

“What?” Aqua looked at Terra with disbelief. “But-”

 

“She’s okay, she’s..” he looked for a word to describe what exactly Larxene was. “An ally.”

 

Aqua was silent for a minute, “She uses the darkness, Terra, are you-”

 

“Will you two shut up,” Larxene snarled, “I don’t have much patience left and I don’t feel like getting tested right now.” She then slapped away the tip of Aqua’s Keyblade and glared at Ventus until the boy put his down as well. She faced Terra and didn’t waste time getting into her next segment. “She’s gone.”

 

Terra was confused, “Who-”

 

“ _ Lady! _ Lady is  _ gone! _ ” Larxene couldn’t help her voice that was rising. “I need-” she hesitated, “-we need help looking for her.” 

 

“What? How?!”

 

“It’s been a week already. We’re looking for the guy who took her but we don’t know where he is and so far nothing’s come up. Can you help or not?” 

 

“I-” Terra sighed. “I can’t… Not as I am right now. I already failed her once and I can’t risk failing her again. I need to get stronger. Once I pass the Mark of Mastery and become an official Keyblade Master then I can-”

 

Larxene raised her hand up and slapped Terra square on the cheek, his head turning towards the direction her hand sent it to. “You’re just a coward,” Larxene growled. “Who cares about becoming official, your strength should come from here-” she jabbed a finger on his chest where his heart was, “-not some stupid test. Whatever, I made a mistake asking help from you idiots.” She backed away as another corridor of darkness opened up behind her. “So much for help from the Keyblade’s chosen ones.”

 

Before she walked inside her portal, she gave the three of them one last look from over her shoulder. “If  _ I _ was chosen by the Keyblade, then I wouldn’t hesitate helping those out in need, no matter what the cost.” With her final words, Larxene disappeared into the darkness. 

 

*******

 

Lady wrapped her body with a small towel she found in the bathroom, stepping back out into Ardyn’s room she looked around for the man and breathed a sigh of relief when she found herself to be alone. The next thing she looked for was the clothes that she was promised, her eyes scanning the room for any folded outfits that she could immediately change into. She froze when she felt a presence behind her and a heavy coat weighed down her shoulders. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

 

“There, you look much better! And I surmise you feel better too?” He murmured close to her ear and she shivered, pulling the coat around her closer. Stepping away to look back at him, she didn’t dare meet his gaze until he lifted her chin up. “What’s wrong, pet? Don’t tell me you’re scared?”

 

“My arms,” she started carefully, “they still haven’t healed... You.. you said you’d give me something for them?”

 

“Making demands now are we? When have you grown so bold, my dearest?” A coy smile played on his lips and she immediately averted her gaze, wondering if her approach was the wrong one. 

 

“Yes, I will give you something to heal yourself with, but-” he walked around her towards the middle of the room and she immediately followed. He saw this action and his smile grew while his eyes flashed wickedly. “You must be starving, dear. Come and sit with me.”

 

He motioned to the table in front of the black leather couch. A platter of golden toast and sunny-side eggs were stacked out on one plate while variants of seared sausages were assorted on another. An elegant white tea pot was in the center with two tea cups and a small bowl of cubed sugar. Taking a seat on the couch, she tried not to seem too eager and concealed her voracious hunger. She buttoned up the coat he gave to her, involuntarily inhaling his scent with each little movement she made. She grimaced when her hands began shaking again and she tried to grip them until she felt the tips of her nails digging into her palm.  _ What’s wrong with me? Why am I shaking so much?  _

 

“Allow me,” Ardyn said as he knelt down in front of her and helped her button up his coat till it covered the front half of her body. His build was more visible without the heavy coat concealing it; his shoulders were squared and strong. He had removed the scarf that was usually wrapped around his neck and all that was left were his pants, shirt, waistcoat, and unsurprisingly- another smaller coat. He had layers upon layers and at first she found it almost comical, but now she wondered why he needed to conceal himself that much. He was covered head to toe, even the hands that buttoned up the coat for her were concealed with gloves. Did he need those layers for protection? 

 

Once he was done fixing her newfound outfit, he sat on the couch opposite from her and started pouring the tea into her cup and his. Setting the teapot down, he made a move to drink from his cup first; sipping and taking a large yet quiet gulp. His eyes watched her from over the rim and she hesitated as her fingers wrapped around the handle to lift it to her lips. An herbal blend wafted into her nose and she inhaled gratefully; it smelled like flowers, but she couldn’t pinpoint what type it was. Drinking it, she could see herself being transported somewhere far with how the beverage soothed her. 

 

“Sylleblossoms,” said Ardyn as he set his cup down. “A genus of flowers that grow only in the region of Tenebrae. Legends claim that these flowers hold a connection to the line of Oracles and of House Fleuret.”

 

He began forking pieces of toast, eggs, and sausages onto her plate as he continued, “The Oracles are supposedly there to help the king, serving as a conduit to the gods, did you know that?”

 

Once he set the last egg down, Lady set her cup down. “It seems like you enjoy the sound of your own voice,” she said, her eyes darkening. She wanted to slap herself when she saw the way Ardyn’s eyes quickly glanced up at her. Now she’d done it. 

 

To her surprise he simply chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “I see you still haven’t lost that fire yet,” he said with a smile. “But I do believe that even the brightest of fires die down eventually.”

 

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, cursing herself for even opening her mouth at all. As she reached for a piece of toast, she cried out when her arms began burning; feeling as if a wildfire traveled up and down her arms in an excruciatingly fast pace that threatened to devour her. Hugging herself, she hunched over and tried to contain herself even when she felt like her very cells were being torn apart at the surface. Blood rushed through her ears and she felt like she was trapped underwater, pressure began pushing against the sides of her head and she cried out when the cuts on her arm felt like pieces of searing hot metals that were plundered from a fire and stuck into her. 

 

Ardyn got up and walked over to her slowly, going through the motions of lifting up her face to his while he calmly took a seat next to her. “Hello, dearest,” he murmured. “Are you in pain?”

 

A tear ran down her cheek as she bit down on her bottom lip until she could taste iron on her tongue. Small, pathetic whines left her as she watched him retrieve a vial from the pocket of the coat she wore. Showing her, she saw the light green liquid being swished around when he gave it a good shake. 

 

“This could help- ah, ah,” he tutted when she tried to grab it from him. “Listen to what I want in exchange and I can make the pain go away.” Her arm retracted and she was now shivering violently despite the unseen flames that licked against her open wounds. “The Crown City is such a grand place, don’t you want to see it? I can take you there and even provide you with a grand tour of all of its facets.”

 

In all honesty, she did want to see it. But not with him, no, she wanted to see it with Noctis, Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis. Another tear slid down her cheek as she tried to contain herself while he continued. The green liquid looking more and more tempting while boiling needles pierced her skin all over with continuous jabs all over her skin. Would that really make it stop? Would it make the pain go away? She wanted it.  _ I want it.  _ She wanted just a drop.  _ Just a drop. _ Please.  _ Please..! _

 

Ardyn saw how her eyes glanced from him to the vial frantically and he grinned. Uncorking it, he brought it closer to her lips and the smell alone seemed to make the pain subside and she was eager to ingest it. He brought the glass to her lip and tipped it ever so slowly into her mouth. Her eyes closed, wanting to taste sweet release from the pain that seemed to now affect her whole body. 

 

“I could even help you destroy Shinra and all of its traces, wiping them fresh clean from the face of the planet,” he said.  _ Destroy Shinra.. After all they’ve done.. Yes. They deserve it. _ She could feel the liquid practically dripping into her mouth and she salivated for it. 

 

“You’re in pain because of the thing that’s trying to claw out of you and your body is the last line of defense that keeps it locked away,” he chuckled and it sounded like bells in her ears, “but this should help nurture that creature inside of you and then with Jenova’s powers you can help burn down Insomnia and all of its residents.”  _ How does that sound? _

 

Her eyes widened and she pushed him away. “No! I’m not helping with that!” She panted, the pain began to build up inside of her again. 

 

With lightning speed, Ardyn grabbed her by the neck and slammed her back onto the couch. Straddling her, he pinched her nose until she couldn’t breathe and her mouth had to serve as her main source for air. When she saw him attempt to tip the vial into her mouth, she kept her mouth shut as long as she could; her body not holding out for long as her lips involuntarily parted to let some air in. Using this opening, he poured the vial in and she felt the liquid run over her tongue and down her throat. Forcing herself to gag, she waited till he released her to spit the liquid back onto his face. 

 

Ardyn’s face was void of emotion, not even bothering to wipe the liquid as he grabbed her by the neck again and slammed her onto the table. The plates shattering under the impact and the ceramic shards dug into her back, slicing and wedging into her skin as he forced her down. His fingers tightened on her throat as she scratched at his arms to try and stop him. But she knew it would be useless, she had to keep asking herself why she was even fighting in the first place. 

 

Stars popped up in the corner of her vision as she wheezed, trying to have some air come into her. Her head began to pound heavily as the oxygen left her. His hands had a vise-like grip on her throat and each passing second felt slower as everything around her seemed to stand further still. As the last remnants of her vision began to blot out, her hands went limp and slumped to the side. Her conscious going blank and left her before her vision went black; the last thing she saw were his eyes looking down at her with indifference. 

 

*******

 

Terra paced the forecourt, occasionally looking up at the clock tower of the castle. His inner conflicts rising with each step he took back and forth from the vine-wrapped stone walls. Sighing, he stopped when he reached the middle. 

 

_ “You’re just a coward.” _ Larxene’s seething words left a heavy impression on him. He placed his hand over his heart. Was he really what she said? A coward? Summoning his Keyblade, he looked at stalwart weapon that came so easily to his calling.  _ Am I even worthy of the Keyblade?  _

 

“Terra,” Aqua called to him softly as she closed the door behind her. Walking down the steps to her friend, she put a hand on his shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”

 

“Nothing,” Terra shied away from her touch and walked over to the stone railing. His hands resting on it as he looked at the horizon. 

 

“You’re thinking about that girl right?” She followed him, keen on finding out what plagued his mind a thought she had a rather good idea. Terra was a lot of things and one of his weaknesses was not hiding how he truly felt inside. Like an underwater volcano resting just below the surface. “Why don’t you go help them?”

 

“Because,” he started, not seeing the point in hiding his feelings anymore. “Because I failed her once and I’m scared I’ll do it again.”

 

“How did you ‘fail’ her?” She leaned against the railing, her head turned towards him. 

 

Taking a deep breath, Terra closed his eyes as he spoke, “I.. her heart was taken from her body. Because of me.”

 

“Terra,” she started, concern masking her face. “Wait, so is she-“

 

“No!” He said, quickly trying to diffuse whatever preemptive thoughts she had over Lady’s fate. “She’s alive,” he muttered, “I hope. Once her heart was released, it stayed with her. Staying with her like it didn’t want to leave.”

 

“So her heart never left her? That’s.. unusual, I never heard of something like that. What did her heart look like?”

 

“It was beautiful,” he breathed, looking at Aqua, “it was made with pure light, I’ve never seen anything like it. She had flowers growing around her body, like she was being mourned by the planet.” Closing his eyes again, he remembered how the wildflowers and grass sprouted around her as her white crystalline heart hovered over her, her face was relaxed and looked as if she were merely sleeping. “That’s why I have to be stronger. I can’t let a heart like that get hurt-I don’t want anything happening to her.”

 

“Then go,” she said with a smile. “I know this is your dream,” she motioned to the castle between the twin peaks. “But I’m sure Master Eraqus will understand. Whatever is important to you is important to him too.”

 

“But what about you and Ven?” 

 

“We’ll wait until you do what you have to, of course. We’re supposed to take our Mark of Mastery exams together aren’t we?” She grinned. 

 

“If I leave suddenly, would they be upset?”

 

“I’ll talk to the Master for you and Ven too, even though I’m sure he’ll be pretty upset you didn’t let him tag along to see that landlady.”

 

Terra laughed and was relieved to have it be genuine. “I don’t think she needs anymore people to worry about, I think she has her hands full already with everyone at the Alstroemeria.”

 

“But we will meet her one day, right?”

 

“Of course,” he nodded.  _ I want to show her this world and all the others and show her all the sights there are.  _ He thought this with a subtle smile. To break the world order by revealing the existence of it to those not involved in maintaining the balance, it was heinous. But he wanted to show her to see how she would react to it all.  _ And _ , he thought again,  _ I’ll give her a flower from each world.  _ He wanted to add to that garden of light within her heart. 

 

Giving Aqua one last look, he summoned his Keyblade again and threw it up in the air. Both of them watching as it transformed to his Glider. 

 

“Be safe, Terra,” Aqua called to him as he boarded. “Don’t lose your way.” 

 

“Never,” Terra said as a portal of pulsing light opened up for him and his Glider entered through with lightning speed. Even as he left with hope for finding Lady, he still felt a cloud of doubt that creeped into his mind.

 

Above, watching the Keyblade wielders from a window, was a figure completely cloaked in black. The figure turned to another who stood by him. An elderly man that was dressed in a long black coat, white button up that trailed over his upper legs, and black pants tucked into a pair of black boots. He appeared frail and meek as his back was hunched over with his hands held together behind him. Watchful yellow-gold eyes waited until Terra disappeared into the sky before he turned to the cloaked figure beside him with a knowing smile. 

 

“Will you let him go so easily?” The cloaked figure muttered. 

 

“Yes,” the old man nodded, “let himself chase her down until his mind is clouded with doubt and fear. He will want more power and he will turn to the darkness for it in time.”

 

“Very well.”

 

“A heart pure of light,” the old man paused, chuckling to himself, “and one pure of darkness. When come together they bring about the ultimate Keyblade.” 

 

*******

 

“One.. two.. three.. fou-“ Lady sniffed, choking on her sobs that’s she tried to suppress and she screamed when Ardyn’s hand gripped her arm. When he released her, his hand was glistening wet with fresh blood that dripped from her.

 

“You’ve one more chance, perfectly this time else I’ll start anew,” he promised her, poising the knife over the poorly healed clots that covered her previous cuts. He meant to trace over them again. “I hate to hurt you, dear, but you must learn to behave. You understand, don’t you?”

 

Exhaling only jilted breaths, she counted aloud through blurry eyes ripe with tears. “One.. two.. three.. four..” 

 

When she counted, she imagined the names associated with the numbers. Her train of thought stopped when she felt him stop. Getting up, he pulled her up with him and towards the large ornamented mirror in the room. He placed her in front of him and she averted her eyes from her reflection, afraid of what she would see. Grabbing her face harshly, he made her face herself and her breath got caught in her throat when she did.  

 

That person in the mirror couldn’t be her. 

 

Teetering on the edge of being emaciated and on the fringe of bewilderment; dripping red numerals covered her arms spanning from one to fourteen. Her eyes had severe dark bags under her eyes and her hair, although washed earlier, was already messy and dirty again. Everytime she scanned her body, spotting a new bruise or cut she didn’t even know she had- her eyes would be drawn back to her arms. Both of them bleeding profusely where he carved over her previous cuts; the endorphins she received from the cuts was the only thing keeping her on her feet and mildly sane. Each number had a meaning behind it. A person. And she named all of them silently when she looked over them slowly, a sob coming from her when she saw the numbers ‘XIII’ and ‘XIV’. 

 

She flinched when she felt something thick drip into her shoulders. Looking up, she saw Ardyn’s face above her right shoulder. His face oozing black liquid from his corneas and sides of his mouth, his scleras were pure black and his glowing yellow eyes only added to his demonic visage. Their eyes met in the mirror and he smiled, more of the black liquid dripping out from him and onto her neck below. Like a beast that was salivating after his prey. She averted her gaze again. This was too much. 

 

He wrapped an arm around her waist gently and he leaned down to whisper. “Look,” he said, pointing to her reflection again. When she looked, her eyes were not her own and was replaced by purple irises with dilated feline-like pupils. Over her left shoulder was a large black wing, large feathers gathering at their feet. 

 

“We’re one and the same, you and I,” he murmured, licking the lobe of her ear. “Don’t deny your fate.” 

 

She felt like hyperventilating, shaking her head ever so slowly. She kept mouthing the word ‘no’ until she found the courage to speak it verbally. “No,” she said, “that’s not me..” 

 

More black feathers floated around her. Those purple eyes seemed to be the only thing about her that seemed alive. 

 

“That’s not me!” She finally screamed and turned around to push him back, gasping when she found herself alone in the room. Looking around frantically, she looked down to see the black feathers have disappeared. Stumbling back, she dropped to her knees and when she leaned back she felt the cool surface of the mirror. Turning around, she breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes were their normal color once more. Staring at the woman in the mirror that shared the appearance of a wild animal that was caged, she balled her fist and punched her reflection. 

 

The glass shattered and some of the shards fell to the ground. A loud whimper left her as she felt the shards pierce her skin. Her back heaved with her sobs and everywhere she looked around, she could see slivers of her fear-filled face in the pieces of the mirror laying haphazardly on the ground. Shaking, she picked up a shard and gripped it till she could feel it cut into her palm. Bringing it up to her throat, she felt the tip begin to poke where her jugular was. An animalistic cry echoed from her and around the room. Digging it deeper, she let out one last scream and threw the shard aside- hearing it shatter on impact on the floor next to her. 

 

Hunched over, mucus and tears running down her face; she could feel all the wounds on her body. But she didn’t care. 

 

Clearing the broken glass pieces from the spot in front of her, she dipped one trembling finger into one of her open cuts until it was covered with a generous helping of blood. She then took it to the floor and began drawing figures. Although poorly designed, she hoped it would still do them justice. When she was done, three small figures looked back at her. Two with stick straight hair at chin-length and the other with long hair below waist length. Two of them had a straight lines for mouth, looking at her with a serious yet kind expression and the other had a small smile. 

 

She sniffed, “Just like Wutai, right, Angeal?” She looked at one of the figures.  _ Just like Wutai, just like Wutai.. So hang in there!  _ “I wish you guys were here,” she sobbed, “I need you..!” 

 

_ “Be strong,”  _ the figures seemed to tell her and she tried to remember what their voices sounded like.  _How long has it been?_

 

“I can’t,” she said aloud in the dark, empty room. “I can’t..” 

 

Instead of the figures talking to her again, only her sobs were the only that kept her company as she sank ever deeper into her despair.    
  



	53. LIII

Ignis set the phone down, rubbing his tired eyes with his fingers and blinking a couple times before he put his glasses back on. Standing up from the kitchen counter, he turned to face the other three in the living room. All of them sharing the same somber expression and if one squinted hard enough, one would see a dark cloud hanging over each of their heads.

 

“So? What did the Marshal say?” Prompto stood up and got closer to Ignis, as if invading his personal space would give him the answer quicker. 

 

Shaking his head, he motioned for Prompto to take a seat back with Noctis as he took his besides Gladio. Looking at all four of them in turn with the prince being the last to receive his gaze, the other three already knew the answer wouldn’t be in their favor. 

 

Ignis took a breath before beginning. “The Glaives are.. indisposed. They’re handling business with pushing back Imperial forces at the borders of Lucis. They cannot waste men for an investigation for one person-“

 

“But she isn’t just _any_ person,” Noctis interjected, his temper already flaring, “they can’t send just a couple? I mean-” the Prince got up and started pacing around the room till he got to the door leading out to the balcony. “Let me talk to them.”

 

“Noct, you must understand, we all care for her as much as you do but this is out of our hands,” Ignis hated the words that came out of his mouth. 

 

“We don’t have any leads, all the evidence we have aren’t very helpful, and no one within a thirty mile radius has seen this Eli guy after they disappeared,” said Gladio. “We’re in the dark here and you can’t just walk around like that, you need a game plan.”

 

“So..” Prompto looked at Ignis and Gladio with his brows furrowed in concern. “We’re just going to wait until we find something? Or until someone’s seen her?”

 

“Unfortunately,” said Ignis. 

 

“She’s strong..” Prompto said aloud but his intentions were to talk to himself to calm down the anxiety that weighed down his heart. “She can find a way out of whatever mess she’s in.. right, guys??”

 

“Oh, you mean like the last time?” Noctis laughed bitterly. “She needed a rescue team, don’t you remember? What if this is like the last time but worse?”

 

A silence filled the room as the four of them pondered this. 

 

“It’s been two weeks already..” Prompto whispered. “I hope she’s okay.”

 

Noctis looked outside the window and looked at the poorly kept garden that Larxene tried to manage in Lady’s absence. Tapping his finger against his arm, he turned to Ignis with his hand extended and said: “Give me the phone. I want to talk to them.”

 

And saying it with such authority that Ignis has never yet seen from the up-and-coming king made him hand it over without further question; they all waited until the person on the other line picked up and Noctis began speaking. 

 

*******

 

Naminé backed away from DiZ, clutching her sketch pad close to her chest. She shook her head and looked up at him with defiance. “No!” She yelled, although her voice was a little over a whisper, “I want to help her!”

 

“You can’t,” DiZ said. “I won’t allow you to.”

 

The girl shook her head again. “Why won’t you let me go? She’s suffering, we can’t just-“

 

“Yes we can and _you_ will. She is too dangerous if put under perilous circumstances. If you reach out for her, you will be dragged by that monster’s claws.” 

 

“Lady is _not_ a monster!” This time Naminé found her voice and she yelled it out and for a split second she could see the surprise in DiZ’s visible eye. “I’m helping her, whether you like it or not!” 

 

As those last words left Naminé’s lips, a corridor of darkness opened up behind her and she ran in without looking back; still clutching to her sketch pad that contained dark drawings.

 

*******

 

Terra took a step forward and stopped. Looking up at the Alstroemeria and all of its beautiful facets that made it home for so many within and a sanctuary for him. The scent of flowers was always the first thing to greet him and her smile would follow up after and he would immediately feel at home, letting himself relax and not be so tense. It was a blissful emotion, one he would hope to feel again when he looked upon the complex. 

 

Unfortunately, when he looked at it now, he could feel empty within as well as a sense of despair and longing. Before he walked through, he felt the cold flicks of air behind him and he turned around just to see a corridor open up and a flash of white run out before it closed immediately. The flash of white bumped into him and let out a surprised cry. Looking down, he stared into a pale face with pale blue eyes. 

 

Terra’s eyebrows raised in surprise at the girl. “Hey, you look just like-“

 

“I know,” Naminé cut him off, “but let’s get inside now!”

 

“Uh,” he didn’t have time to protest as he let himself get dragged in the gates by the girl in front of him. Closing it behind her, she looked around for any signs of other tenants that could be around. She also looked over shoulder and at first Terra thought she was checking if he was still there but she looked behind him too. Over her small frame, he could see a sketch pad and most of its white pages were dark with black and red and various other hues of the same spectrum. Just what in the worlds kind of stuff did she draw in that sketch pad of hers? 

 

Once they were under the safety of the gazebo, Naminé turned around to face Terra. “I’ve been trying to contact Lady, but there’s something blocking my vision of her.”

 

“What is it?” Terra asked. 

 

She hesitated before she showed him her sketch pad. The first page filled out with black crayons with a body laying in the middle in a pool of red. His eyes widened when he looked at the figure that was face-down. Even when he couldn’t see the face, he knew very well who it was. 

 

“Is she.. dead?” He was scared to ask. 

 

“No!” Naminé exclaimed, surprised that he would even assume that. “But she’s in pain. Something’s keeping her alive just to have her suffer.” 

 

“Have you told the others this?” 

 

“No, I just arrived,” she shot him a pointed look and he coughed. She bumped into him on the way in. Of course she did. Ignoring him further, she showed him another drawing. This one had black feathers strewn about the page; in the distant darkness was Lady with her head buried in her arms and her knees close to her chest. Beside her was a broken mirror with blood on the shards of glass. 

 

He held in his breath. Just what exactly is going on?  

 

“Naminé!” 

 

Terra looked to the right to see Roxas running towards them; not stopping until he was right next to them. “I thought I felt you coming,” he huffed. “Did you find anything?”

 

Naminé flashed Terra a nervous look before looking back at Roxas. “No, not technically,” she sighed, handing over her sketch pad. Just as Roxas was about to take it from her, she held it in place and looked him square in the eye. “Keep a level head,” she frowned, “if you don’t, we won’t be able to figure this out.”

 

Roxas nodded, “I know that.” Taking the sketch pad from her, he began flipping through it.

 

*******

 

The air was kicked out of Lady before she could even comprehend what came next. Another kick sent her flying against the wall and she wanted to throw up. Nothing but acidic, bile-tasting fumes came out as she coughed, her throat feeling like it was cut inside with the lack of moisture in her lungs. When was the last time she had a drink? 

 

Struggling to push herself up, she looked up at Ardyn with contempt. “What do you want?” Her voice was raspy. Deprived of water or any liquid for that matter could do that to a voice. 

 

“When are you going to give up that charade of yours?” He said as he knelt down in front of her. “You’re at your wits end here and if you don’t comply.. well, you already know what will happen, don't you?” He lifted up her face towards him, “Let’s try this again: will you or won’t you?”

 

Lady lifted up her face from his fingers, holding it up with whatever strength she had left in her. With one scornful look, she sneered: “Death.. first.”

 

Another kick sent her back against the wall and she held her stomach, feeling a cut open up again with the force of his hits. Ardyn sighed as he paced back and forth. “You think your hands are clean while you play the benevolent hero, but allow me to remind you that your hands are as dirty as mine.”

 

“I don’t kill people without reason like you,” she wheezed, wondering how much she could take of this as her head throbbed painfully. When was the last time she ate?? Her stomach coiled in response and it only seemed to make her hunger worse as well as the pain. 

 

“Then let me remind you.” Was all he said as he grabbed her head with both of his hands. His eyes turning black and that black miasma seeped from him. She then got lost in those golden irises that beckoned her closer. 

 

*******

 

_Rain poured down over the craggy wasteland that dropped into the ocean. The only source of life there was at least a hundred soldiers that surrounded a lone woman standing in the middle. Her eyes were feral and looked around her as she counted the amount of people that pointed their weapons at her._

 

_“You’ve one more chance!” A man stepped out from behind a soldier. “Or you’ll force our hand!”_

 

_The woman snarled at the drenched professor, his round glasses being splattered with rain. Red laser dots all pointed squarely at her chest, displaying a great contrast to the loose uniform she stole before fleeing._

 

_“Hojo,” she growled, stepping forward and stopping when she heard multiple guns clicking. Their safety was off and they were ready to shoot if she took another step. “You did this to me!!” She screamed, feeling the blood inside her beginning to boil._

 

_“You wanted this,” Hojo shot back, “you wanted to become stronger and you got exactly what you wanted! Strength to protect your friends, isn’t that right?” He was shouting over the torrential rains and even then, she struggled to hear him with the combined rushing she heard in her ears._

 

_“Not like this,” the woman whimpered, looking down at the ground. Gripping her fists, she looked up at the man besides Hojo; wearing a dark suit with his black hair slicked back. A Turk, she thought. All around her were the standard uniform of those in 2nd Class, she wanted to scoff. They didn’t wanna send any 1st??... No, because she would be forced to fight them._

 

_“Fine,” the woman said, her gaze dropping in defeat. Closing her eyes, she relaxed her shoulders. “If you want a monster,” she said aloud, her eyes opening as she did to reveal purple glowing eyes with dilated slits. “You’ll get a monster!”_

 

*******

 

Tseng walked through the Alstroemeria’s gates. Not two steps in and he heard an absence of noise within its confines. Steeling himself, he walked towards the courtyard and saw heads turn toward him as he approached. 

 

“Tseng,” Zack looked surprised, “what are you doing here?”

 

From his shoulder, hanging off, was Cait Sith who hopped down once they stopped in front of him. “Where’s Vincent?” Tseng asked him. 

 

“Upstairs, in Lady’s room,” Zack replied and pointed up at the room that articulated with every other room on that floor. The one in the middle. The one that connected them all. 

 

Tseng left them without another word and knocked on the door, surprised that the response was quick as the door opened and Vincent’s crimson eyes looked at Tseng’s dark brown. 

 

“Vincent,” the Turk greeted him. 

 

“Who are you?’” he frowned, his voice was gruff. 

 

“An ally of sorts.”

 

“We’ve yet to see that,” Vincent was obstinate in not letting the Turk in. His eyes stayed perpetually narrowed in suspicion. “What do you want?”

 

“I prefer to discuss this in private with you,” said Tseng. 

 

Finally, Vincent opened up the door to a crack that just about accommodated the other man’s width and nothing else. Moving to the side, he reminded the other man to take off his shoes at the front. 

 

“Lady doesn’t like her floors dirty,” he muttered, taking a seat on the couch and waiting for the other to take the other one in front of him. “What did you come here for? I suppose Shinra doesn’t have anything to do with this, right?”

 

“Partially correct,” Tseng spoke as he took a seat. “We’ve nothing to do with her current disappearance, I guarantee you that.” Leaning back, he chuckled, “Vincent Valentine. You were quite a legend back in the day, you know that? But that was before my time and it looks like you haven’t aged a year from then”

 

“We’re not here to talk about me,” Vincent was quick to cut him off. “Tell me what you know and then get out.”

 

Tseng sighed. Formalities weren’t necessary here so he decided to cut to the chase. “Four years ago, a SOLDIER from 1st Class was sent to a secluded lab to be used in an experiment for what she thought would give her a boost in power. Unfortunately, that ‘boost’ was a little more than she bargained for.”

 

“Is this about Lady?” 

 

“Before that moniker she went by multiple names, avoiding her real name at all costs. Before all that, she was simply known as-”

 

Vincent cut him off again. “I know her real name, but she wants to be called by her nickname so I will respect her wishes.” 

 

Tseng sighed again. “Well, did she tell you that she broke out of the lab after they experimented on her?” 

 

Vincent nodded, remembering the fear in her eyes when he woke her up after a fevered dream. What came next was incoherent ramblings of a madwoman, her hands shaking as she recalled the memories that came back to her. She cried when she told him and all he could do at that moment was hold her for fear that she would fall apart if he let go. 

 

“We were tasked to chase her down. I was assigned to protect Professor Hojo during our retrieval mission. After what seemed like days we finally cornered her near a cliff hanging over the ocean. I remember it like it was yesterday,” Tseng leaned back, his eyes darkening. “It was a blessing that it was raining heavily that day. If it wasn’t, there would’ve been nothing else to wash the blood off the rocks.” 

 

The Turk looked up at the other man, “She was a monster that day, she killed one hundred of our infantry as well as numerous of our 2nd Class. It took awhile for Shinra to recover after all those men we lost and we thought we had finished her.” 

 

“What happened to her?”

 

“We shot her and she fell off the cliff,” said Tseng.

 

*******

 

_Blood and water mixed on the ground around her. She ran up to another soldier and grabbed their arm that held their sword, twisting it backwards until she heard a sickening snap. Turning his wrist around towards him, she plunged his own sword into his heart and kicked his body off. Purple eyes looked around frantically at the men who were hesitating to advance on her._

 

_“What are you waiting for?!” Hojo cried. “Get her!”_

 

_She didn’t wait for any of them to move as she ran towards another and grabbed their head, turning it to one side until she heard the vertebra inside his neck snap and his body went limp. Dropping him, she set her sights on the next target; careful not to trip over the countless bodies that already littered the battlefield. Their sights on their rifles couldn’t catch her fast enough as she blew right through them, her movements and reflexes deflecting any blows that were coming at her._

 

_Another grabbed at her and she ducked, her fist digging into their stomach as she reached for their throat and held them over the edge of the cliff. Just below, the ocean’s stormy waves clapped against the rocks and lapped hungrily on the cliffs like a beast waiting for its next meal._

 

_Hojo gritted his teeth, “You’ll never see your friends again!” He yelled loudly over the pouring rain. “If you come quietly, I won’t have to tell them that you ran away without even saying goodbye to them and you'll lose any chance of becoming human again!”_

 

_She stopped, looking over at the scientist with dulled eyes. Slowly, light came back into them as she made out the names he worded with his lips. Before she could open her mouth to reply, the soldier she held struggled from her grip and just as she reached for them again- a gunshot echoed in the air._

 

_Looking down, she saw the red bloom like a flower on her shirt and she stumbled back._

 

_“You fool!” Hojo shouted angrily. “Someone get her before she falls!”_

 

_She struggled to keep her balance as the wound began spreading and she felt as if her body was on fire. Her cells felt like they imploded and quickly put itself back together before she as a whole would detonate. Coughing, she held her wound and she fell backwards into the cold, unforgiving ocean below._

 

_A frustrated scream fled Hojo’s lips as she was thrust into the dark waves; the moving water dragging her body down further and further into the depths._

 

*******

 

“We thought she died,” said Tseng, “but it didn’t take long for us to hear reports on a woman matching her description. Once we confirmed it was truly her, Hojo wanted to move to this city to monitor her.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?” Vincent muttered.

 

“Because you’ve no idea the destructive power that thing that harbors inside of her is capable of.”

 

“I think I do,” Vincent gave the other man a knowing look. He remembered the exact day of the exact month of the exact year when he awoke from death to discover what he’d become. An incarnate of Chaos. Too ashamed of himself and for his failure to stop Hojo and Lucrecia’s experiment, he only saw fit to lock himself away from the world. 

 

Tseng’s eyes hardened. “Her amnesia of those events came as a surprise when I first confronted her. She didn’t even remember me even when I was there and we’ve locked eyes before. Her sheer willpower is the only thing keeping that thing at bay, if she were to suffer a mental break, if she were to remember her trauma..” 

 

Vincent’s jaw hardened into a sharp line, his eyes looking almost ablaze even in the darkened room. 

 

“Well, in any case,” Tseng got up, reaching into the inside of his breast pocket to take out a small black box with a keypad keeping it shut. He slid it over to Vincent. “The code is 3-5-9-1.”

 

Taking the box, he fingered in the numbers and opened it. An expression of surprise crossed his face when he saw the contents: exactly three bullets with a glass opening inside to reveal glowing green liquid encased in blackened steel.

 

“What is this,” Vincent set the box back down, sliding it back. He asked him that question but he already knew what it was for and he knew it was foolish to deny his intuition. “Are we to shoot her?”

 

“Only if she gets out of control.”

 

“What then? Will she die?”

 

“No,” Tseng hesitated. “It’s injected with specially formulated mako that serves as a sort of.. ‘flush’, you can say. It’ll supposedly cleanse her of Jenova’s influence but not for long. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to study the side effects of that bullet within her so we don’t know what will truly happen. The worst case scenario is that she would lose all memory of you and everyone here.” 

 

Vincent didn’t take long to reply. “I’m not doing that.”

 

Tseng picked up the box. “If you won’t, then I’ll find someone here who will. You’ve two others here who are versed in firearms, no?”

 

Vincent scowled in response, standing up to meet the other man’s gaze with scorn. He would’ve asked how he knew of such details but he also knew how _thorough_ the Turks can be. 

 

“I thought so,” said Tseng as he walked around the coffee table to push the box into Vincent’s hands. “You were a Turk once too, let’s not forget how important duty is.”

 

Vincent gripped the box and didn’t turn around even as he heard the front door close behind him. He could hear how Lady would react to such an event and he could picture her face as he did.

 

 _“Ooh, moody guy, huh Vincent?”_ She would say. _“Reminds me of you!”_ She would then laugh at him and walk past him to make herself a cup of tea in the kitchen. 

 

Sighing, he sat back down on the couch and placed the box in front of him on the table. He prayed to the gods above, a thing he didn’t do often if at all, that he would never have to use those on her. 

 

*******

 

“Vincent, what did that guy want?” Roxas looked up as Vincent descended the stairs and made his way towards them. 

 

Ignoring him, Vincent looked to the others gathered around the blond and eyeing the girl with platinum blonde hair and light blue eyes. 

 

“Who are you?” Vincent asked her. 

 

“My name is Naminé,” the girl replied.

 

Only nodding in response, he looked at the others, “Have you found anything on her?”

 

“No,” Terra said, “I was hoping someone had something when I got here but.. it seems like no one knows anything.”

 

“That’s not true,” Roxas spoke up. “Naminé said she sees Lady but-“ he looked at her for confirmation, “-she’s blocked off at the same time.”

 

“Something’s shielding her, from us,” the girl in white spoke next. “It’s dark and much more powerful and I can feel it torturing her. I’m sorry, I wish I could help more.”

 

“We need to hurry,” Vincent said to the other three. “If she gets hurt anymore, if she remembers-“ he stopped, looking at Naminé. “You helped her with her memory, didn’t you?”

 

“Yes,” she said quietly, “I did.” Her voice became defensive when she saw the glare Vincent gave her. “But she wanted to know! She has a right to know about her past.”

 

“You might’ve unknowingly helped that thing inside of her,” Vincent growled. “It feeds off her negative emotions and her darkness. Those memories were traumatic, you should’ve known-“

 

“I know memories can be repressed for a reason!” Naminé cried. “But if she didn’t know about them, do you really think she would want to live like that? That in itself is unhappiness and besides.. she taught me that you need to face your fears head on, only then can your heart grow.”

 

After glaring down at Naminé, Vincent resigned. “Fair enough,” he said, “we need to focus on finding her and quick.”

 

*******

 

“If you desire freedom.”

 

Lady tried to crawl away from him as he walked over ever so slowly yet still managed to catch up to her in a matter of seconds. 

 

“I’ll give you your wings,” he said as he bent down to drag her towards him with her ankle. Flipping the knife with the blade facing upwards, he ripped away the fabric that concealed her back. Plunging it below the curve of her shoulder blade, he dragged the knife up into a semi-circle reaching outwards. From sections within his ‘drawn’ line, he made additional lateral cuts that stretched out in the same direction; forming a thing that resembled a skeletal wing over on the right part of her back. Once he was done, he tossed the knife aside and Lady looked at it as it clattered on the cold metal floor. It’s blade was silver but oxidized on the edge with remnants of her blood from previous sessions with Ardyn.

 

“Stop,” she begged, her body in turn begging her to make the pain stop. “It hurts too much, please stop.”

 

“Believe me, my dear, it could be so much worse,” he promised her, caressing her face. “Will you comply?”

 

The pain ripped through her in cruel, undulating waves that came back with a new fierceness with each cycle. She could feel blood drip down her back and make the scraps of the shirt stick onto her wounds. It had already stuck to her arms with the blood seeping through the thin white sleeves, the blood forming patterns of inky red numerals.

 

_Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saïx…_

 

Ardyn picked up her face again, touching it softly as if he didn’t just maim her with the tip of the blade. 

 

_… Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, Roxas, Xion…!_

 

“Do you miss your friends?” He asked her as if he could read her thoughts as easily as his own. Maybe he could. She didn’t want to find out. Her mind was her only safe space in this hell. “Poor girl,” he looked visibly upset. “Should I bring them here to keep you company?”

 

Since she’s been with him, he started making her memorize their ranks within their Organization and their numbers. All in order. All the time. It was to the point where she could recite it without any shadow of a doubt. It was second nature now, like breathing. 

 

“Don’t touch them-!” She yelled out and regretted it when the sounds produced in her throat echoed and bounced painfully inside her. 

 

“Save your energy, dearest, we’ve a city to see and I want you on your best behavior.”

 

“I’m not helping you,” she rasped, “I won’t betray Noctis like that..!”

 

“Such high spirits!” He praised her. “Such a good girl.” He laughed, circling her as she struggled to keep herself at arms length from the ground. “Too bad those sorry Keyblade wielders and your soldier friends aren’t here to help you.”

 

She wheezed, getting up. “A-ardyn..” 

 

His eyes widened up, it was the first time she called him by his name and this elicited a soft expression from him. “Yes, dearest?” He called. 

 

“Make it stop,” she pleaded, looking up at him with moistened eyes. “Just end it.”

 

“But my darling,” he tutted, “why end something so good? I can offer you a gift: immortality. One without pain, without suffering. You would never be in danger and I would protect you. I’m reliable unlike those imbeciles who can’t even be bothered to try and find you.”

 

“You’re lying,” she breathed out. 

 

“How do you know that when you’ve been locked up in here?” He chuckled. “They would’ve found you by now, I’m sure of it- and to think I’ve left them all those clues.”

 

_They’re looking for me, I know it! He’s just lying..!_

 

**But what if he isn’t? What if he’s right? If they cared so much, something would’ve been done by now.**

 

_No, I promise, they’re coming, they just need time, they just-_

 

 **You are in denial. Accept your fate. Your friends aren’t here. You are alone. You. Are.** **_Nothing._ **

 

“I am _not_! Get out of my head-!!!!” She screamed aloud and this caught Ardyn by surprise momentarily. His expression softened when she curled up on the floor with her hands covering her ears. “Ardyn, please just kill me,” she begged him, tears running down the side of her face as she looked up at him from the ground. “I can’t take this anymore.”

 

Leaning down, Ardyn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. With a smile, he simply said to her softly: “No.”

 

His footsteps echoed in the room as he left her alone. The last of the noise dying out and leaving her in a shroud of deafening silence.

 

She swore she could hear the blood rushing through her ears. 

 

Lady laid on the floor, her eyes staring up at the darkness above that seemed to never end. In the corner of her eyes shadows seemed to move around and dance around her vision then disappearing after she would turn her eyes towards their direction. Convulsing, she turned to the side just in case she would throw up. She now faced the broken mirror, her eyes looking at the shattered fragments that made up her reflection. She would laugh if she could at just how ridiculous she looked; from what she could see, she was an absolute mess. 

 

Her hair was matted and greasy with spots of blood clotting and sticking some of the pieces together. Her face was almost unrecognizable. Her eyes shared the sheen of a rock carved from the face of a mountain in a desert. Her lips were cracked and bleeding from the lack of hydration that her body yearned for. She averted what she saw in the mirror. 

 

**Come closer.**

 

Lady looked to the cracked mirror, the voice sounding like it came from within. Crawling, she dragged herself over the shrapnels of glass- not caring that they pierced her skin on the way.

 

**Yes, that’s right.**

 

Forcing herself to sit up, she kneeled in front of the mirror. 

 

 **Do you wish to be free?**  

 

She nodded. 

 

**Let me hear you say it.**

 

“I do.”

 

**Shall I give you wings?**

 

“You..” she shook her head. “No.. you can’t.”

 

**I can. All you have to do.. is let me in.**

 

“You’ll overstay your welcome..”

 

**Just this once. What have you got to lose?**

 

Memories of everyone at home flooded her and a tear was shed. The salty water falling close to the side of her lip. She missed them. She missed everyone. She missed feeling safe. She missed having someone _to talk to. But I can’t. I can’t go back. I’m putting them all in danger, I’m not supposed to be around them, I’m not-_

 

**Let me help you.**

 

Lady looked down at her hands, still shaking as they have been for the past few days. Closing them tightly, her mind was spinning, she sniffed. _If I stay.. he’ll use me to destroy Insomnia.._ _I can’t do that to Noctis. I don’t want to hurt anyone-!_

 

**Will you choose to be imprisoned here then? Forever?**

 

 _Imprisoned.. forever?_ Anxiety swirled inside of her and she thought of the time she spent trapped as Shinra’s lab rat. Every day was torture. Unlike her days recently. Her fists loosened up and she closed her eyes. The realization dawning on her: No one was coming to save her. She had to get out herself. 

 

**You will fly.**

 

Exhaling slowly, Lady slowly opened her eyes again; and this time, her eyes were a glaring purple. 

 

*******

 

Ardyn turned his gaze to the night horizon, sounds of screams and guns firing and crushing metal sounded off behind him as he hummed a cheery tune. Soon, the sound of the heavy metal doors that kept the Imperial fortress locked from curious outsiders was being moved. 

 

The once impenetrable metal creaked loudly and gave way; bursting forth as a figure stepped out, soaked in blood and moonlight. Behind her was a single wing that extended over her left shoulder. 

 

Ardyn was hidden from her as he watched her walk out onto the rock plateau carefully, the desert winds blowing through the large black feathers that made up the appendage that sprouted from her frail body. 

 

Finally, her wing stretched out to its full extent and lifted her up into the air and out into the night sky with dark feathers streaming behind her.

 

Ardyn chuckled, walking onto the spot where she last touched the ground, picking up one of the feathers betwixt his fingers. “It seems you’ve found your wings, my dear," he said as he watched the one-winged angel disappear into the endless black of the night. 


	54. LIV

“Hey there miss, you alright?.... Miss?”

 

“We should get ‘er over to Hammerhead. Miss Cindy’ll know what to do.” 

 

“Poor thing. Looks like she went through hell- need to get those wounds looked after.”

 

She felt her body being moved; wherever the hands touched her made it burn even more and she felt how cool their palms were compared to the surface of her skin. Internal heat built up and exited in painful waves every time they moved her. She wanted to protest but she didn’t have the energy to nor even the energy to care. So she let them. Her consciousness faded in and out and the glaring sunlight was the last thing she saw before she heard a car engine start and she closed her eyes once more. 

 

*******

 

A dreamless sleep usually meant one was tired enough to ignore the mysterious facets of where the mind wanders when one is resting. Right now she didn’t care about the facilitations of what it means to sleep without dreaming, all she knew was that it was the best gods damn sleep she’d had in what seemed like forever. Her first reaction to waking was to sit up with her eyes following next- opening slowly to make sure no bright lights would immediately blind her. She was surprised to find soft light coming from a gas lamp on a desk. The sheets slipped off of her and the bed frame creaked to adjust to her moving weight. 

 

“Woah there, don’t sit up!” A calming female voice called to her while gently moving the blanket up to drape her body again. “You were knocked out for quite a while, you need some rest.” 

 

She looked up to see gentle green eyes with short blonde hair that curled in locks just above her shoulders. She wore a hat that she tilted up to look at her better; under her small, bright yellow zip-up jacket, she had a pink bikini top. Very short shorts covered her lower region with the matching pink bikini bottoms sticking out just over the hem. White boots creaked and creased when she bent over to inspect her, with a satisfactory smile, she leaned back and sat back down on the chair pulled up next to the bed. 

 

“Some of the hunters found you passed out in the desert, you okay, darlin’? What’s your name?” She said then burst into light laughter. “But I’m gettin’ ahead of myself, my name’s Cindy Aurum. Pleasure to meet ya!” She held her hand out. 

 

“My name’s..” She paused, her mind went blank for a moment. “Well, everyone else just calls me Lady.” She said as she shook her hand.

 

“Is that a nickname of sorts?” Cindy said. 

 

“I suppose, you can just call me whatever you want,” Lady replied. “It doesn’t matter to me.”

 

“Alrighty then, sweet pea it is!” 

 

“‘Sweet pea’?”

 

“Yup,” Cindy smiled, “they found you by some flowers and I thought it was fitting. You look just as lovely as them.”

 

Lady chuckled, “I doubt it.” Looking down at her arms, they were bandaged up from her shoulder to her wrists. She couldn’t imagine what her face looked like. Or her back. Her hand went up to cradle her head. What happened last night? There was still the residual taste of blood in her mouth. _Oh gods._ What did she do? 

 

Looking up at what she assumed to be her caretaker, she then asked: “Miss Cindy, where am I?”

 

“Oh you don’t have to call me that, just call me Cindy,” she grinned. “And you’re in Leide right now, more specifically in Hammerhead Garage- my place! Well, actually my pawpaw’s place. But I put in most of the work these days. You know, you’ve been knocked out for quite a while- I was getting worried!”

 

Taking the blanket off, she tried to slip her legs over the side of the bed and Cindy quickly reacted to try and help her up. “Don’t get up so quickly, sweet pea,” she said, her voice filled with genuine worry. 

 

“I’m fine,” Lady said, her voice was still raspy. “I’m sure I took enough of your time Miss Cind-“

 

“Just Cindy is fine,” the mechanic said sternly, “and I ain’t letting you out of my sight till you’re fully recovered.” Sitting back down at Cindy’s behest, the blonde looked pleased that she listened. “Good, now I’m gonna get you something to eat- you look hungry!” 

 

_Famished, actually._ Lady smiled gratefully and laid back on the bed while Cindy walked down the small hall that led to the door and exited quickly. Looking around, she could see the bathroom was visible down the hall with kitchen utensils and stove covering one side with a couch on the other. Her bed was placed lateral to the wall on the opposite end of the bathroom. A mobile home perhaps? _Just where in Ifrit’s name am I?_ She thought about what Cindy said to her. _Leide.. sounds familiar. But where is that exactly?_

 

Instinctively, she tried reached for her phone beside her pillow and froze when she remembered that she lost it before Ardyn took her. And how could she forget the time she spent with him and what he did to her? Did she drop it or did he take it when he took her? _I guess it doesn’t matter now. Who would I even call? … Where do I even go from here? This isn’t some vision right?_ Fingers traced the bandaged wounds. _No. She escaped last night because of-_ her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened again and Cindy poked her head inside. Grinning, she closed the door behind her and the smell of fried meat that filled the small mobile home instantly made her stomach rumble audibly. 

 

Cindy sat back on the chair in front of Lady’s bed and handed her the plate of food. “It’s from Takka, that man can sure cook, make sure you eat up and if you’re hungry for more let me know, ‘kay?”

 

Nodding, Lady looked down at the food and was delighted to see a hefty piece of fried meat with crisp green cabbage with bold red tomatoes squeezed between two toasted pieces of bread. On the side were kettle-fried chips and Cindy held a drink of clear liquid cased in a light blue bottle. Immediately, Lady popped one of the chips in her mouth and began chewing. It was probably the best thing she’s tasted. Not three minutes passed when Lady finally finished the whole sandwich and the chips as well as the drink. 

 

“You hungry for more, sweet pea?” Cindy asked when she took the plate and set it aside. 

 

“I think that’ll settle me for now,” Lady smiled wryly. “Thanks miss-“ she stopped when she saw the pointed look that Cindy gave her, “I mean, Cindy.”

 

“I think pawpaw wants to see you,” Cindy’s face grew concerned. “Wants to know who’s passed out in here,” she motioned all around her. 

 

“I understand,” Lady nodded, “I’d be concerned if a stranger were in my home too. Where is he?”

 

“Here, I’ll come with you,” Cindy got up and helped Lady up. Once she was standing on her feet, she noticed that the only thing that covered her were bandages. They were wrapped all around her arms and covered her breasts and when she flexed, she could feel them growing taut on her back. The only thing that covered her lower extremities were simple jean shorts. 

 

“I got you some clothes too, just in case,” Cindy handed her a black t-shirt with the yellow logo spelling out ‘Hammerhead’ in bold lettering across the front. Lady smiled as she slipped it on, it fit comfortably around her upper body and she rolled her shoulders- happy to have clothes on that weren’t stained with blood or reeked of Imperial laundry. 

 

“Ooh, it fits like a glove on you!” The mechanic seemed pleased with her choice of clothing. “Come on then, pawpaw doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

 

Following Cindy outside, the first thing that hit Lady was the heavy screen of heat that blasted her face as a film of sweat immediately grazed the back of her neck. Now she understood why Cindy dressed like that. Tying up the front of her shirt, she let her mid-torso be revealed and it provided little ventilation but she didn’t care how little- she just wanted to cool down. They walked past a round diner with customers filling the booths inside, a gas station with people perusing the aisles for necessities they needed for on the road, and finally they stopped when they came to a large garage that had multiple tools hung up on the walls as well as a line-up of cars on the side. 

 

Sitting down on a lawn chair below an extensive umbrella was an old man with a grey beard and red tracksuit jacket with black pants; underneath the red jacket was a white shirt with a blue stripe going across the chest. When Lady made eye contact on who she assumed to be ‘pawpaw’, the face he made only deepened the creases that covered his aged face. 

 

“Well, it’s good to see you up and at ‘em finally,” the old man said and only sat up to get a closer look at her. At Cindy’s non-verbal prompt to get closer, Lady inched forward until he stopped squinting so hard. “Hmm. You got some of them mako eyes. You SOLDIER?”

 

Lady saw no point in lying to the old man. “Once.”

 

“Thought Shinra don’t do resignations.”

 

“They don’t,” she responded coolly, although her face felt hot. “My name’s.. uh.. just call me Lady, sir.”

 

“Don’t call me that,” the old man snapped, “gonna make me feel as old as I look and I don’t need none of that. The name’s Cid.” He gestured to Cindy, “That there’s my granddaughter.”

 

“Thank you for letting me stay, Cid,” Lady bowed her head slightly. “I don’t have any money to give you unfortunately, is there a way I can repay you?”

 

Cindy stepped forward. “It’s okay, sweet pea, you don’t have to. You need to rest-“

 

“I’ll find something for you to do, you soldiers are supposed to be strong, huh? Do something useful around here and I’ll consider the favor repaid,” Cid waved away Cindy’s protests. 

 

“But pawpaw!” Cindy pouted, “She’s not feelin’ well. That’s just not fair.”

 

“Life ain’t fair,” Cid shot her a cross look. 

 

“It’s okay, Cindy,” Lady gave her a reassuring smile. “I don’t mind helping, it’s the least I can do. Where do you need me?”

 

*******

 

“Sweet pea, have you seen my floor jack?” Cindy walked into the garage just as Lady set down a box of car parts she couldn’t even name- but she knew they looked pretty important and as such handled them with the utmost care. 

 

“No, what’s it look like?” Lady turned to look at her. 

 

“It’s supposed to help me lift up the car to place a tire in,” Cindy explained, making a motion of showing the instruments supposed size. “It’s pretty heavy, metal, and it has a lever.”

 

“No offense Cindy, but to me, literally everything here looks like what you just described.”

 

Cindy laughed then sighed, “Guess I’ll have to postpone that job for tomorrow.” 

 

“You just need to put a tire in?”

 

“Yeah, oh well-“

 

“Nah, come on, I can help.”

 

Cindy followed her with a confused look, going over to the car she was working on. Lady circled the car looking for the flat tire and stopped when she was at the right side near the front. Squatting down, she motioned Cindy to come closer. 

 

“You got everything you needed right?” Lady asked her. 

 

“Yup, all I was missing was my car jack.” Cindy said, pointing to the spare tire and lug wrench beside her foot. 

 

Lady took a moment, the car wasn’t that big- it was a small convertible that looked like it could be shaken if the winds were heavy enough, “How fast are you at changing tires?”  

 

“Pretty darn fast.”

 

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.” With that, Lady grappled the edge of the car and lifted it up enough so the flat was off the ground. She heard Cindy whistle with admiration. 

 

“You’re stronger than you look, sweet pea,” the beautiful mechanic chuckled, already starting to take the bolts off and take off the flaccid rubber to replace it with the new one. Lady huffed, exhaling slowly and inhaling sharply as Cindy gave the tire a second look, making sure everything was secure. Giving Lady the thumbs up that she was finished, she lowered down the car again until it landed softly on its tires. 

 

“Great job, sweet pea,” Cindy laughed, patting her shoulder lightly,- carefully avoiding where her arms were bandaged. 

 

“Could say the same about you-,” Lady looked at the mechanic for a bit, “-daisy.”

 

“‘Daisy’?” Cindy tilted her head, blinking. 

 

“Yeah, you remind me of a daisy- one of the bright yellow ones. In fact,” Lady glanced over to where the desert mountains reached toward the tip of the sky, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see the color yellow without thinking of you at some point.”

 

“Oh?” Cindy looked delighted, walking over to where she was in full view of Lady’s vision. “Do you mean that?”

 

“Yeah,” Lady nodded, glancing over her and pointing out the bright yellow jacket she wore. “Your jacket, your hair.. reminds me of the color of the sun too.” Now that she thought about it, Cindy had similar features to Larxene. Sunny blonde hair, bright, jewel-like green eyes.. _I hope you don’t hate me too much right now, Larx._

 

“Hey,” Cindy’s expression grew concerned, “what’s that long face for? Yellow’s s’posed to be a happy color, right?”

 

“Sorry,” Lady chuckled. “Just thinking about some stuff.” 

 

The mechanic’s lips pouted in a way that told Lady that she didn’t believe her. “Pawpaw said you were a soldier once, do you have a home to go to or are you wandering around?”

 

Lady took a moment to reply and when she did, her eyes filled with uncertainty. “Not sure at the moment.”

 

“Well if you ever need a home, you can stay here.” She offered. 

 

“Hm,” Lady laughed, “so I can be your personal car jack and live in the parking lot forever?”

 

“Well you can live upstairs in rooms above the garage with me,” Cindy’s face was quite serious and Lady was taken aback a bit. 

 

“You don’t know me that well,” Lady played it off with another laugh. “You can’t just offer a stranger a place to stay.”

 

“Then tell me more about yourself so we’re not strangers anymore.”

 

Lady was even more surprised now and was at a loss for words; she was grateful when someone called Cindy’s name to tell her about another problem that arose. 

 

“You should go,” Lady told her, “don’t worry about me.” 

 

“Don’t think I’ll let you leave without getting you situated, missy,” Cindy wagged a finger at her. “I’ll be right back!”

 

Lady waved as she turned towards the person who called her. Reaching up on her left arm, she felt the bandage becoming wet; looking down, she groaned when she saw the red begin to seep through the white gauze. _That’s what you get for showing off. Idiot._ Shaking her head, she walked over to the gas station to look for a first-aid kit. Perusing the small aisle, she stopped when she saw anti-bacterial spray and a roll of wrapped gauze. Picking it up, she glanced up at the wall that contained a large map detailing the region. 

 

She could see ‘Leide’, a vast desert region with an ocean and a resort further down south. In bold font on the waters, it spelled out ‘Galdin Quay’. her eyes traveled up north and froze when she saw another label with a font so bold it was hard to miss. 

 

‘Insomnia, Kingdom of Lucis’ it read. 

 

Lady swallowed. This wasn’t a coincidence that she ended up here so close to the Crown City. A hard lump formed in her throat as she stared at the large city surrounded by a body of water. A large bridge connected this region to that and she was thankful that a natural landmark had separated and partially isolated it from the world.

 

Taking her supplies, she moved to the front and got out the small bit of allowance that Cid so generously gave her- at the behest of his precious granddaughter of course. After paying for her items, she thanked the cashier and quickly exited the store. Deciding to retreat back to her mobile home, she stopped when she overheard two people conversating while they filled up their car with gas. 

 

“This is ridiculous, we came out all the way here and we can’t even get in!” 

 

“The blockade is meant for protection- we can’t blame them. Not with the Imperials after them.”

 

“Yeah I _know_ , but.. ugh, I just really wanted to see the Crown City just once. We should have really left earlier.”

 

“Or we can wait for the war to be over.”

 

“Hah! Yeah right.”

 

Lady hurried along back to the trailer, closing the door and sitting on her bed. Tossing the bandages and spray aside, she exhaled slowly. _Where do I go from here?_ She moved to open the blinds over the small rectangular window looking outside. In the distance she could see Cid sitting in a chair- exactly where he was hours ago. 

 

_Ah, to be that old and carefree. Maybe I’ll settle down one day and not have to worry about anything._

 

Walking back out into the sweltering heat, she marched over to Cid. “Can I ask you something?” She said as she approached him. 

 

“What is it?” The old man looked at her. 

 

“When they found me.. did they find anything else?”

 

Cid’s eyes narrowed and leaned forward in his chair. “What exactly are you looking for?”

 

Again, she saw no point in lying to the old man. His eyes were far too keen, despite his age. “I was.. kept in an Imperial base, but I escaped.”

 

“Figures,” he said and motioned to her bandages, “you don’t get wounds like that careening ‘round these parts. Even the critters here don’t carve people up like that. So what, you a wanted woman?”

 

“What- no!” She shook her head. “I.. do you think it’s possible you can send someone a message to the Lucians?? I think there might be an attack soon, I overheard the Imperial soldiers talking about it.”

 

Cid’s eyes narrowed even further. “If you’re telling the truth, Reggie needs to know.. but I can’t just send anyone.”

 

“‘Reggie’?”

 

“King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII,” Cid recited the name with practiced patience. “I just call him Reggie.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Anyways, like I said, I can’t just send anyone to deliver that message.”

 

“...What about you?”

 

“ _You_ need to go, missy,” the elder man scolded her. “I’m too old. You’re much younger, and I reckon much faster.”

 

“I can’t,” she whispered, her eyes lowering to the ground. _I don’t want to be inside the city when Ardyn tries something. I can’t stop him myself._

 

“And why not?” Cid asked her. “Scared?”

 

Lady’s eyes snapped up to his, narrowing like his. “Why would I be scared?”

 

He tutted. “Even if Reggie is scared, he does things because he has to- not because he wants to. I’ve seen him make choices that I know for a fact will haunt him for the rest of his life. If anyone should tell him what you heard, it should come from your own mouth.”

 

She brought a hand up and rubbed her forehead. _He’s right. Once I deliver that message then I can leave._ She looked up at the sky and pondered on the question that’s been bothering her the whole day: _But where do I go after…?_ She wanted to slap herself. It was annoying that the same question kept popping up in her head. _Think about that after!!_  

 

“Fine. I’m leaving soon then. Is my debt repaid yet?”

 

“Hmph, I’ll consider it a personal favor if you tell Reggie- also.. tell that old man to come visit me more often. I’m gettin’ lonely out here,” he said. “When you leavin’?”

 

“Tomorrow morning.” She replied.

 

*******

 

Cindy knocked on the door and she waited a couple seconds, hearing footsteps walk towards the door and opening. Lady poked her head out. “Hey,” she said, “what’s wrong?”

 

“Whatcha up to sweet pea?” She asked her. 

 

“I’m, uh, changing my bandages.”

 

“Need some help?”

 

Lady hesitated and was almost bashful when she nodded. “If you don’t mind.”

 

“Not at all.”

 

Her head retracted and the door was cracked open wider as Cindy stepped in and followed Lady in. Closing the door behind her, she looked as Lady pulled the Hammerhead shirt over her head. Slowly, her hands worked to peel off the bloodied gauze on her arms. “I opened up some cuts when I lifted the car,” Lady chuckled. “Stupid me.” She wiped her wounds down with a cloth dampened with anti-bacterial spray. Once she disposed of her old gauze, she handed the new roll to Cindy and turned her back to her. 

 

Cindy stood up and gently raised Lady’s arms; taking the roll and wrapping it around, starting at her wrist; the mechanic’s green eyes looked over at the healing cuts, a flash of sadness going over the haze flecks in her irises. She wondered who did this to her when she patched her up when they first brought her in- who would cut up someone like this? It was cruel. 

 

“Cindy,” Lady said. 

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’m leaving tomorrow morning for the Crown City.”

 

Cindy stopped, walking around her to face her. “Why?”

 

“I have something I need to take care of.”

 

“Will you be back?”

 

Lady hesitated, “I’m not sure. I don’t know.”

 

Cindy silently nodded, moving to wrap her other arm with gauze quickly. Lady picked up her shirt and slid it on, looking at the blonde who looked utterly disheartened. Before Lady could apologize, Cindy met her eyes and spoke. “Wanna come with me for a stroll?”

 

“There might be some beasts around,” Lady was hesitant again, she didn’t want to spark even more ire from the old man. 

 

“With a strong woman like you around? I don’t have to worry about them!” Cindy cracked a smile. “Come on, tell me some stories about your soldier life before you leave.”

 

*******

 

“And so I had to explain to them why I couldn’t find the guy who did it all the while I had to actual treasure in my hand behind my back.” Lady made a motion with her hands, “It wasn’t even worth it- the thing was like this big. Made a good paperweight though, I still have it to this day.”

 

Cindy laughed heartily, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth as her shoulders shook. “You’re funnier than a barrel full of cactuars!”

 

“I got more stories, but-“ Lady looked up at the sky, “-it’s getting pretty late, and you look cold.” She saw the goosebumps form on the surface of Cindy’s legs. Raising her hand, she flexed her fingers until a soft light emanated from them and heat radiated from her. A small fire sparked in between them and kept the two women warm. 

 

“You know magic?” Cindy looked surprised. “That’s a rare thing too these days.”

 

“Depends on the crowd you hang out with,” Lady laughed. “It’s a common occurrence for me. I practically abuse the stuff with how much I use it.”

 

“Now that’d be handy,” Cindy mused. “I could use an ice to cool down an overheated engine, or maybe some lightning to charge up a battery. You should teach me!”

 

“It takes months if not years to master even the most basic of elements, it won’t be easy.”

 

“I reckon you’re a good teacher so I have confidence.” 

 

“You’re too kind,” Lady hummed, looking up at the stars. The sky was clear in the desert, so clear that she could see every star that twinkled in the night. It was peaceful. 

 

“It’s nice out here isn’t it?” Cindy said as if she read what was going on in Lady’s mind. “I come out here after work, sometimes it can get overwhelming so it’s good to catch my breath.” The blonde turned her face towards her and tilted her head, “So do you have anyone special waiting for you?”

 

“Uhh,” Lady cleared her throat. “It’s.. complicated.”

 

“How so? If you don’t mind me askin’.”

 

“It’s more along the lines of- I-“ Lady sighed, shaking her head. “I just don’t think I deserve someone- anyone. There’s too much about me that I don’t consider a good quality, anyone who wants a relationship with shouldn’t- they deserve better than me.”

 

“You can’t mean that, sweet pea.”

 

“I do. I can’t drag down people with my problems.”

 

Cindy was silent, looking up at the stars as well. “I’m sorry I asked, but, I know how you feel. I don’t bother with relationships, I’m not the most interested in them. Sometimes I don’t think I’m the most interesting to talk to either- especially since I have a whole business to run, I’m always so busy, y’know?”

 

“You kidding? You’re fascinating to talk to, the way you talk about machines and how you know them like a doctor would know about human anatomy. Not to mention you’re one hell of a caregiver-“ Lady rolled her shoulders, looking down at the bandages that Cindy so kindly wrapped her up with. “-and you’re gorgeous. Any guy would be lucky to have you. I don’t know about other people but I for one enjoy talking to you and seeing you smile makes me feel better. Now I don’t know much about cars, but I would do my best to help you out in any way I can.”

 

Lady didn’t know if it was a trick of the night or the heat from the arcane fire- but there was small blush on Cindy’s cheeks. 

 

“You mean that, sweet pea?” The mechanic murmured. 

 

“I wouldn’t lie to you, ’daisy’,” the soldier smiled softly. 

 

Cindy looked like she wanted to say more, her hazel-flecked green eyes searching Lady’s face as she got up. 

 

“We should go,” Lady stretched her arms above her head. “It’s getting late.” The fire extinguished behind her and she felt Cindy hold onto her arm, careful to not move her bandages too much. 

 

“I’m still a bit cold,” she explained rather sheepishly, rare from the usually confident mechanic she would see while she worked. 

 

Heat radiated from her arm as she moved closer to Cindy. Together, they walked back to Hammerhead. 

 

*******

 

Lady felt hands wrap around her waist and she gently placed her hands on the arms around her. 

 

“I was so worried,” Naminé cried. “You’re safe now, right? Are you okay? Maybe we can come get you right now!”

 

“No, not yet.” Unwrapping her arms from her, Lady turned around and knelt down. “I still have something I have to do.”

 

“Everyone misses you at home,” the girl said. “We were all worried. Are you okay? Vincent said you shouldn’t suffer any more and I didn’t know bringing your memories back would give you much pain, I-“

 

“Shh,” Lady ruffled her pale blonde hair. “I’m fine. You didn’t know, don’t blame yourself.” She took a moment. “So you’ve met Vincent. Are you at the Alstroemeria?”

 

“Yes,” Naminé nodded. “It’s so pretty there. And Terra is there too.”

 

“Is he sulking about?”

 

“Yes,” Naminé giggled, “he’s always pacing and it makes everyone nervous.”

 

“Where are you sleeping? You can take my room if you want,” said Lady. 

 

“Actually,” she blushed, “Xion and I kicked Vincent out of your apartment and we’re staying in your room.” 

 

For once in a long while, Lady snorted loudly, “Hah! I’d pay to see the look on his face when you girls kicked him out, nice job!” _Damn, it felt good to laugh_. Getting up, Lady looked down at her, “Do me a favor, don’t tell the others where I am just yet. If they ask- just tell them I blocked you off or something.”

 

“You want me to lie? But why?”

 

“I told you, I need to get something done first.” 

 

“Will you come home after you’re done?” She asked as Lady turned her face to conceal the inner storm that gathered in her eyes.  

 

Lady was silent, looking back at the girl with a wry expression. “Sure. Goodnight, Naminé.”

 

Once she opened her eyes again, Lady found herself alone in the trailer. The morning sun hadn’t even come out yet and she got up to stretch her arms. Wiping her eyes, she looked over to the small ticking clock sitting on a chair she had fashioned into a makeshift nightstand. It read ‘6:47’. Reaching over to open the blinds, she saw that very few people were currently up and for that she was thankful; she then made preparations for her journey to the Crown City. 


	55. LV

“Thought you could leave without sayin’ goodbye?” Cindy put her hands on her hips as Lady dropped the kickstand on her motorcycle, given to her by the courtesy of Cid. 

 

“Sorry, I didn’t wanna take up your time, I know you’re busy in the mornings,” Lady grinned sheepishly. 

 

Cindy made a face and her eyes softened when she saw the sword strapped on her back. “Are you expecting trouble?”

 

Lady felt the grip of the sword, it was cheap and not as durable as she wanted it to be, but it would have to do. She missed the sword she had back home. “I’m always expecting trouble. Best be prepared at all times, right?”

 

Letting out a breath, Cindy nodded, “Alright.. I suppose this is it. You come on back, you hear?”

 

She only smiled at the mechanic’s worried expression. 

 

“By the way, pawpaw told me if you’re ever out by Midgar again, tell his nephew to come visit him too,” Cindy said. 

 

“Alright, no promises but what’s his nephew’s name?”

 

“Cid.”

 

“His name is Cid too..?” Lady made a face. 

 

“Oh yeah, there’s plenty of Cid’s in our family,” she laughed. “It’s a bit of a running joke. He wants you to tell him to come on by and stop working on that rocket of his.”

 

“Uh, alright then,” she wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this. 

 

“And my offer’s still up there,” the blonde added, “if you want a home here, you got one.”

 

“I’ll keep it in mind,” with that Lady balanced the motorcycle upright and the engine roared to life. “Thanks for everything, Cindy.”

 

“You be safe, sweet pea,” she smiled. 

 

Nodding, Lady revved up the motorcycle and directed it towards the road that led north. Once she was a distance away from Hammerhead, she turned her head to see Cindy waving. Picking up her arm from the handle, she waved back then turned to face the open road once more. 

 

*******

 

The lineup of cars stalled at the checkpoint between this region and the next should’ve been no surprise for her- and yet here she was, driving between rows of vexed people who had business in the Crown City and was barred from entry. As she got closer to the front, she could hear many people protest this decision.

 

“This is ridiculous, I’m an Insomnian too!”

 

“So we’re stuck out here until the war is over?! Do you realize how long that might take, I have a family in there!”

 

“No one’s getting stuck here,” an officer stepped out, his voice boomed over the crowds and they became silent. “After we process your entry visas, we’ll gladly let you enter, but for now please understand that most of our staff are on the front lines and we will try to get to everyone as fast as possible! Now please form one line!!”

 

Lady craned her neck to see the massive amount of people that were now filing in and pushing themselves into the poorly formed line in front of the checkpoint gates. All the way across the bridge that spanned the body of water that kept Insomnia isolated- she could see hexagonal shapes that shimmered in the midday sun.  _ That’s right,  _ she reminded herself,  _ Insomnia has a magical barrier around it to protect its’ citizens- unlike mine I suppose. _

 

Another thought had hit her: she had no visa. Even if she lined up right now, they wouldn’t even let her in. Sighing, she parked her motorcycle onto the side of the dirt road and kicked the stand down. She had to try anyways. Looking around, she saw two guards dressed in black walking to the front of the line. Rushing over to them, she cleared her throat to get their attention.    
  


“Excuse me,” she started, “I know you already have a line waiting to get in, but I have a message for King Regis- it’s really important that he hears it.” She should’ve expected the response but was still mildly surprised when not one, but  _ both _ of the guards burst out into laughter. 

 

“Sure,” the one on the right laughed. “And I’m the Queen of Lucis. You’ll have to wait in line with everyone else, no exceptions.”

 

Lady gripped her fists, “Look, I’m a friend of Prince Noctis, I just need to tell his dad something and I’ll be on my way after.”

 

“Riiigghhtt, and I’m also the next in line for the throne,” the guard on the left nodded as if he believed her. “Look  _ lady _ , we told you no exceptions.”

 

“But it’s important, you have to believe me!” She protested. 

 

“Why don’t you tell your sob story to the Insomnian Gazette? Maybe they’ll feature you for the 12’o’clock special for all the world to see.” 

 

Straightening her back, her jaw hardened into a straight line. “Maybe I will,” she said coldly as she turned around and marched off. 

 

*******

 

Lady looked up at the stretch of bridge connecting towards Insomnia. “You want a 12’o’clock feature? I’ll give you one alright.” 

 

Her hand stretched out and she murmured words as she looked at the water below. Slowly it began to churn and swirl. The feeling of waves trickled over her skin, even when she was standing on a flat plateau. Looking up towards the sky, the clouds began to darken and she channeled her anger as she closed her eyes. Thinking of Ardyn, thinking of how he tortured her; thinking of Hojo, thinking of how this was all just one big scientific expedition for him- acting as a god who plays with the fabric of reality as if it were another simple piece of paper on his desk with incoherent writing.  _ How dare they. _

 

The anger built up like black sludge that creeped from the deepest fissures of her cracked and broken heart. Welling up until it was deep enough to smother everything with overwhelming hatred and sorrow. Opening her eyes again, she saw the breaths leave her nostrils in clouds of white condensation. The air around her grew colder and the sky above grew darker as the sea below churned. 

 

Purple lightning crackled through the dark crevices of the clouds and struck the water below. The waters parted and opened into a small maelstrom as streams of water rose and and came together into a sphere. A horn then stuck out, then a giant fin, then a beak-like protrusion until it rose further and a slithering body with scales came out. Thunder struck the water around her summon and behind her, further down near the checkpoint- she heard panicked screams. 

 

“It’s- it’s Leviathan!”

 

“What’s that Astral doing here?!”

 

_ Rise. _ Lady turned her head up at the water creature, a satisfied smirk coming to her face. It looked almost like the real thing. Almost. But she couldn’t keep it up for long, it took too much energy.  _ Show them your wrath, O Mother of Tides.  _

 

As it’s body curled, Lady jumped onto one of the large fins that sailed past her. The false Leviathan turned its head towards the sky and let out an echoing wail that made the waves below scream with it as it churned even more. Leaping off, she rolled onto the bridge that lead to Insomnia. 

 

The false Leviathan let out another roar that was deafening when in tandem with the rolling thunder. 

 

“Alright, give them the show they wanted!” Lady yelled to her summoned beast.  _ Let them know I’m here. _

 

*******

 

Prompto fiddled with the remote in his hands, sighing when he flipped through the channels. Everyone had been on edge lately and all he could do to avoid everyone’s ire was to stay in his apartment and surf these television channels. 

 

He stopped when he saw the news for Insomnia. Usually he would say he was homesick, but he did love adventure and the only thing he truly missed where his parents. Though adoptive parents, they always treated Prompto as if he were their own. 

 

As he was about to flip through, already bored at how dull and monotone the reporter sounded while reading off his script, he stopped when he heard the next words and the screen flashed with bold red letters spelling out ‘breaking news.’ 

 

_ “Breaking news: Leviathan Attacks Insomnia!” _

 

“What?!” Prompto sat up and walked closer to the t.v. screen.

 

_ “Live cameras are showing the feed right now, reporters are scrambling to get on scene.” _

 

Prompto’s eyes widened when he saw the shaky footage of the huge storm that covered the bridge leading to Insomnia. Just below it was Leviathan in all of its water glory. Strangely enough, it wasn’t attacking anything, just.. floating about and making noise. His eyes snapped up to the storm when he saw purple lightning crackle above. 

 

He saw that lightning before.

 

Without thinking, he opened the front door and ran out until he reached the railing that looked over the courtyard. 

 

“Guys!” He yelled out to the ones below. “You really need to see this, come quick!!”

 

*******

 

“Reporting, I’m coming in fast,” the man said to his comm tucked in his ear, he perched carefully atop one of the steel beams that kept the bridge balanced. 

 

_ “Act accordingly, we just need to know what we’re dealing with.” _

 

“Of course, marshal,” the man stopped, looking down at the bridge from his current position. He had a dark hood pulled over his head with a horn fashioned on one side of it. “Wouldn’t wanna disappoint you.” Pulling the hood off of him to reveal a head of dark grey hair that was shaved partly on the sides, his dark blue eyes narrowed when he saw the brewing storm. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

 

_ “Be careful Nyx. We’re sending Crowe and Libertus to your location soon.” _

 

“That won’t be necessary.”

 

_ “Nyx Ulric,”  _ the voice on the other end was stern. “ _ We won’t risk pitting you against an unknown enemy. They’re headed your way now.” _

 

“Alright, Cor,” Nyx sighed, “can’t argue with that logic. Nyx out.” He put his finger down from his ear and watched as the Leviathan swirled up and down, undulating as with the waves and the storm. The lightning had a purple sheen to it, something he found peculiar, it wasn’t subtle either- it was brightly colored. Squinting through the rain, he saw a lone figure standing on the bridge.

 

Taking out his kukri, he flung it downwards and it disappeared in a flash of blinding blue and white light along with his body. Reappearing when his hand materialized to catch the kukri as his feet touched the ground. Approaching the person, he took a deep breath, “Hey,” he called out loudly over the rain pelting on the metal beams and concrete roads.

 

The figure turned around and he was surprised to find that it was a woman. Her hair was damp and flailing about, her white shirt stuck to her body and the bandages that covered her the whole extremities of her arms were completely soaked through. She looked like a sorceress of the sea - with the way the rain and winds seemed to swirl around her body. What stuck out to Nyx the most was her eyes and the luminescent purple glow that hid beneath the color of her irises. 

 

“Did you make this storm?” He asked. 

 

“I did,” the woman replied. 

 

“For what reason?”

 

“I need to speak with King Regis,” she said. “There’s something he has to know.”

 

“And you did all this-“ he motioned to the storm and creature dancing about, “-just to get attention?”

 

“I thought it’d be quicker than waiting in line,” she replied, “and it appears I’m right. No less than seven minutes- you’re quick. So, will you let me talk to him?”

 

“No can do,  _ lady _ ,” he shook his head. “I can’t let you just waltz into the Crown City.”

 

“I’m not leaving here until my message gets to him,” she crossed her arms. Her legs faltered a bit and she took a step back. In the corner of his eye, he could see the water beast’s visage shimmer and looked like it was going to fall apart. 

_ Ah,  _ he looked from the summoned creature to the woman,  _ that thing’s draining your energy, huh? _

 

“Sorry to disappoint you, I’m going to have to ask you to leave and come back another day,” he called.

 

“The only one here that’s going to be disappointed is you,” she hissed. “This is urgent.”

 

“You’re frightening our citizens and could be charged with destruction of property.”

 

“Destruction?” She scoffed, “I’m only making your bridge wet, if I wanted to destroy something- trust me, it would’ve been gone by now.”

 

“Look, lady, you’re leaving me with little choice here,” the kukri came to his hand and her eyes immediately trained on it. Glancing up at him with annoyance. 

 

“So be it,” she took her short sword from her back and gripped it tight as the creature above them let out another hollow roar. 

 

*******

 

Noctis squinted at the screen and his eyes widened when he saw two figures clash as the Leviathan swirled across the screen, momentarily blocking the live-feed from what was taking place. 

 

“Purple lightning,” Terra breathed, “that’s her, right? It’s gotta be,”

 

“It is,” Ignis said, “but what is she doing so close to Insomnia?”

 

The field of view cleared and Noctis saw the two figures come to blows. One wearing the signature outfit of the Glaives, while the other wore jean shorts and a simple white shirt with bandages wrapped around their arms. 

 

“Lady..!” Noctis exclaimed when he recognized her. “And that’s…” he saw the other man. 

 

“One of the Glaives,” Ignis muttered. “She looks injured.”

 

Lady stumbled back, appearing to catch her breath as she blocked another attack. 

 

“Why is she fighting him? Don’t tell me she’s really trying to attack Insomnia,” said Prompto.

 

“What? No dude, you’re crazy, she wouldn’t do that,” Noctis refused to believe him. 

 

“She’s not, look,” Gladio pointed at how Lady dodged another attack and brought her sword up to shield herself. “She’s on the defensive, she’s not trying to hurt him.”

 

“What do we do?” Prompto asked all of them. 

 

Noctis looked at Terra, “Could you get me there? I need to stop this before it gets worse.”

 

“Understood,” Terra nodded, he hesitated before holding his hand out and summoning his Keyblade. “Are you sure you don’t want anyone to go with you?”

 

Noctis looked as the screen blocked out and the reporters frantically tried to explain why they couldn’t show anymore of the battle. 

 

“I’ll go first,” Noctis said, “they’ll stop when they know it’s me.”

 

Terra sighed, relaxing his shoulders and pointed his Keyblade at a blank space on the floor. An orb of light opened up perpendicularly to the floor and Noctis didn’t wait for further instructions before he took off running into the lighted portal.

 

*******

 

Lady grimaced when she saw the sword chip and crack when she held it above her head to stop an incoming attack.  _ This bastard’s strong..! _ Pushing him off, she scowled when the sword snapped under the added pressure. 

 

Tossing it aside, she readied her fists.  _ Can’t use magic, I’m already feeling like shit. How long can I keep this up?  _

 

“Nyx!” Two figures appeared beside the man she was fighting. A woman with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes with a slight aquiline nose as well as another heavyset man with a head of light brown hair pulled back on the sides into braids and dark blue eyes similar to his comrade. Both of them wore the same uniform that the one called ‘Nyx’ had.  _ The uniform of the Kingsglaive. _

 

Leviathan roared above and thunder cracked. She felt her breath getting heavier as she tried to keep herself on her feet. 

 

“If you keep it up, you’ll be outnumbered soon,” Nyx said to her. 

 

“Invite a couple more and we can fight evenly,” she panted, her eyes looking dull with fatigue. 

 

“Stubborn woman,” Nyx clicked his tongue, “if it’s so important, then I can relay your message.”

 

“I need to tell him myself!” Lady shouted. “And I told you I’m not leaving until I do!” 

 

“What’s her deal?” The other man who just arrived asked Nyx. 

 

“I've never seen magic like this,” the woman looked up at the storm. “Just what are we dealing with?”

 

“Crowe,” Nyx turned to the woman, then turned to the other man, “Libertus, let’s focus on the current threat first.”

 

Nodding, Libertus lifted his hand as a kukri came into it as Nyx did the same. Crowe lifted her hands as balls of fire coated her fists. Lady’s knees bent, getting ready to move whenever they chose to attack. Her stamina and strength was quickly leaving her.  _ No! I need more time.. more power.. _

 

Taking one of her bandages, she quickly unwrapped it as it fell and revealed the healed scars on her arms. She repeated the motion on her other ram and used the bandages to hurriedly wrap it around her knuckles.  _ No sword, no magic.. I’m gonna have to brawl this one out!  _

 

Nyx’s eyes traveled over her arms and she saw his grip on his kukri falter then returned when he saw Leviathan swim in the air overhead. She watched as his shoulders relaxed and he threw his kukri towards her.  _ A warp-strike?  _ She readied herself for the impact. 

 

In her peripheral, she could see a bright flash of light along with another explosion of blue and white translucent crystals. As Nyx appeared in front of her, another figure in black blocked him off with a sword. 

 

She knew that messy head of hair anywhere. 

 

“Noctis!” She cried. Immediately, the storm cleared as beams of sunlight pierced through the lightening clouds. Leviathan’s body dispersed into droplets of water that scattered onto the bridge below and dampening the ones gathered further. 

 

“Your Highness,” Nyx gasped, quickly retracting his blade. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Stopping this,” Noctis gritted his teeth, letting his sword disappear as he turned around to face her. “You okay?!” He searched her face and his eyes looked down at the raw red scars that were still healing along her arms. “What happened to you..” she saw pain flash across his face as he muttered. 

 

“Noct- is it really you? You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered harshly. “Go home, I-“

 

“Of course it’s me,” he looked confused but shook it off. “This is my home too,” he continued, he wasn’t going to have any of that. “Tell me what’s going on!”

 

“I can’t,” she said, “not yet, please, I just need to talk to King Regis first.”

 

“Prince Noctis,” Nyx approached them. “Do you know her?”

 

“I’m his landla-“ she started. 

 

“She’s my friend,” Noctis cut her off immediately. “Can we get inside?”

 

Nyx’s face hardened, sighing, he looked to the two behind him. “Of course, your father would want an explanation.”

 

*******

 

“Dad’s busy today, you can see him tomorrow,” Noctis set down a set of clothes for her on the edge of the bed to change onto. “Besides, you need to rest- you look exhausted.”

 

“I’m fine,” she waved away his concern and looked around the room. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small. The colors were monochromatic save for the few comics she saw lining the bookshelf besides leather-bound volumes that probably contained some secrets of the kingdom. She would have to resist the temptation to look through them later. “Are you sure I can stay here?”

 

“Yeah, it’s no big deal. It’s my old apartment after all,” he said as he plopped down next to her, the bed sinking further under their combined weights. “But I like my new one better anyways.”

 

Lady tried to hide the growing smile on her lips but he caught it and smirked in response. His face faltered when his eyes flitted over her arms. Before she could move away from him, he reached forward and touched the scarred skin. She shivered under his touch, his fingers felt cold against the areas that were hot due to the skin trying to repair itself. 

 

“What happened to you in those weeks you’ve been gone,” he murmured as he counted through the numerals. 

 

“This is nothing,” she tried to reassure him. “I’m here now, aren’t I? You should go back, I’m fine here.”

 

“No way,” he scoffed, “I’m not leaving you alone, that’s why I’m staying here with you and after this we can go back home.”

 

Lady hesitated, looking down at her hands. “What if I can’t protect you..?”

 

“What are you talking about?” She was surprised to feel his hand cover hers. “I’m here to protect _ you, _ so you got nothing to worry about.”

 

“Noctis,” she whispered, “it’s really you right now? Right?”

 

“Of course, I’m right here in front of you,” he said. “Why do you keep asking that?”

 

_ Because I couldn’t stand finding out that he took your face just to get close to me again.  _

 

Turning her palm upward, she intertwined her fingers with his and then it was his turn to be surprised- but he didn’t let go. Closing her eyes, she relished the way his hand felt in hers and she wanted to be held so bad. When she opened her eyes to look into his dark sapphire irises- she also saw Zexion’s eyes and how his looked pained on the day she was taken. 

 

She quickly retracted her hand. “I should shower,” she said and took her clothes to go into the bathroom. She didn’t see the way Noctis’ face looked disheartened when she let go of his hand. Perhaps it was best that she didn’t. 

 

*******

 

Once she stepped out of the shower, it was considerably darker in Noctis’ room. Accompanying the serene quiet that filled his apartment was the subtle snoring that came from the prince. She smiled when she walked past the bed, it was comical how quickly Noctis could fall- and stay, asleep. 

 

Adjusting the baggy maroon shirt that had “I love cup noodles” written on it in curved letters; she found a sticky note taped onto the shirt on the front. It read: ‘Happy birthday, dork -Gladio’. 

 

Taking the note and reading it silently, she smiled. The shirt was approximately Gladio’s size, no way it would’ve fit Noctis. Laying it down neatly on his desk so he would never lose the sticky note containing Gladio’s love; she quietly exited the room and slipped on house slippers to insulate her feet from the cold wooden floor. 

 

Ultimately opting to only wear the shirt, it served as a makeshift night gown. The pajama pants he gave her were mildly uncomfortable and as of now she was fine letting the air touch her bare legs. Walking into the living room, she made a beeline towards the balcony overlooking the vast city of Insomnia. Opening the sliding door, she left a crack open while she got on her tiptoes to see just how far off the ground they were- which, admittedly, was pretty high up. Balancing her elbows on the rail, she put her chin on her fists and admired how the city lights on the tal buildings were outshining the stars in the dark indigo sky. 

 

Even at night, the city looked as if it were alive, earning the right to truly dub itself Insomnia _. It’s truly a city that never sleeps.  _

 

She felt a gust of cold that didn’t feel like a normal rush of wind. It felt like whispers from oblivion. Next, she heard footsteps walking close to her and she could smell dark amber musk. Turning around slowly, she was looking up at none other than Xemnas himself. 

 

“Why are you here?” She asked him, pressing her back against the rail.

 

His response was a slow brush through her hair with his gloved hands; he was wearing his Organization coat this time instead of the suit. “I haven’t been able to feel your presence until now.”

 

_ Naminé said the same thing. She couldn’t see me either. What was hiding me from them? Was it Ardyn? Or..  _

 

“My my,” a sly smirk came across her lips, “is the Superior worried about me?”

 

“How could I not be.”

 

That caught her off guard. He admitted it so easily. 

 

She raised her hand and he did the same, their palms touching and soon their fingers intertwined together. She looked at how large his hand was compared to hers. “Are you here because you care? Or.. do you feel something else calling to you?” The question she asked came out in a whisper, his possible answer made her feel scared. 

 

“You lift my gaze to the horizon,” was all he said as his eyes traveled down from her eyes to her lips and stopped when he saw her arms. 

 

A subtle frown and furrow of his brow made her shrink in his presence as she tried to retract her hand. He held her fast and with his other hand, he ran his thumb over the scars. Slowly, he untangled his hand from hers; taking the tip of his glove with his teeth one at a time, he took both of them off quickly and gave it to her to hold. She looked up at him, confused as to what he was doing and froze when his bare hand caressed the 3-inch long numeral of ‘I’. It was  _ his  _ number- number 1: Xemnas.

 

Breathing slowly, a soft green light emitted from his palms; illuminating against her skin as he wrapped his hands as best he could around the circumference of her arms. Sliding them down slowly, she watched as the scars on her arms turned from a raw and ugly red to a wispy and light color. She shivered despite how warm his hands felt against her. Once he was done, she was at a loss for words on how it looked on her. Turning in the moonlight, they shimmered like veins of pure silver that embedded themselves in her skin.

 

“Thank you,” she gripped the gloves tighter, feeling how smooth they were. She hoped this meant the scars would go away quicker- but that was wishful thinking. “Though, scars never really fade forever, right?”

 

“We all carry them,” Xemnas replied. “Whether it be physical,” he ran a finger against his numeral on her skin again and then caressed the back of her neck. “Or.. emotional.” His palm held her cheek and she leaned into his touch. 

 

“Yes,” she agreed, “but scars are proof that we’re alive, that we’re living and we’ve survived.” It was her turn to caress his face. Slowly and carefully and tentatively, she let her right thumb run across the trajectory of his cheekbone. “You have scars too, you’re just as alive as I am.”

 

He looked at her with scant trace of emotion in his eyes. “But you are loved by others.”

 

This made her scoff and dropped her hands. Averting her gaze from his, she looked to the side. “Who could love  _ something _ like me?”

 

He leaned closer. “That wouldn’t be difficult-“ she could smell his cologne so much more; it filled her senses. “-For me,” he finished, taking her face and tilting it up towards him. His eyes looked down at her lips and she gulped. 

 

“Teach me how to love you,” he murmured, his face coming closer and closer. His voice sounded quiet and wanting. Her lips parted and she could almost imagine how his lips would feel. Her eyes closed as his upper lip brushed against hers- 

 

“Lady? Where are you?”

 

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of Noctis looking for her and she quickly pushed Xemnas against the wall where he would be concealed from the glass window revealing the balcony from the living room. 

 

“Uh, I’m out here,” she leaned to the left and poked her head out just enough to see Noctis wander into the living room. 

 

“What are you doing? Aren’t you gonna sleep?” His voice was groggy and his hair was even more unkempt. 

 

“Y-yeah, go back to sleep Noct, I’ll be inside in a bit!” She called back.

 

An incoherent mumble was his reply as he turned on his heels back towards his room. She sighed and relaxed, turning to Xemnas and felt her cheeks heat up when she realized how tightly she gripped his arms as well as how she pressed her body against his.

 

“That was close,” she backed away and froze when his hand rested on the small of her back; he held her in place and pushed her closer against him. Pressing her palms against his chest, she gave him an apologetic smile as she moved to grab his hands to place his gloves back on. “You should go before he comes back out again,” she whispered. “I..” she hesitated, not knowing if what she was about to say would be a good idea, “I’ll see you again another time, okay?”

 

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” he said. “After all,” a corridor opened up in front of them. “Our destinies are forever intertwined.” He spoke as he held her face.

 

Lady watched as the amber of his eyes turned blue and his silvery hair turned a dark brown. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat when she realized that for a split second she was looking at someone else. Blinking, the vision of the Keyblade wielder washed away and she was staring back at Xemnas. 

 

“Wait,” she stopped him before he could back away. Getting on her tiptoes, she planted a kiss on his cheek and she felt herself blush. His eyes widened slightly with mild surprise and felt the spot where her lips made contact. “Goodnight, Xemnas,” she smiled as she turned from him to go back in the apartment. In her head, she wished Terra a peaceful night as well. 

 

*******

 

Noctis was still falling towards the clutches of sleep when he heard his bedroom door open and feet shuffling in. Knowing that the only other person in his apartment was someone who’s become precious to him, he opened his eyes slowly and saw Lady close the door behind her. 

 

“Can I sleep in here with you?” She asked quietly, a bundle of blankets and pillows tucked in her arms

 

“Y-yeah,” Noctis got up on his elbows and watched as she walked over to his side of the bed and set her blankets down on the floor. Frowning, he took the blankets and snatched them up- instead tossing them onto his bed. “You’re not sleeping on the floor, c’mon.”

 

“You sure?” She asked again. 

 

“We slept in the same bed before, remember?” He said as he scooted over for her to lay beside him. She made herself comfortable, shrugging up the sheets till it only revealed the upper part of her face. 

 

“Do you mind if we sleep with the lights on?” She asked quietly with her voice being muffled slightly by the sheets. 

 

Without saying another word, Noctis reached over to turn on the lamp and he looked back at her. Her eyes were puffy and red, telltale signs of one who was just crying. 

 

“Did you have a nightmare?” He asked after settling back onto the bed. 

 

“Something like that,” she breathed, sinking further down into the sheets. 

 

An urge to protect her came over him and he inched over to wrap his arm over her shoulder  and brought her closer to him. “Nothing’s gonna happen to you while I’m here.” 

 

Closing her eyes, she rested her face against his chest as he placed his chin on her head with wisps of her hair tickling his nose. Together, they relaxed to let themselves fall asleep with his arm draped over her and her face close enough to hear his beating heart. She was thankful for the dim light that let her see the corners of the room that were once drenched in shadows. Noctis fell asleep first and Lady soon followed him after. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, just wanted to let everyone know that this semester has been taxing on me. I've been studying to try and get into the nursing program at my school so there's just a lot of work involved in doing so. Outside of school, I try to keep my upload schedule constant without making you guys wait too long for another chapter but inevitably that drains me. 
> 
> I read your comments and I try to respond to them but sometimes I'm just literally too tired to put forth the effort so my sincerest apologies if you feel like I've ignored you on purpose. It's not you, it's me lmao. Sorry that I haven't been uploading and responding back as much as I used to, hope you guys understand.


	56. LVI

Lady woke up first of course; she found Noctis’ head resting atop her chest with his left cheek nuzzled against her breast. His arms were wrapped around her waist as her legs were parted to make room for his body to lay comfortably in between them. How they came to be in this position, she did not know. But what she did know was how uncomfortably hot their combined body temperatures were and how Noctis felt like a dead weight that would not move unless forced. Sighing, she laid her head back on the pillow. Prince Noctis was like a cat; and a cat, once they lay on you, gives you no choice but to just _take it_ until they find another position more to their liking. 

 

He squeezed her waist tighter and mumbled something, moving his face between her breasts and she bit her lip to prevent any noise from coming out. Instead she lifted her hips and tried to slide his arms away from her waist. Once she did so, she rolled him gently to his side and froze when his arms wrapped around her again; his left caressing her neck and his right resting atop her shoulders. He inched closer to the point where she could feel his breath on the back of her neck and the tip of his nose rubbing against her skin. Repeating her strategy, she gently took his arms and unwrapped herself as a child would when unwrapping a piece of candy they’re not supposed to eat. Once she was free from his clutches, she then grabbed a pillow and slipped it in between his arms as a replacement. 

 

The prince, in his somnolent state, found it to be a worthy substitute and wrapped his arms around the cushion. He nuzzled his nose to the side of the pillow and mumbled something again before turning his body to the other side with the pillow still clutched in his arms. 

 

Lady then went about her morning routine the best she could. Finding an unopened pack of toothbrushes and toothpaste along with some decent soap that she used- albeit hesitantly- to wash her face with. Swishing her mouth with water, she spit it out into the sink and looked up into the mirror at herself. She looked.. better. Better than a few days ago at least. But her eyes still haven’t lost that dullness to them, but hopefully in time they would gain back their luster. _After this.. I’ll focus on myself. Get my head back on straight._

 

She left his room as quietly as she could, holding her breath in as she shut the door then tiptoed to the kitchen to try and find something to eat. Opening the fridge, cabinets, and pantry to find naught but heaping piles of pure disappointment. 

 

Sighing, she rolled her shoulders. She didn’t even have any money to order food if she wanted and she certainly couldn’t march up to the Citadel and ask if they had leftovers. Going over her options, she ultimately decided that waking up Noctis just for him to be grumpy at her definitely wasn’t worth it. So she chose the only option left for her- which was to starve. 

 

It was then that she felt a chill enter the apartment and a corridor of darkness opened up. Out walked Demyx dressed in a scrapped up band t-shirt that mysteriously resembled like the one Axel complained about losing a few weeks ago; as well as some ripped up jeans that definitely were not bought like that and seemed to be the outcome of a few if not many misadventures. 

 

“Demyx!” She couldn’t help but run towards him and he received her with open arms. Grasping onto her tightly, he relished how she felt as he hugged her. “What are you doing here?” She asked him, looking up at his face with her chin pointed directly on his chest. “Are you guys okay at home?”

 

“Don’t worry about us,” he said as she backed away with his hands still on her shoulders. “Are _you_ okay?” 

 

“I’m fine now,” she smiled at him, relieved to see another familiar face. Her smile faltered when she saw his eyes go down her arms and his hand coming down to thumb over the numeral ‘IX’. His eyes glance up at her with sorrow as he covered the healed wound with his palm and brought her in closer for another tight hug. 

 

“I was worried,” he murmured when he pressed his lips against the side of her hair, “I know that sounds weird coming from me but I was. I didn’t know if I was ever gonna see you again.”

 

“I’m sorry,” she said it even when it wasn’t her fault. “I’m sorry I made you worry.”

 

“Oh! Almost forgot,” Demyx reached into his pocket and pulled out her phone. “We fixed it up and saved it for you.” 

 

She took it from him and tapped on the screen, it’s LED screen coming to life and she saw multiple missed calls and messages asking about her whereabouts; all of them being dated from three weeks ago. At the top of the notifications were ones dated from yesterday. All of them being messages from her tenants and all of them telling her how much they’re glad she’s okay. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

 

“H-hey, don’t cry, I’m sorry I made you sad,” he said with a frantic tone. 

 

“I’m not sad,” she sniffed, wiping her tears quickly with the back of her finger. “I’m happy.”

 

“You cry when you’re happy?” Now he looked confused. 

 

“Yes,” she laughed and it sounded like music to his ears. “People can cry when they’re happy. I sometimes tear up when I’m mad too.”

 

“Emotions are..” Demyx shook his head. “Weird.”

After he stole a glance at her face only to find it disheartened at his statement did he scramble to find words to remedy them with. “I’m sorry. It’s not that they’re bad, they’re just complicated sometimes.”

 

“Hey, they’re complicated for me too,” she admitted with another light laugh. “But they’re great aren’t they?”

 

“Only the good ones, sure,” he shrugged. 

 

“The bad emotions make the good ones better,” she exhaled, “I don’t know if I’m making sense.”

 

His face looked lost and after a few seconds lit up again. “Sorta, but I think I get it a little bit more though. Hey, when are you coming back?”

 

“I can’t leave until I get some stuff done,” she sighed. “Then after that.. I don’t even know if I can go home.”

 

“Why not?” There was that puppy dog look on his face again.

 

“Because..” She started but hesitated to finish her sentence. “It’s a long story.”

 

“Is it that Jen-ova thing?” He said it as if it were two different words. 

 

Her eyes widened, “how do you know about that?”

 

“Zexion kinda told us,” he rubbed the back of his head and looked away shyly. “He thought it was important to let us know.”

 

Lady sighed, they had to know sooner or later. At least this saved her the trouble of telling them herself. “It’s alright, but yes, that’s the reason.” She turned away from him and walked a few steps away. “I can’t risk staying close with this _thing_ inside me.”

 

“What about Noct?” Demyx followed her closely. “You’re not worried about them?”

 

“Noct and the other three are the only relatively normal ones,” she didn’t want to use that word but it was best she put it in simpler terms. “As for you and the rest.. I could be putting you in danger.” Looking up at him, she saw his face resembling something close to discouragement and despair. Quickly trying to sweeten her acidic statement, she spoke again. “I want to make more memories with everyone at home- that includes you, Demyx. And I want to be close friends with all of you. I want to know your stories and be there for you.. just please wait until there’s a way I can get rid of this thing. Because right now I don’t even know if what you’re feeling for me is real or if it’s this _thing’s_ doing.”

 

She took a deep breath. “I want to know if the affection you all have is real or just fabricated. Then we can go from there.”

 

Demyx didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t really good at this thing and nothing he’s done prepared him for a moment quite like this one. “After this, I want to show you my favorite places. There’s some other worlds out there I think you’d like.”

 

Lady quirked an eyebrow, “What do you mean, other worlds? Like the planets in our solar system?”

 

He made a bashful face. He wasn’t supposed to outright say it but there it was and he pressed on regardless. “I know you’ve done and been through a lot- so after all this, maybe you and I can travel a bit? Sightsee some stuff?”

 

“Will you play your music for me when we go?” She asked him, her eyes beginning to look misty.

 

His left hand balled into a fist and it took him every inch of his strength to not lean forward and take her into his arms again to plant a kiss on her lips. Instead he nodded tightly. “I’ll wait then,” he laughed nervously. “I’ll wait as long as it takes,” the last bit of his sentence was said so quietly she almost couldn’t make it out. 

 

Looking down to the side, he saw his corridor was still up and he wanted to smack himself on the face. “Actually I was supposed to bring someone but I got distracted,” he sighed, “be right back.”

 

Running through it, it only took him a couple seconds before she saw him again and this time Ignis was tailing behind him along with Prompto and Gladio. Lady was conflicted. She was happy to see them and yet at the same time she didn’t want them here with her; a chill crept up her spine as she thought about the potential danger they could be in. Not allowing herself to look upset at their arrival, she gave them a blinding smile- relieved to see them after such a long while. 

 

Prompto ran up to her first, nervous to touch her but finally inclined when she held out her arms for him. “Ah gods, I was so worried,” he muttered, holding her tightly. “I knew you would make it out of whatever you were in, y’know?”

 

“Of course, sunshine,” she laughed, “it’s gonna take a lot more than that to take me down.” Turning her attention towards Ignis and Gladio, she went in for a hug as well. Ignis held her gently, only giving a firm squeeze as the only indicator that he wanted to hold her but seemed afraid to do such an intimate act in front of the eyes of others. Gladio on the other hand wasn’t ashamed to sweep her off her feet as he lifted her up to be at a more acceptable height for his already tall frame. Setting her down lightly, she wanted to speak until Demyx cleared his throat. 

 

“Guess my work here is done,” he smiled wryly, “I’ll see you ‘round.”

 

“Thanks Demyx,” she bid him farewell as the blond disappeared into his corridor. Sighing, she turned back around to the other three. “Why did you decide to come here?” She asked them. 

 

“It’s our home,” Ignis replied for them. “Besides the Alstroemeria of course. Besides making sure you’re okay, we’ve a duty to the city and to its successor- which by the way, where is he?”

 

“Sleeping,” Lady looked bashful as her stomach growled loudly.

 

“Of course he is,” Gladio rolled his eyes and looked down at Lady, “he didn’t even have the decency to get you some food? Unbelievable.” His dark amber eyes stared at the shirt she wore and a big grin appeared on his face, “Is that the shirt I gave Noct for his eighteenth birthday? Looks way better on you than him, you should keep it.”

 

Prompto looked around at the apartment, “Been a while since we were here last, huh guys? Looks just as clean as the day we left it.”

 

“For that, I’m grateful,” Ignis muttered under his breath. His watchful eyes caught the silver lines across her arm and she slowly hid them behind her back as he saw her action and looked away. 

 

“By the way,” Gladio nudged her. “Saw that storm on the news, that’s one way to get their attention, huh?”

 

“Of course,” she smiled, “would you expect anything less of me?”

 

“Never,” he replied. “Well since we’re here, we might as well do some sightseeing in Insomnia. And I should probably check up on Iris and dad later, haven’t seen them in a while.”

 

Ignis nodded. “I should do that as well.”

 

“Yeah, I guess I need to stop by my parent’s house and let them know I’m okay,” Prompto added. 

 

“You guys can go do that,” she said, wringing the bottom hem of her shirt tighter. “I’ve got things to do today, but I think I’ll be free after.”

 

“Oh, like what?” Prompto hopped next to her and before she could answer his question, the doorbell rang and the four of them looked up at it. 

 

Before she could move, Gladio pushed past her gently. “I’ll get it,” he said as he walked towards the door, looking out of the peephole and opening it. “Nyx,” he greeted the other man that entered through the door. 

 

“Gladio,” Nyx looked surprised and his eyebrows raised when he saw the other two native Lucians standing in the Prince’s living room. “Ignis, Prompto- surprised to see you two here.”

 

“It was somewhat of an emergency and we got here as fast as we could,” Ignis said coolly, his face not betraying any hint of the true nature of their arrival. 

 

“Lotta strange happenings these days,” Nyx mumbled. “Anyways, I’m here to pick up the lady.”

 

“What do you want her for?” Prompto spoke up.

 

“Relax, Argentum,” said Nyx as he looked over at her and held her gaze for a moment before returning them back to the blond. “She’s the one who asked for an audience with the King.”

 

Lady clicked her tongue audibly. _Way to be discreet_ , she cursed at the Glaive silently when all pairs of eyes turned on her. 

 

Gladio walked up to her, his face hardened with concern.“What really happened to you when you were gone?” 

 

“I’ll tell you later.. maybe, right now I just need to talk to King Regis first,” she bit her bottom lip with anticipation. “It’s urgent.”

 

“Fine, but there won’t be a maybe,” Gladio crossed his arms, “you need to talk to us so we can help you out and if your ‘problem’ somehow concerns Insomnia, that’s more of a reason to let us know.”

 

She bit down on her lip harder, he was right- she had to come clean if she wanted any assistance. 

 

“Before we go,” Nyx cleared his throat, his eyes scanning her attire, “you want to speak to His Majesty.. dressed like that?”

 

“Sorry, I didn’t bring my suitcase when I was nabbed,” she gave him a wry smile. “I don’t have anything else so I have no choice.”

 

“Nonsense,” Ignis waved away her previous statement. “We can get you something to wear at the Citadel. There’s tailors handy as well as garments they can fashion something out of.” 

 

Lady raised her hands up in defense. “Oh, no, that’s not necessary, I’m fine really.” She looked down at the shirt that had the garish yellow colors that assaulted her eyes; the worst part was what the words spelled out: ‘I love cup noodles’. She imagined herself standing amidst the King’s prestigious retinue in the Citadel’s grandest room. Their eyes would stare down at her while her hair was a mess and her shirt screamed aloud as to what she ‘loved’ most. She felt her cheeks heat up at the embarrassment of it all. “Maybe a change of wardrobe wouldn’t be too bad,” she admitted. 

 

“We’ll go with you,” Gladio added. “It can be a little intimidating when you first go up there if you’re not used to it.”

 

“What about Noct?” Prompto asked the group and Gladio only shrugged in response with a small shake of his head.

 

Nyx looked bewildered just at the thought of it. “You guys are just gonna leave him?” 

 

“Who’d like to elect themselves to wake him up?” Ignis asked all of them and silence followed. 

 

Thankfully, the bedroom door opened and Noctis stepped out, his eyes half-lidded and his hair spiked in different polarizations. “What’s going on?” He asked after failing to stifle a yawn.

 

“Good morning, Highness,” Nyx looked amused. 

 

“Get dressed, sleepyhead,” Gladio rubbed his hair as Noctis tried- and failed- miserably to bat away his minor assault. “We’re going to the Citadel.”

 

*******

 

“That isn’t necessary- oh, okay you’re doing it anyways… Oh, please not there- ah!”

 

Lady sucked in her breath just as the seamstress pulled on the ribbon around her waist. Gritting her teeth, she tried to suck in whatever oxygen graciously entered through her lips. “Can you.. loosen it up a bit.. please?” She wheezed out. 

 

“My word,” the seamstress tutted but did exactly what she was asked and Lady gulped in the air that now flowed easily into her. “You can look in the mirror and tell me if you like it,” the older woman said as she wrapped her measuring tape around her elbow and pulled the folding screen out to conceal her. 

 

Lady turned to the tri-fold mirror that loomed over her; walking closer on the raised platform in front of the mirrors, she admired the dress that was handpicked for her. Her opinion wasn’t asked for but she didn’t mind as the dress that was chosen was truly a beautiful piece of art. In fact, it seemed _too_ beautiful for her. There was no way she could be worthy of this and she didn’t want to find out how much it cost to make even though the seamstress told her she wouldn’t have to pay a single penny. 

 

The dress was made with black silks with a sheen so brilliant that it almost looked white if tilted in the right direction; the bottom hem swayed four inches below her knees and flared out slightly to allow for ease of movement. Deep blue ribbons held together the back seams and exposed a little of her skin through a shallow v-line dip, though thankfully it almost completely covered the scars littering her flesh. Small silver embellishments engraved the front of her dress in regal scripts bordered with black and dark gray that swirled like the stars and planets in the galaxy; a lower v-line on the front exposed her collar bones but stopped just above her cleavage. Embroidered blue flowers decorated one part of her collar as well as the ends of the sleeves that flared out around her elbows and the color reminded her of Noctis’ equally ocean-blue eyes. Sheer black stockings held up by a garter belt covered her legs and were tucked into a pair of dark blue platform heels. 

 

Overall, she had to admit she looked more prepared for an audience with royalty. 

 

A knock on the door got her attention and she heard the seamstress open the door and a hushed voice thanked her. Lady peeked out from behind the changing screen and saw Ignis look at her with a patient look. 

 

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said, “how are your garments? Are they to your liking?”

 

To answer his question, Lady stepped out from behind the screen and she saw his eyes widen slightly as he took in what he saw. 

 

“Stunning,” was all he said as she folded her hands together and straightened her back to practice her posture for when she gets to see King Regis face-to-face. 

 

“You really think so?” She grinned. 

 

“She’s far from done,” the seamstress approached them. “I’ve yet to do her hair and apply some minor cosmetics to hide the bags under her eyes.” 

 

Normally, Lady would have protested at necessities but as soon as the remarks were made about the heavy bags under her eyes, she relinquished any protestations she had. The seamstress didn’t seem the type to have others tell her different anyways. 

 

“Very well,” Ignis nodded. “Thank you, Grena.” 

 

“Although it’s good to see you Scientia, I must ask you to leave until I’m done with this young lady’s preparations,” the seamstress tutted and shooed him out of the room. Ignis gave her one last look and reassuring smile before he exited and the door shut shortly after. Turning around, the seamstress seemed to have a fire lit in her light green eyes and it made her older face appear more youthful. “We’ve work to do, young lady.”

 

*******

 

“Grena always takes forever,” Noctis sighed, rolling his head back as he crossed his legs on the chair he sat on. “How much longer Iggy?”

 

The tactician sighed at the prince’s ever lasting patience. “The wait is worth it, I assure you.”

 

“Never rush a woman’s process of getting ready,” Gladio shook his head at Noctis, “This is why you don’t have a girlfriend, you don’t know a thing about women.”

 

“Uh, yeah I do,” Noctis frowned, shooting Gladio an accusatory glare. “I just don’t like having a list of women to talk to, unlike _somebody._ ”

 

“Fair enough,” Gladio shrugged, smirking when he saw Prompto’s despaired look. “What’s wrong blondie? Have you ever had a girlfriend?”

 

Prompto sniffed. “Lady’s my friend, and she’s a girl, soo…”

 

Ignis snorted and covered his mouth quickly with his hand as he looked away to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “That hardly qualifies,” he said with a straightened face when he turned back towards Prompto. 

 

“Lady wouldn’t be interested in you,” Noctis said and grinned when he saw Prompto pout, “don’t give me that look, I was kidding.” 

 

“Oh, and _you_ know what she’s into?” Prompto shot back and Noctis shrugged. 

 

“Y’know,” Gladio interjected, his eyes turned downwards towards his hands that were wrapped together. “Something’s been bothering me since this morning, those weeks she’s been gone.. what exactly happened?”

 

“It’s best if we allow her to tell us herself when she is ready,” said Ignis.

 

“But you saw her, right? She looked pretty beaten,” Gladio muttered, squeezing his hands together. “It looked like she got tortured.”

 

“What do you mean?” Prompto leaned forward. 

 

Ignis sighed. “Gladio-“ 

 

“Her arms,” Noctis muttered. “They looked cut up.” His face darkened, “Just who would do that to her? Whoever the hell it is, I’m going to find them.”

 

Silence followed Noctis’ threat to the unknown assailant of their landlady. The stillness being interrupted with a light voice that caught their attention. 

 

“Hey guys, how does it look?” Lady walked up to where they sat and she smiled when she looked at Noctis who could only stare back at her. 

 

Her hair was in soft curls that framed her face; the upper portion of her hair was piled into a neatly pleated braid. Simple makeup covered her face and her eyes were lined with a little black liner and mascara with her lips covered in a dark berry shade that made it look glossy and plump. Overall, her complexion looked brighter and she looked awake as if she was granted a full eight hours of rest.

 

“I think it’s really pretty,” she said when none of them could formulate a reply right away. “But it’s a bit excessive, a shirt and jeans would’ve been enough.”

 

“You look gorgeous,” Gladio’s lips widened into a smile. “Like a princess.”

 

“You look good! Grena did great!” Prompto couldn’t stop his wandering eyes. The seamstress’ magic touch had transformed the landlady right before his very eyes.

 

Ignis only silently regarded her but he already made his feelings on how she looked very clear the first time he saw her. As for Noctis, he was speechless, his words failing him before he could say anything although he wanted to. He never got a chance to as Nyx appeared in the room and ushered Lady to come with him. 

 

“They’re ready to receive you,” the Glaive told her and she nodded. 

 

“You guys can go do what you need to,” she smiled, “I’ll be okay.” Waving to them, she followed Nyx towards the elevators that would take them to the monarch of Lucis.

 

*******

 

Throne rooms usually had an air of regality that permeated through them- but this was on another level of whatever she imagined prior to walking through the obsidian colored wood of the double doors that led inside. Two Glaives opened the door for her with their eyes shadowed by the dark hoods pulled over their heads, but even then she could feel their unseen eyes on her. Nyx as he walked ahead of her; he only stopped when they were approximately four feet from the flight of rounded black marbled stairs that lead up to the grandiose throne of black obsidian and gold with the shiniest luster she’s ever seen in her life. Looking all around her, she noticed that either side of the room mirrored perfectly with the other side. An image of perfect symmetry with the only things being out of place were the different consuls that rested on either side of the throne. 

 

Men and women dressed in black and gold robes  that matched the room stared down at her with hardened and battle-worn eyes; it almost gave her pause to be in the attention of such people but she held fast. Along with the king’s most trusted advisors were a group of Glaives that lined up near the door and watched her every move even as she was urged forward to walk up the first flight of stairs that led to the rotunda that sat underneath the throne; a platform for all those present to judge the following that dared stood there. 

 

“You’ve caused quite a ruckus yesterday,” the old man sitting upon the throne spoke. Although aged with fine gray hairs swept back neatly, his eyes betrayed a certain youthfulness to them. His garments alone could tell anyone that he was a man of importance; the colors were mostly dark save for minute detailings along his finely tailored suit as well as what looked like a gold brace wrapped around his right leg. “And I’ve been told, it was all in an effort to garner my attention.”

 

Heat crept up her cheeks. Well, when he put it that way- it was quite embarrassing. “King Regis,” she bowed her head and took a step forward; when she did so she heard the Glaives behind her take a step forward as well in anticipation of her next move. Her brows furrowed together, they were treating her as a threat. Looking back, she looked to Nyx who also kept his eyes focused solely on her. 

 

King Regis raised his hand to show them a sign of his confidence in her and she saw them take a step back. “You’re that woman that I sent my son to, are you not? How is it you came all the way here?”

 

A man sitting on the left wing of the throne with a closely shaved head of white hair stood from his seat and she saw his blue eyes bore into her with eagle-like perception. 

 

“Clarus, what is it?” King Regis looked towards the man. 

 

Looking up at the man named Clarus and she scrutinized his facial features further until it finally clicked. The strong jaw, pronounced angles of the face, and the eyes- although a different color, contained the same fire she’s seen before. He looked like Gladio’s father. She remembered Gladio mentioning his father being the King’s previous Shield and now serves as one of his most trusted advisors. The man she looked up at now was old, but she had no doubts that he’s seen battles from long past. The Amicitia family were sworn to protect the king and it’s people, after all. 

 

“Your eyes,” Clarus said, sitting back down, “if I’m not mistaken, that’s a trademark of SOLDIER. Tell me, what class were you in?”

 

Lady sucked in her breath, _oh boy, here we go._ “Yes they are, and I was in 1st Class.” _I should just start wearing a sign that says that._

 

A murmur went around the room as the other advisors spoke in hushed whispers amongst themselves, most of their eyes disapproving but some had a wonderment in them. 

 

“I thought Shinra didn’t accept resignations?” Clarus continued his inquisition. 

 

“They don’t,” she kept her answer short and simple. 

 

“How is it then that you managed this? When I sent my son to you, I wasn’t aware of your past..” he took a moment to find the appropriate word as he saw her body become rigid. “Accomplishments.”

 

“I wouldn’t call joining SOLDIER an accomplishment,” Lady said aloud. “But with all due respect, Your Majesty, that’s not what I came here to talk about.”

 

“Fair enough,” the king rested back against his throne. “What is it then?”

 

Lady wanted to choose her words carefully. Up to this point, she didn’t really give it much thought as to what she might say and that was a mistake. The last thing she wanted was to look like an absolute fool in front of everyone in this room; the more she thought about it, the more she could feel their eyes burning holes into her skin and it made her severely uncomfortable. “I believe that your son is in danger,” she started slowly, watching Regis’ body language change from casual to tense as his knuckles tightened over the arms of the throne. “And that Insomnia will be attacked soon.” 

 

“On what authority can you make this claim on?” Regis recomposed himself, tapping an index finger slowly. 

 

“When I was taken, I heard them talking about plans for an attack on Insomnia that would take place in the near future. Though, I’m not exactly sure when but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.” She shifted her weight. The platform heels began to hurt her soles. 

 

“‘Taken’?” Clarus spoke up. “By whom?”

 

“I.. believe it might’ve been Niflheim,” she said while meeting his gaze as best she could despite their differences in elevation. 

 

“‘You believe’?” He cited her again. “You don’t sound too sure.”

 

“I wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind during my stay in their hospitality,” by the time she realized her possibly biting words it was already too late. There went any hope of maintaining her amicable attitude. “I recognized their insignia and the man that was responsible kept addressing the other soldiers there in Imperial jargon.”

 

“What did this man look like?” It was Regis who asked her this time.

 

Lady hesitated, not wanting to think of _him_ right now but she had no other choice. “About six feet and four inches maybe, broad shoulders, wears a lot of layers and coats and almost always has them on no matter the circumstance..” She looked up at the king again and saw that his knuckles were white as he gripped the arms again. “Dark magenta colored hair and dark amber eyes..”

 

“What was his name?” Regis asked.

 

“Ardyn.” She choked out that name and decided to keep his last name a secret, if he was even telling her the truth and not another lie. _Lucis Caelum._ How much of what he told her was real and how much was fake?

 

Regis shared a look with Clarus and then looked back at her to speak. “What would the Imperial Chancellor want with you?”

 

_Imperial Chancellor?!_ Another round of murmurs went around the room and she felt Nyx’s eyes bore into her skull in burning curiosity. 

 

“You mean to tell me,” Clarus spoke, “that he went through the trouble of taking you while Prince Noctis was nearby? Forgive me for speaking freely- but it sounds as if you were bait.”

 

Goosebumps traveled all around her arm and her breath was cut short as she thought about it. There was no way- that’s way too convenient. Perhaps Ardyn overestimated how close her and Noctis were and how much he cared for her, right? 

 

“Did you reveal anything to him during your stay-”

 

“Of course not!” Her temper flared at the thought of such a traitorous act. “I would never betray Noctis even at the cost of my own life!” She turned to face Regis, “I still have the letter that Ignis gave me the day they arrived and my feelings haven’t changed since then- I’m not doing this for monetary gain, I’m doing this because I want to protect him and nothing more!”

 

Calm silence followed her outburst and she wondered if that was the right thing to say. She watched as Regis got up slowly, taking a walking stick that was nestled against the arm of his chair and Clarus stood up to follow. Together, they made their way down the left set of stairs and towards her until they were close enough so that she could see how many lines creased their face that were caused by the burden of their duty. 

 

“I am surprised yet again,” Regis started. “When I sent Noctis to Elera, I hoped he would find safety there. What I did not expect was for him to find a friend, I thank you for being by his side.” A wave of sadness filled his eyes and Lady wondered why the old king would look so distraught by talking about his son. Surely, talking about Noctis would bring the man joy?

 

He moved his hand forward in an attempt to shake hers and she gave him a tight-lipped smile as she did the same. As soon as their hands touched, her eyes fell upon the ring that was resting on his left ring finger- she noticed how intensely cold it felt and she shivered. As her eyelashes fluttered closed and opened, she was no longer staring at the king and instead at an open field near an empty concrete road. In the distance she saw Imperial airships laying waste to a mountain range, smoke and fire erupting in cacophonous plumes of disaster. Sounds of a loud engine roaring against the road elicited her attention and she looked to see a black car rolling down the road. Squinting against the sunlight, she saw the familiar shape of the Regalia and expected to see all four of the Lucians. Instead, she only saw a head of dark hair at the driver’s seat and to her horror she saw the car lose control and swerve against the road until the force of the car sent it flying on its’ side and rolling. The driver was launched out of his seat and she saw as black-clad driver was tossed high into the air and before she could scream his name and before he collided against the hard pavement the scene changed. 

 

The shrill sound of a train’s horn whistled in the air and she looked behind her to see a train filled with Imperial soldiers as Noctis appeared in the midst of them. Moving slowly at first, she noticed his clothes were torn and his sleeve hung loosely off his right shoulder. His eyes were dull and tired yet he pushed on as he began to move fast past the soldiers to which they began to realize who he was. Her body moved on its’ own accord as she followed him down the stairs from the train platform while he lay waste to any of the soldiers in his way. A small white four-legged creature shone brightly against the dulled colors and she looked to see a white dog bark and Noctis immediately ran to follow. The Imperial soldiers raised their guns at the prince just as he tossed his greatsword towards the elevator the dog ran into. Lady watched as the elevator doors closed shut with bullet holes perforating it’s steel confines and when she blinked again, the scene changed. 

 

Darkness filled her sight and she watched Noctis stand alone on a bridge surrounded by Niflheim’s forces. She wanted to run towards him but her feet were forced firmly onto the ground and she was forced to watch as the soldiers advanced on him. Noctis was a skilled combatant and easily fended off their attacks with a mix of magic and weapons; his clothes were more worn down and torn than earlier and he had more wounds that weren’t tended to properly. Why was he alone? What is he doing? Another bark got her attention and she looked at the white dog that kept up with the prince as he fought his way through. A blast of fire was the only flash of color she saw on in that dull night before it expanded and filled her vision completely. 

 

Soon she was looking at fire that climbed towards the heavens and roared with such intensity that she could feel sweat drops form and fall down her face. Growls and deep howls filled the area around her and she looked to see multiple three-headed daemon dogs surround her. Their glowing red eyes focused towards the center they formed and she followed their gaze to see Noctis wielding an elegant three-pronged trident. He loomed over another girl, one with platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes; her white dress was torn and speckled with blood and dirt that got even more torn as she tried to crawl away from Noctis. Looking up at Noctis, the girl screamed his name but the latter kept moving and tightened his grip on the trident. The scorched and dead earth only served to make her dress dirtier as tears ran down her face, adding to the shine of the fine layer of sweat she already had from what seemed like a strenuous battle.  

 

_“Noctis, please snap out of it!”_ The girl cried but her pleas fell on deaf ears as the trident was raised and her crying was silenced as it pierced her. 

 

Lady watched the trident move and saw the three-pronged hole it left in the girl as Noctis stumbled back and turned around as if in a daze. His eyes were a glowing gold rimmed with a seething red with daemonic pupils that dilated; they soon returned to the ocean blue that she knew so well and watched as he slowly looked at the weapon in his hand. Freshly coated in bright red blood, he threw it down in disgust and horror and took in his surroundings in what appeared to be the first time. Turning back around, he looked at the body of the girl that lay in the ashes and dirt and he fell to his knees to let out a tortured scream that overlapped every other noise in the area. 

 

The white dog that followed Noctis earlier walked towards the tree that Lady stood next to and she watched as the pristine coat burned and turned black. Its’ eyes turned the same color as Noctis’ did earlier and she watched the dog look at her with interest; it walked behind her as she was unable to look away from the scene in front of her and the heat she felt from the flames was replaced by a chill as a hand snaked around her waist and a familiar voice filled her ears. 

 

_“Quite an omen, isn’t it, my dear?”_ She turned to see the face she didn’t ever want to see again. His golden eyes lit up in delight as his lips curled into a smirk. _Ardyn._  

 

A firm grip made her look in front of her and she let out a shaky exhale when she was looking into the eyes of King Regis. Although his face was calm, she could see his eyes were filled with trepidation as his lips tightened into a thin line. Had he seen what she just saw just now? To test out her theory, she whispered. “Why haven’t you told him what you’ve seen?”

 

His eyes responded as a flicker of recognition went through them and she received his answer with cold reception as she withdrew her hand. “Thank you for hearing me out, Your Majesty,” she bowed her head and turned on her heels to exit. 

 

Clarus gave Regis a strange look as the king blinked and tried to recompose himself. He looked at Nyx to follow and the Glaive nodded as he followed her out in her hurried escape. 

 

“Are you alright Regis?” Clarus whispered to his dear old friend. “You looked troubled for a moment there.”

 

“I’m fine,” Regis raised a hand up to dismiss his concern. “There is something I must see to, will you excuse me?”

 

*******

 

“Hey- hey, wait up!” Nyx stuck his hand between the closing doors of the elevator and forced them open. Inside, was Lady who had her back pressed against the wall and her left eyebrow raised in confusion. 

 

“What do you want?” She frowned as he stepped in the elevator and let it resume its’ closing without interruptions this time. 

 

“Mind telling me what happened back there? You and the king looked like you both seen a ghost,” he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall adjacent to hers. When she didn’t respond and only looked at him, he sighed and raised his hands in defense. “Fine, don’t tell me.” His eyes panned her up and down to look for subtle hints of body language when he finally gave up his questioning and looked up at the paneled ceiling of the elevator. “Hey, how ‘bout I buy you a drink? You look like you need it.”

 

She was silent for a bit before responding. “Right now?”

 

“Yeah, I’m off for guard duty anyways and the prince and his friends went on to run errands but they should be at his apartment later.”

 

“Sure,” she paused then added: “Only if you can keep up.”

 

A smile appeared on his lips, “I was just about to say the same to you.”

 

*******

 

“Oho there he is,” the other man she saw from the bridge raised his stein glass up in the air when Nyx and her arrived. Libertus was his name, if she remembered correctly. “Good of you to join us, bud.” Sitting adjacently from him was the woman from the bridge. _Crowe, I think? The magic wielder._

 

The two of them were sitting at a simple wooden square-top table with four stools on either side. It sat close to a shack that looked cut in half with an older bald man wiping down the counters with a rag. It was situated near a railing that looked down to what she assumed were the lower levels of the city. Smoke came out in plumes from behind the shack and she could smell multiple proteins being grilled out back over charcoal. 

 

Nyx took a seat on the other side of the table, shrugging off his coat to reveal a short sleeve black shirt with silver curls embossing the front. He set his coat on the table beside him and pulled up a chair for Lady to sit in, tapping on it’s wooden platform as she hesitantly took the seat. 

 

“Well well, if it isn’t the magic lady from the bridge,” Libertus grinned. “Never caught your name, what was it? Don’t just wanna call you lady every time.”

 

“You can, actually,” she responded, folding her hands in front of her. “That’s my nickname.”

 

“‘Lady’?” Crowe raised an eyebrow. “Odd choice for an alternate identity.”

 

“Names don’t really matter when you move around as much as I do,” Lady chuckled. 

 

“Oh yeah? And what is it that you do?” Libertus asked her after taking a swig from his drink.

 

“I’m a landlady,” she answered him and bit back a laugh when she saw him choke a little on his beer. 

 

“No friggin’ way,” Libertus coughed. “You can’t just be a landlady, not with what we saw the other day.”

 

Crowe leaned closer over the table, her dark brown eyes looking at Lady with pointed interested. “I’m sensing magic within you,” she sniffled and wrinkled her nose. “What is that?”

 

“Probably just the mako,” Lady shrugged. “You can sense that? That’s pretty impressive.” 

 

The female Glaive tapped her finger against the strap of her light green cotton tank top. “Not really, you have a lot of that so it’s kinda hard to miss.”

 

“Why’re you still dressed up like that,” Libertus looked to Nyx. “Couldn't you have taken off your uniform before meeting us up? Now we’re getting people lookin’ at us.”

 

Nyx grinned, “Can’t help it, it brings out my eyes.” He rapped against the wooden table with his knuckles and got up. “I’m gonna get our drinks, sit tight,” he tapped Lady’s shoulder lightly before walking off towards the bar.  

 

“I see the royal seamstress got ahold of you,” Crowe hummed while eyeing the blue embroidered flowers resting on Lady’s collar. “She did good.”

 

“Didn’t know we were supposed to dress up,” Libertus sighed as he looked down at his own collared blue shirt and khaki shorts. “Thought the code would be casual tonight.”

 

“That was your first mistake, buddy,” Nyx bumped Libertus’ shoulder with one of the beer mugs in his hands and the latter groaned when some of the golden liquor stained the blue into a darker brown. “Always expect the unexpected.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, shut up and drink already so I can see you throw up your guts,” Libertus shot back. 

 

Nyx received them with a smile as he sat next to Lady and set the glass in front of her. Raising his stein, he pointed it towards his friend, “Them’s fighting words, wanna go?”

 

“Can you two give it a rest just for one night,” Crowe groaned, “ _please_? I have to be in early tomorrow.”

 

“The hell you doing here then, little Crowe?” Nyx already had half of his glass empty. Lady took a tentative sip of the drink and struggled to keep her face still when the pungent odor hit her like a brick wall. The aftertaste was even more as she tasted no notes of anything, just pure alcohol with a sprinkling of hops seeds. Nyx caught the minor face she made and laughed, “Don’t focus on the taste, just drink it. The buzz makes up for the lack of flavor.”

 

She did as she was told and ingested the alcohol quickly and boy was he right. It tasted like acidic as hell and everything unpleasant about beer seemed to be concentrated intensely into the pint she was now drinking. _Ugh, fuck_. Blinking a few times, she stomached the flavor-or lack thereof, and set the empty stein down with a half-assed triumphant look. 

 

“‘Atta girl,” Nyx chuckled as he aimed to follow her to the bottom of his glass as well. 

 

“Hey, can you make Leviathan appear out of beer too?” Libertus asked her with childish curiosity. 

 

“Lib, stop that,” Crowe frowned. “Don’t make her waste her magic on something like that.”

 

“It’s fine,” Lady gave the woman a grateful smile then turned to Libertus. Her eyes staring at him intensely and panned down until she focused on the brew within his glass. Fingers tapped on the wooden surface of the table until streams left the glass and formed into a small sphere just above the rim of his glass. In a similar fashion to the one she formed at the bridge, this one had a gold-colored spiny projection stick out along with flowing fins that had dark yellow bubbles swirling around. The three Glaives watched as the beer conjured Leviathan swam around the table in mid-air then finally landed back in glass after letting out a roar that sounded like a squeaky hiccup before it landed back in Libertus’ glass with a splash. 

 

Libertus let out a low whistle, “That’d be a fun drinking game, ‘Catch the Leviathan’.”

 

Lady grinned and the man returned her gesture with a jovial expression of his own. Beside her, Nyx downed his glass without a single gag and let out a satisfied sigh. Looking up at the darkening sky, he sighed and took Lady’s glass along with his own and returned them to the bar. Walking back, he cleared his throat while taking his jacket and throwing it over his shoulder, “We should go before it gets too late.”

 

“What? But you guys just got here!” said Libertus. 

 

“I think I should get going too before I regret staying out long,” Crowe got up and Libertus sighed heavily. 

 

“You guys suck, but fine,” he said as he and Crowe returned their glasses. 

 

“C’mon,” Nyx gently tugged her along the rail to follow him. “I’ll take you home before the prince throws a fit.”

 

“Bye Lady! Come hang out with us again when you can!” Crowe waved and Libertus did the same while Lady returned the gesture with a smile. Although fleeting, Lady did enjoy her time with them. 

 

Turning around, she followed Nyx through a narrow alleyway that widened into a road with multiple stalls lining either side. It was cramped with heavy traffic of people milling about or stopping to get something to eat at one of the many stalls that could only accommodate about five people each yet that didn’t stop anyone from standing outside with whatever food they ordered and eating it right there. Nyx slowed down as the crowd got heavier and he offered a hand to her which she took; pulling her beside him, they both had no chance of being separated with the way he held her fast.

 

Once they were out of the busy road and onto another one that was a bit more empty; save for the handful of people that still walked around and the cars that drove by; the cold night air brushed past her poorly covered legs and she let out a shiver. Nyx took his jacket and began to cover her shoulders until he froze then flipped the jacket to cover her front as a car came zooming by and splashed sludged water onto them. Fortunately she was kept dry but unfortunately it soaked Nyx while he kept her shielded from the wet assault.

 

“People really don’t know how to drive in this city,” Nyx grumbled as he wrung out the water-oil mix that stained his Kingsglaive coat. “Unbelievable, I need to get this cleaned right away.” He looked up at her with apologetic eyes, “Mind if we stop by my place real quick so I can let this soak?? I live close by.”

 

“Yeah, of course,” she nodded, “I’m sorry I should’ve been more observant.”

 

“You’re fine,” he balled up the coat carefully in his left hand, “I’m just sorry I was trying to show you a good time and you had to witness _that._ ”

 

Her lips curled into a smirk, “This was you showing me a good time?”

 

“Yeah,” Nyx walked backwards and held his hands out, “why? Didn’t like it?” He stopped and winked with a cheeky grin, “Cause I can do a whole lot better than this, trust me.”

 

“Assuming you’re going to get a second chance, rather bold of you don’t you think?” Lady followed him, the bottom of her heels clacking against the stained pavement. 

 

“If it ain’t bold it ain’t me,” he chuckled and she noticed how the left side of his lips always pulled higher than the right when he smiled and it merely added to his charm. As they walked down the road, the sky darkened even more overhead and Nyx put his right hand in his pocket, kicking a stray pebble that had the misfortune of appearing in front of him. “Soo.. you and the prince, you two close?”

 

Lady looked up at the crossing highways that appeared over them, “Well.. I know him well enough to know he doesn’t put an effort in anything else besides his video games.. but I also know that Noctis cares deeply, I just feel like he doesn’t know how to express it.” _That last bit can apply to 90% of my tenants actually.._

 

“It isn’t.. something more?” He asked. 

 

“Oh please, Noctis doesn’t feel like that towards me,” it was her turn to laugh. “Unless he’s got something to tell me.”

 

“Who knows,” Nyx hummed. “Noct-“ he cleared his throat, “-I mean, the prince doesn’t really talk much if you haven’t noticed. But he used to be a lively one as a kid.”

 

“What happened?” She tore her eyes away from the passing cars to the man walking beside her. “If that’s okay for me to ask.”

 

“Besides growing up without his mother and living with an overprotective father?” Nyx let out a sigh. “About fifteen years ago, the Empire laid out an ambush that destroyed the caravan carrying King Regis and Prince Noctis. They released a marilith and even King Regis struggled to put it down with the help of other Glaives.”

 

_I didn’t know about this._ “Should you be telling me this?” She asked him. 

 

“It’s not exactly a well-kept secret,” he replied, “anyways, the prince got badly injured and they retreated to Tenebrae. Apparently that’s where Prince Noctis met Princess Lunafreya of House Nox Fleuret.”

 

An image of blue flowers appeared in her mind. “Oh? Who is she?”

 

“If you look it up you can see what she looks like,” they descended a spiral staircase on the side of a building they walked past. “Shortly after they got there, they got attacked again. Prince wasn’t the same after that, he got quiet- reserved aaaanddd we’re here.”

 

Lady looked at the door they stood in front of, not entirely impressive and not something she expected from someone who served the royal family. Opening the front door, Nyx stepped to the side to allow her to walk in first, “Ladies first.”

 

She gave him a funny look as she stepped carefully inside to the dark studio apartment; Nyx brushed past her after closing the door after him then turned on a small lamp that rested on an equally small shelf by the wall. “It’s not much,” he muttered, “but it’s home.”

 

The dim glow that was emitted from the lamp illuminated just enough to see almost every square inch of the place. A single armchair was sat in front of a cubed cable television; there was barely any color in the apartment save for the green bottle on the kitchen counter that used to hold beer but sat empty. He walked over to the kitchen and set his coat under the sink and began scrubbing it with soap then wrung it out gently. Sighing, he flung the coat out and clipped it over a laundry line that hung right over his bed. Moonlight filtered in the window that sat adjacently over the bed and she saw the dust swirl up in a spiral as he took a seat on the mattress and he sighed louder when it let out a high-pitch creak. 

 

“You mind if I change out of this?” He motioned to his shirt, “Some of that gunk got on it. I’ll walk you home right after, I promise.”

 

“Go ahead,” she shrugged and looked for a place to sit. 

 

“Come sit here,” Nyx motioned to his bed and got up and grabbed a shirt that was left hanging to  dry just above him. Lady took his place on the bed and winced when the springs creaked under her weight. Through her eyelashes as she looked down, she could see Nyx pull his shirt over his head to reveal his back that contained muscles from days of unending guard duty. Averting her eyes, she decided to pull out her phone she had tucked in the sash of her dress.

 

“Looking up Tenebraen royalty?” He called to her and she nodded without looking as her thumbs absentmindedly typed in the words ‘Princess Lunafreya, Tenebrae.’ 

 

The image pulled up made her throat stop midway into her throat. It was that girl she saw in her vision in the throne room. 

 

Pale blonde hair and equally pale blue eyes. She wore a white dress as she took a seat on a regal velvet red chair. Above her right shoulder was a tall man with a long white coat kept together with black straps coming down at an angle across his broad chest; a sword was strapped to his left hip and purple accents decorated the hem of his coat that ended just below his ankles. He had shoulder-length white hair that framed his slender jaws and his eyes shared a similar relation to the girl in the picture. His face looked stern and cold compared to the girl’s soft and peaceful expression. 

 

_The Oracle of Tenebrae.. and..?_

“Who is this..?” Lady wondered aloud. 

 

“Who’re you looking at?” Nyx wandered back towards her and she looked up to see he still didn’t put on another shirt as he took a peak at her phone screen. “Oh, that’s Ravus Nox Fleuret, Princess Lunafreya’s older brother.”

 

Lady squirmed at the badge that was displayed proudly on his left arm. “Why is he wearing the Imperial insignia?”

 

“Remember how I told you that the King and the Prince rested in Tenebrae before heading back to Insomnia? The Empire attacked them there too and almost razed the place to the ground. Queen Sylva, mother to Ravus and Lunafreya, was killed by an Imperial commander,” Nyx rubbed the back of his neck and his eyes darkened. “Why a man would join an army that killed his own family- I’ll never know.”

 

Lady looked down at the Lunafreya. “Maybe he’s doing it to protect his little sister..?” 

 

Nyx didn’t respond as he pulled his shirt down over his head, his back was still turned to her. “I had a little sister. Once.”

 

Lady’s eyes snapped up to him and saw that he was still facing away from her. Finally, he turned and she saw a strained smile on his face. “Sorry, I’m just bumming you out tonight, huh?” He walked over to take a seat next to her and for a moment their legs brushed together.

 

“I’m sorry,” was all she could muster to say after seeing how much sorrow broke through the facade he had prior. 

 

“Don’t be,” was all he said. “Wars always takes what it wants.”

 

Lady placed her hand on his and he turned his head to look down at where their bodies connected before looking up at her. 

 

“I’m sorry you went through that,” she said again, “I know it must still hurt you and I’m sorry you have to experience this.” 

 

Nyx moved his hand to rest atop hers and he gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine,” he said quietly then chuckled, “here I go again, bumming you out.” The white shirt he wore seemed so bright in the dimly lit room- and with the lights from the streets shining in, it almost looked as if it were glowing. 

 

“I had a wonderful time tonight,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to explore the Crown City.”

 

“There’s more to see.. that is if you want to see them.” He said as he shifted his weight and leaned closer towards her.

 

“I’d love to,” she smiled.

 

Her eyes looked deeply into his and she noticed how small, lighter flecks of green dotted the darker blue of his irises. Upon closer inspection, she saw what looked like a dot and line chasing after it tattooed under his left eye as well as another dot with a small triangle angled towards his nose on his right cheek. She didn’t even know he had tattoos on his face and she wondered how many tattoos he had on his body that required special attention to be noticed. 

 

“What’s your real name?” He asked her, his voice growing quieter as if asking a forbidden question.

 

Smiling, she leaned over and her cheek brushed past his as her lips came close to the lobe of his ear. “I’ll only say it once, so try not to forget, okay?” She then whispered her name into his ear and retracted.

 

“Pretty name, that’s one I’ll never forget,” he said, still feeling the phantom brush of her cheek against his. 

 

Before she could respond, her phone lit up and she looked at who was the sender. Eyes focused on the message from Noctis that simply said: ‘everything okay?’ She then looked at the time stamp and sighed. “It’s getting late, I should go.”

 

“Don’t princesses usually run away at midnight? It’s only ten,” he said and laughed when she playfully rolled her eyes. “You sure the prince doesn’t feel something for you?” This earned him another eyeroll. 

 

“I’m no princess,” she patted down her dress. “And I’m sure he doesn’t have some secret crush on me. Now will you show me way back?”

 

*******

 

Noctis sat up when he heard the doorbell and he went to open it to see Lady and Nyx standing on the other side. His eyes immediately went to Lady, “I was worried something happened.”

 

“Well, your dad didn’t throw me in prison so I think it went well,” Lady gave him an apologetic smile, “did you stay up?”

 

“I’m a night owl, remember?” Noctis scoffed then looked at Nyx. “Thanks for taking her home.”

 

“Of course, Your Highness, I apologize for her, er, tardiness,” Nyx bowed his head slightly and Lady looked at him with amusement. It was strange to see the man act so formal after their rather _informal_ evening. “Good night, prince Noctis, and-” the Glaive looked at Lady and bowed his head as well, looking up at her through his eyelashes, “-good night, Lady.”

 

“Good night, Nyx,” she smiled as she shooed Noctis in and turned to close the door to see Nyx give her a small wink before turning to walk down the hall to the elevators. Closing the door behind her, Noctis looked at her and she raised an eyebrow.

 

“What is it?” She asked as she bent down to unstrap her heels and set it on the side by the raised veranda leading into the hallway down the living room. “Is there something on my face?” 

 

“No, uh,” Noctis turned his face away and tugged at the collar of his shirt with his finger, “you look good. Grena did great with you.”

 

“But now I have to scrub off all her hard work and steal another shirt from you to wear,” she grinned and found her way into his bedroom to peruse through his clothes. 

 

He followed her and stopped at the doorway as she hummed and went through the shirts he reserved for sleep. “Lady.. what did you and my dad talk about?” 

 

She stopped humming and looked down at the light gray fabric of a worn shirt that had neon colors spelling out ‘King’s Knight’ on it. Without looking, she responded to him, “I.. I just gave him a warning that’s all, I’ll tell you more tomorrow.”

 

Turning her face to look at him, her eyes widened when she saw Noctis- save for the fact that his face was splattered with blood and he wore his regular fatigues that were tattered and torn. His eyes were that horrible daemonic shade of yellow and red with pupils dilated into thin slits like small openings into hell. Fire surrounded them and she was kneeling down on a pile of scorched earth that filled her lungs with ash with each inhale. In his hand was a bloodied trident and it was aimed right for her; taking a deep breath, she got up quickly and walked over to him with such swiftness that her movements generated wind. 

 

Taking his face in her hands, the fire died down and she was staring into a pair of bewildered ocean blue eyes. Her own searched his for any hint of the darkness that once surrounded him and she smiled with relief when she confirmed it was indeed just a figment of her wildly active imagination- she hoped. 

 

“W-what is it?” He stuttered over his words. Why did she suddenly come to him? Why was she holding his face? Why was she just staring at him? 

 

“Nothing, sorry,” she gave him a tight-lipped smile, tapping his cheek softly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Releasing him, she turned around to pick up the shirt she chose and walked into the bathroom. 

 

*******

 

Noctis stared up at the ceiling and resisted the urge to look when he heard the bathroom door open. The smell of soap and fruity shampoo filled his room and he felt the bed dip as Lady hopped onto the bed. “Noctis?” She called to him quietly. 

 

“What’s up, goblin?” He put an arm behind his head while his other rested on his stomach. She then crawled closer and rested on her heels beside him; her hair was still wet and hung heavily down the sides of her face. He turned his head to the side and looked at her solemn face expression then sat up on his elbows, “Lady, talk to me.”

 

She wrung the bottom hem of her shirt till the word ‘Knight’ was just ‘Knght’. “How do you.. feel about me?” The question left her lips in a breathy exhale. 

 

Noctis felt heat fill up his face and he cleared his throat loudly. “What do you mean by that?” 

 

“You know, feelings, come on don’t make me say it,” it was Lady’s turn to blush and her shirt was receiving more abuse as she continued. “Ah, forget it. Let’s just go to sleep- you don’t mind if I sleep here again right?”

 

To answer her question, Noctis reached over to turn off the lights and pull the sheets open for her. Lady burrowed in the blankets and pulled it over her nose; even in the darkness she could see a glint in his eyes as he turned to face her. 

 

“Goodnight, Noct,” she whispered and alternated to face the other side and away from him. 

 

Noctis was still turned towards her and he swallowed, working up the courage until he finally reached for her and wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Remember that night we snuck out and went to that old castle on the lake?” He whispered. 

 

“Yeah..” She responded, her hand trailing down and feeling the surface of his arm. “What about it?”

 

“I want to go back and do that again,” he said. “It was.. nice.”

 

Lady turned around to face him and looked into his eyes. “Of course, I want to go back too.” She felt fatigue creep up on her as she settled in, “One day.”

 

Noctis gave her a soft smile. _Does that tell you how I feel about you?_   He thought this as he closed his eyes and when she adjusted her head on her pillow she closed her eyes as well. 


	57. LVII

When Lady awoke, she found the arms wrapped around her were a bit bulkier than the arms of the prince last night. She blinked to make sure her vision wasn’t playing tricks on her as some ploy of her morning drowsiness. After a few more flutter of her lashes, she confirmed she was indeed looking at a different pair of arms- her for some reason they seemed familiar at the same time. Trailing up the pale, alabaster shaded skin, she held in a surprised gasp when she looked upon an older man sharing her bed. 

 

Dark hair that almost looked blue in the morning rays was swept back across his head with some strands hanging loosely just past his chin that had a well-trimmed beard. His jawline was strong and locked in place when he swallowed and mumbled something in his sleep all the while his arm pulled her closer. Not knowing what to do, she wondered if she was still sleeping and reached down to pinch her arm-  _ hard. _ A slight hiss escaped her gritted teeth as she felt the pain leave an angry red mark on her skin and the following symptoms confirmed that this was not, in fact, a dream. 

 

Another mumble escaped the man holding her and his voice sounded deeper, a tone belonging to one who matured long enough to achieve such baritone vocals. Long dark eyelashes rested on the tops of his cheeks and she blinked again until the features of his face all came together and focused until she put the pieces together: the man looked like Noctis. Save for the fact that he looked at least ten years older and with the way he was now- he greatly resembled his father. 

 

Placing her arms against his shoulder, she shook the man who looked like Noctis until his eyes lazily opened to reveal a calming shade of deep ocean blue. 

 

“Hmm?” He asked, squinting and brushing a piece of hair from his face. “What’s wrong, goblin?”

 

_ It’s definitely Noctis- but how?! _ She continued to scrutinize his features and before she realized it, his face returned to the youthful one she knew well. The young, twenty-year-old prince stared back at her with a mix of confusion and irritation of being awaken before he wanted to be. 

 

“What are you looking at me like that for?” He asked her again, his voice a little less sleepy and heavy. 

 

Her fingers traced the outline of his chin. “Nothing,” she whispered after she felt the smoothness of his skin without any stubble in sight that the previous man possessed, “sorry, Prince Charmless, go back to sleep.”

 

“Hrmph,” he grumbled as he closed his eyes again and pulled the sheets over his eyes. Lady sat up and looked at him again to see if the vision would come back. Was she looking at Noctis as a king rather than a prince? 

 

Sighing, she carefully slid off the bed and continued on to do her morning routine before slipping out of his room quietly and walking into the living room. Outside of the apartment, she could see the Citadel’s spiraling twin towers and how its tips pierced the sky. A flashing glint caught her eye and she frowned and walked closer to the window to see what it was. Opening the door to the balcony, cold morning gusts met her bare legs and she shivered as she leaned over the railing to try and get a better view of what shone in the distance. Upon careful inspection, she noticed the glint came from the top of one of the Citadel’s towers. After waiting a few seconds, the small glint grew in brilliance and looked as if it aimed to rival the sun. 

 

_ “Thou.. who was chosen.” _ A guttural voice spoke and she whipped around to see if someone was behind her. The voice was so loud, so deep, yet it sounded as if multiple addressed her at once. 

 

_ “Gaze towards the radiance and heed this call forthwith.”  _ The voice grew louder this time and she turned back around to see the bright light grow in size. Was she just imagining this? Leaning over, she saw the orb of light sparkle like a star.  _ “Dark omens will plague thy planet if thou does not answer thy destiny.” _

 

“My destiny..?” She mumbled as she leaned over further as her curiosity heightened. “What do you mean-“

 

“Be careful!” A hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her back safely on the balcony. “What in the world were you thinking?” 

 

Looking at the one who grabbed her, she stared up at Ignis.. but he too looked older than he originally looked. His light brown hair was swept back and his face contained a few minute scars; the thing that got her attention the most was what was behind his glasses that were tinted till they were almost completely blue but still translucent enough to see what was under- which was what horrified her the most. 

 

His left eye had a large patch of scar tissue as if it were scratched out or burned heavily. His other eye was still mostly intact yet had a ghostly pallor to it, the irises were a milky white instead of his regular hazel-green. Was he blind?  _ What happened to you, Ignis? _

 

Blinking, Lady let out a soft gasp as she reached up to feel where the patch of healed skin covered his eye. As soon as her fingertips touched his face, she was staring back at the Ignis she always knew with his face paralyzed in mild surprise. He cleared his throat and Lady retracted her fingers immediately. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she looked away. “I didn’t mean to.”

 

“You could have fallen,” he said to her softly. “Do be more careful.”

 

“Right,” she blushed, utterly embarrassed at her situation, “uh, how did you get in?”

 

“I’ve a key to the apartment,” Ignis led her back inside and slid the balcony door shut. “How else would Noct survive if I didn’t check on him periodically?”

 

Her stomach growled and she let out another sigh as her cheeks flushed a deeper pink. His eyes looked down at her stomach briefly and back at her face. A coy smile played on his lips as he gestured to the bags that were set sloppily and fallen over on the dining table. Probably because he rushed in to get her and set the groceries down as fast as he could; as an apology, she rushed over to pick them up and set them upright. 

 

“What are you making?” She asked him as she held up a ripe tomato and spotted a handful of carrots as well as a fresh green head of lettuce. “Looks like Noct won’t be eating tonight, huh?”

 

Ignis cracked a smile at her jab at the prince’s eating habits as he carried the bags over to the kitchen counter. “A well-balanced meal, I was thinking of making a curry with some meat and vegetables- thankfully with the right spices, I’ll be able to conceal some of the vegetation and disguise them as proteins.” He paused and looked at her with a subtle hint of playfulness in his eye, “But please don’t tell Noct my secret.”

 

“It’s safe with me,” Lady laughed and sat on one of the stools over the counter. “You know- I really enjoy watching you cook. It’s so methodical and precise just like you.” She thought this for a long time but only worked up the courage to finally tell him without feeling overly embarrassed. 

 

“Oh please, this is nothing,” he said as he raised his hand upwards on his face to push up his glasses. Now she could be mistaken, but she swore he looked bashful. 

 

“I’m still in need of a sous if you don’t mind,” he set two cutting boards on the counter and looked at her expectantly. Nodding, she hopped off the stool and walked around to stand next to him and took the chef’s knife he set on her board. “Now,” he said as he leaned close to place a freshly washed carrot on her board. “Just cut them into thin slices, but not too paper thin- about three centimeters across would be okay.”

 

When she finished cutting the carrots, Ignis handed her a tomato and she looked to him, awaiting instructions. “How do you want this?”

 

“That needs dicing,” he said as he worked on mashing a clove of garlic against his board. Only until he minced that clove of garlic into a fine mash did he turn towards her just as she cut into the tomato with a little too much force than was actually required and she raised the knife just as the seeds and membrane of the fruit to splatter onto Ignis’ glasses. 

 

Her eyes widened and she set the knife on its side. “Oh by the Six, I’m  _ so _ sorry- that was an accident!” 

 

“It’s quite alright,” he said with extreme patience as he took his glasses off and walked over to the sink to wash off the red fleshy bits from the lens. When he was done, he reached into his breast pocket to take out a square of microfiber cloth and began wiping it. As he did so, he turned his head to watch her as she began slicing again. “Watch your fingers, there doesn’t need to be another accident.”

 

She stopped mid-cut, “You can see without those?” She motioned to the glasses in his hands with a thrust of her chin. 

 

This elicited a chuckle from him. “My vision isn’t as blurry as you might think. It’s actually passable without any visual aid.”

 

“Then why do you wear glasses?” She tilted her head. Surely, it would be irritating to have to carry them around all the time and worry about if they would fall off or not in battle. 

 

“I like my world to be crystal clear,” he answered in a matter-of-fact tone. 

 

Lady set the knife to the side when she thought back to that gruesome vision she saw prior. Ignis’ gentle face, scarred and cut by something or someone- he had looked older as Noctis did. Was that just another omen? What was causing it?  _ Jenova? Or.. something else?  _ She could almost hear that guttural voice call to her from the Citadel again. Certainly a thing she would have to investigate later. 

 

“Iggy?” She turned to him just as he placed his glasses back on. She wanted to talk to him about what she saw this morning in Noctis and in him, but she couldn’t even trust her own mind nor her own words. The conversation would have to be vague. “If.. you saw things while your vision was ‘crystal clear’, and those things turned out to be horrible. Would you still want to see them?”

 

Ignis looked up at the ceiling, the question unloading on him and giving him pause. Finally he looked back at her with the same patience he had earlier, “I would, yes. Even if they were the most grotesque I’ve seen, I rather see them and plan out the best way to deal with them rather than pretend they weren’t there.” He had another pause, “Does that answer your question?”

 

_ ‘I rather see them and plan out the best way’.  _ She smiled and nodded, “It did, thank you.”  _ But it just hurts to see you like that. I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.  _

 

“Have you toured the city yet?” He asked. “It’s a nice day out, want to do a bit of shopping with me?” 

 

“I thought we were cooking this?” She looked to her cut vegetables. 

 

“We can reserve those for later, we won’t be out long and I have to ferment them in some spices anyways,” he walked to the counter and shrugged his light leather coat back on. “I do believe I know a shop you might enjoy that sells tiny trinkets from across the world.”

 

“Alright,” she grinned then proceeded to wash off her hands. “You sold me, let’s go.”

 

*******

 

Ignis kept his promise about showing her a place she would thoroughly enjoy. Through market stalls that held produce that was fresh from the countryside just outside Insomnia’s walls, and just around buildings that contained freshly baked treats that enticed many joggers that had to rip their heads away to continue their morning run was a quaint shop comprised of redwood and stone. The decorated wood sign had gilded letters that were almost faded but could still be made out: ‘Olin’s Trinkets’. 

 

“It’s a bit hidden and it’s been here ever since I found it years ago,” Ignis put a hand on his hip as he tilted his head back to read the sign. “Funnily enough, I’ve never been inside.”

 

Large glass windows served as portals for seeing what was contained within and what she saw made her giddy as a schoolgirl. Just from where she was standing outside the shop, she could see many items that gave off small hums of mana and other colorful tapestries that contained untold stories that she was eager to hear. “Let’s go, come on,” she couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice and not long after was Ignis at the door and held it open for her. 

 

“After you,” he had his other hand motion her inside and she did so graciously. Once inside, she could smell whiffs of cardamom and burnt sage as well as the smell of electricity and the chill of dried ice. She followed her nose, following the scent of lightning all the way to a small hexagonal box with an equally small thundercloud engraved on the top of the wooden panel. Right there, so close to it, the smell was intense; lightning always had a particular scent, for her at least- it smelled of molten rock or burnt trees. 

 

“Ah, I see you could sense the magic in that box, little missy.” An older man with coin-sized spectacles appeared next to her as if out of thin air. He was hunched over and looked at the box from the bridge of his nose where his glasses were so carefully perched on. His hands were locked behind his back and the knitted red vest he wore smelled of alchemical ingredients that she dare not ask the origins. “This one was given to me from a friend, got it near the Thunder Plains on the continent of Spira.” 

 

“Oh..” She looked over the box and the old man looked at her. 

 

“You seem familiar with it, have you been to the Thunder Plains?” He tried to straighten his back but did so only by a few inches and remained in that hunched curvature with his hands still neatly folded behind him. 

 

“Once, got zapped and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience,” she laughed nervously. “Do you have anything from Besaid Island?” 

 

“Not that I can recall right away,” the old man hummed. “What has your curiosity about that place if I may ask?” 

 

“I was.. born there,” she said quickly just as Ignis walked up behind her. 

 

The old man’s grey eyes widened as he looked at Ignis. “Ah, a Scientia? Here in my humble shop? I’m honored.” 

 

“The pleasure’s mine,” Ignis bowed his head slightly, looking slightly surprised himself for being recognized. “I assume you must be the proprietor?”

 

“Olin, yes,” the old man nodded then as if to answer Ignis’ unannounced question, he continued, “it’s good to be in touch with the politics these days and I am aware of your family and their importance to this city and the King.” Turning back to Lady, he squinted, “Now, young lady, you said you were born in Besaid?” He paused. “You’re a long way from home.” He emphasized the word ‘long’ and Lady shifted her weight on her feet. 

 

Quickly scrounging up the excuse that wouldn’t branch off to any more questioning, she gave him a strained smile. “I wanted to see the world.”

 

“I did too as a young lad, now I sell the trinkets I’ve collected,” he motioned to the cluttered shelves and stacked tables. “Feel free to browse, I’ll be over there if you’ve any questions.” He pointed to a rocking chair against a wall that had an unfinished quilt of mismatched colors on it; then, as quick as he appeared, he disappeared when she turned her eyes from him. 

 

“Interesting, that one,” Ignis muttered under his breath and Lady nodded in agreement. He watched her as her eyes glazed over looking at the hexagonal box still. “I’ve never heard of Besaid Island, is it truly that foreign?”

 

“Yeah,” she nodded as she traced the sharp edges of the box and her eyes darkened, “it is a bit far.” 

 

“May I ask why you left?”

 

Her finger stopped just as it was about to cross the cloud and thunderbolt and she turned to look up at him. “Complications,” she uttered with an uncharacteristic sharpness. 

 

Lady brushed past him lightly and walked towards something else that caught her attention; Ignis slowly followed suit, regretting how he let his curiosity get the best of him and how he indulged it by asking her. His perceptive eyes watched her as she went over the displayed artifacts one-by-one until she stopped at a small granite basin that seemed to have a continuous stream of water flow into it but never spilled over the edges. At the base of the mini waterfall was a microscopic fisherman with his bamboo pole hanging over as he patiently waited for a bite that would never come. Pointing at it, she looked at Ignis with a small smile, “Look, what does the fisherman say to the fish?” Without waiting for him to reply, her smile got bigger. “‘Water’ you doing there?” And although she chuckled with joy, her eyes remained glazed and somber as when she was looking at that box earlier. 

 

Picking up on her need to get her mind off of her unwanted and distant past, he picked up a sphere that looked to be made from molten lava. Even as he held it, he could feel heat permeate through the orb while he moved it closer to her. “I would like to assume that the fish and fisherman would have a ‘ball’ at that pun of yours.”

 

Lady grinned and the glaze in her eyes softened and he could see their familiar light return ever so slightly. Her eyes then scanned the shelves they perused for another item until- “I think puns are fabulous, care to ‘weigh’ in on that?” She gestured towards the brass scale that contained a feather on one side with a small pebble on the other. 

 

“As do I,” a subtle smile was on his lips, looking towards what he hoped to be a replica of a skeleton that hung by the entrance to the backroom. He matched her action of pointing at it and she followed his finger till she saw what he was looking at. “I find them extremely ‘humerus’.” 

 

Turning back around, she looked for something quick to add on. She would  _ not  _ let him beat her. Pointing at a statue of a small kitten with a white ribbon wrapped around its neck, she tried to hold in her laughter from what would develop into a long string of horrible jokes. “If I ever run out of puns to tell, it would be ‘cat-ostrophic’.”

 

This elicited a chuckle from him as he crossed his arms behind his back. “I’m afraid I’m all punned out,” he then brought his arms around to his front and displayed a tin container that held old matches, ‘unless you feel up for another ‘match’.” 

 

Her eyes quickly searched the room for another object she could fashion a joke out of. Funnily enough, even as this small store was filled with a variety of objects, her mind- and her puns- failed her. Letting out a soft sigh in defeat, she conceded. “You win..  _ this time.  _ But I promise you, the next one will be my victory!”

 

“I look forward to your triumph,” he smiled. 

 

Looking down, she smiled too. “Thank you,” she uttered quietly.

 

“Of course,” he said with an equally hushed tone.

 

Letting out a deep exhale, she looked around until she spotted a glass countertop with jewelry inside that was resting loftily on a red velvet cushion. Walking over to it, she peered over it and was careful to not let herself get to close in fear of leaving marks on the pristine glass. Inside were many baubles and shiny ornaments that all seemed to call her name. Ambers, rubies, emeralds, onyxes, sapphires, and even a small diamond was kept inside and she marveled at the treasure trove. Eyeing over them carefully, she spotted a single strand of white heather flowers perfectly preserved in soft translucent resin. At an angle, it seemed to outshine the diamond that laid just three inches to the right of it. Looking up to find Olin and ask how much it was, she jumped when she saw the man was standing next to her with a key in his hand; even Ignis seemed startled as to how the man, feeble as he looked, could move so fast. 

 

“Ah, you’ve a good eye, young lady,” he hummed as he looked at the preserved flowers. “White heathers, you know what they symbolize right?”

 

Lady answered immediately, after all she didn’t spend hours staring at her gardening book for nothing. “Protection.”

 

“As well as the fulfillment of one’s hopes and dreams,” he added. “Since Yuletide is approaching, I can give this to you for a discount, how about it?”

 

_ Yuletide..  _ The word filled her with melancholy. It was indeed fast approaching and she hoped she could make it home to celebrate with everyone instead of by herself. “How much?” She bit her lip in anticipation, she hoped it wouldn’t be too much. 

 

Olin stroked his beard with his hand, “Let’s make a deal of fifty gil.”

 

_ Fifty?! Okay.. that’s not that bad. Sure.  _ “I’ll take it.” She reached into her pocket to pull out the small change she made from working at Hammerhead and gave Olin the money. The old man took it and swiftly unlocked the case and carefully extracted the preserved flower. 

 

“Here you go, little lady,” he placed it in her cupped hands and immediately she felt how cool the glass felt against her palms. 

 

“Thank you,” she grinned. 

 

“Were you getting this for your boyfriend, missy? It was probably a bad idea to go shopping with him, now he knows what you got him,” Olin tutted at her and looked at Ignis as he did.

 

“Wha-?” She looked at the old man with confusion and then followed his gaze to Ignis who had a subtle hint of pink to his cheeks that was shortly concealed as he turned his face to the side. “Oh!” She finally realized who he was referring to and coughed to which the old man let out a laugh.

 

“My apologies, I assumed you two were dating with how you were joking about my merchandise,” Olin winked. “I’ll leave you two to it then.” As he walked away, he shook his head solemnly and chuckled to himself. “Ah,” he said, “to be in young and in love again..”

 

Without another word, Lady reached out to take Ignis’ arm and drag him out of the shop. Once outside, she didn’t stop tugging him along until she reached a bench overlooking a riverwalk on a slope. Sitting down, she let out an exasperated huff of air. “Well,” she laughed nervously, “that was quite something.”

 

“I apologize if that comment made you uncomfortable,” Ignis said and she couldn’t tell if it was their hurried walk over here that gave him the flush of baby pink on his cheeks or if it was from what the old man had said. 

 

“It didn’t, don’t worry,” she gave him a reassuring smile. “Did it.. make you uncomfortable?”

 

His eyes were fixed on the river below them, watching the currents carry it under a bridge that lead towards the Citadel. “It didn’t actually,” he replied with his usual stoïc face yet his eyes were soft and shimmered with small flecks of green.

 

Lady felt relieved at his words and thought nothing more of it as she looked at her newly bought trinket. Holding it up between her forefinger and thumb, she admired how the sun caught the edges of the resin and illuminated it. Moving it about, her smile grew as the white heather within seemed to glow under the power of solar radiance. It’s pristine ivory petals were carefully laid out in a position which showed the flower’s full beauty. The stem it hung off of still had a vibrant shade of green that looked to be the same color as the day it was plucked. Holding it in her hand, her fingers wrapped around it until it was completely concealed. Whispers left her lips as she began chanting a small spell and small mint-green gusts of wind surrounded her hand until they slithered around her fingers. From beside her, Ignis watched as the mint swirls seeped into the preserved flower and imbued it with power that provided the glass with much more sparkle. 

 

“Will that be a gift?” He asked her once the mini winds died down.

 

“Yep, I just hope they like it,” she nodded, then looked at him with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll see about making you one too like Prompto’s- I did say I’d be making you all one, remember? You ” Relaxing back into the bench, she admired the visible skyline from where she sat. “It’s so beautiful here. I can see the appeal.”

 

“Yes,” Ignis agreed, looking out into the city as well. “I’m proud to call it home.”

 

“Will you move back here? After everything, after the war?” 

 

“Possibly,” their stay at the Alstroemeria was only to be temporary after all, even as much as it saddened him to leave their newfound home and friends. “Noctis is expected to come back to his kingdom. He can’t stay forever.”

 

“But what about you?” She asked quietly. 

 

“Wherever Noct goes, I go,” he answered dutifully. “I’ve a responsibility.” From his peripheral, he could see her head turn down and he felt an unease in his stomach. That was twice today that she was sad and both moments were caused from his words alone. “But,” he cleared his throat, “I may move to Altissia some time later, after all I do want to start up a cafe.” He saw her head perk up and he smiled, “And I might be in need of a sous chef.”

 

“You remembered that?” She grinned.

 

“How could I ever let myself forget?” He replied.

 

Just as their eyes locked for a slight moment, Ignis felt a flutter in his chest when he looked down at her. Such eyes seemed to be so innocent and filled with joy; yet he knew those same eyes witnessed horrors and darkness that he himself has not seen nor experienced. The ends of her lips curved up into her signature smile that could break any ice, even that which was conjured by the Glacian herself. Although it started as a fleeting fancy in his mind, he gave it more thought and he found himself to enjoy that simple daydream. Of owning a cafe near the many grand riverwalks of Altissia. With its spiraling towers, states of stone angels, and marvelous architecture- maybe that’s where he could find a life for himself. 

 

He had heard of King Regis’ previous retainer retiring to Altissia after long years of servitude. He also heard that the retainer owned a bar, and a rather successful one at that. The more Ignis looked at the woman sitting beside him, the more he dared to imagine her handing out cakes and cups of coffee to customers with her smile. It would surely be successful with her charm and looks alone. 

 

“Lady,” he addressed her, struggling to grasp the words he so carefully wanted to convey, “I-” 

 

“Heeeyy guys!” Prompto appeared out of nowhere and hopped the bench until he landed directly in between them; causing an organic border between the two as he leaned back and looked at Lady with a triumphant smile. “What are you two up to?”

 

“Sunshine, where did you come from?!” She frowned and looked the blond up and down. He wore a dark green tank top and some black joggers; on his forehead were small dots of sweat and she noticed his chest was rising up and down heavily. 

 

“I was runnin’,” he admitted sheepishly. “Gotta keep myself in shape!” 

 

“There you are, pipsqueak,” Gladio was the next to appear and he too looked like he was struggling for air. His eyes looked to Ignis and then Lady and he smirked knowingly, “Is that why you zoomed on over here?”

 

Prompto scoffed between gasps of air, “Pfft, what? Dunno what you’re talkin’ bout big guy.”

 

Walking around the bench so that he was almost blocking the sun from Lady’s view, he crossed his arms, “Yeah right, you only run that fast when you see something you like.” His eyes glanced to Lady and Prompto wheezed loudly. “But who can blame you,” Gladio shrugged and he patted the side of Prompto’s thigh until the blond got the message with great irritation and scooted over which in turn made Ignis move over as Gladio took a seat between Prompto and Lady; effectively blocking her from the other two.

 

“Hey beautiful, enjoying the city so far?” Gladio asked her and she saw the tips of Prompto’s hair moving behind his shoulder as if looking for a new angle. 

 

“I am actually, there’s so much to see,” she sighed with content, “I could stay here forever.”

 

“Why don’t you?” Prompto found his angle and it was just to the right of Gladio’s broad shoulder; only his head peeked out and she laughed at how comical it was.

 

“Because I’ve got tenants to look after,” she reminded him, “but I’m enjoying my moments here while I still get the chance to.”

 

“Did you guys leave Noct again?” Gladio looked behind him at Ignis who appeared to be mildly irked 

 

“The prince sleeps soundly at home,” Ignis replied sharply. “Lady was helping me make lunch so we might return soon and finish cooking.”

 

“ _ Ooh,  _ I  _ love _ lunch,” Prompto grinned, “how ‘bout we all go eat at Noct’s place?”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Gladio nodded his head, “I say we spend the night too, like old times.” In response, Ignis let out a strained sigh. 

 

Lady blinked a couple times, looking at the three of them banter between each other. Smiles and laughs were exchanged at the expense of Ignis who looked positively done. Her eyes first went to Prompto who was busy asking Ignis what he was cooking. She noticed how his face appeared older and on his chin was a tuft of hair that added to his age; under his eyes were bags that were telltale signs of exhaustion and fatigue. Moving onto Gladio, she noted how his hair was a bit longer with the top tied back into a bun with a single loose strand that hovered over a new scar that crossed his forehead in a jagged horizontal line. He too looked older and a few more scars littered his arms as well as one huge one that crossed down his chest in a diagonal line, even under the white tank top he wore- she could tell that the wound was huge when he was struck. At the far end, she saw Ignis again who was reduced back to the state she saw earlier. With glasses doing a poor job covering his milky white eyes, it hurt her to see him like this again. 

 

Just over the top of his head, a bright flash caught her eye and she looked up to see that radiance she saw this morning. It came from one of the Citadel’s towers and it shone brighter the longer she looked at it. 

 

_ “Does thou forgo thine destiny?”  _

 

There was that word again. ‘Destiny’. Just what the hell was speaking to her? 

 

“Lady, did you hear what I said?” 

 

 Lady frowned and followed the voice back down till she met Prompto’s eyes. “Sorry,” she cleared her throat, “I didn’t quite catch that.”

 

“I asked if I should bring my console over and we can play some video games,” he repeated with a look of mild concern. 

 

“Sure!” She smiled and she tucked in the preserved flower in her pocket. “Uh, I’ll meet you guys at the apartment, there’s something I forgot.” Without waiting for their response, she hastily got up and left. 

 

The three of them watched her leave and Gladio turned back to face Ignis. “Were we.. interrupting something?” His face then broke into a mischievous smirk. 

 

“Yeah,” Prompto looked at Ignis as well with squinted eyes, “you guys looked like you were having a moment. Ugh.. that was supposed to be meeee!”

 

“The two of you are insufferable,” Ignis released yet another sigh of exasperation. 

 

*******

 

Walking out of the store, she felt the weight of the extra trinkets she purchased in her hand and consequently, she felt the lack of weight in her pockets from all the money she spent as well. Oh well, a small price to pay. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself as she held the bag in her hand protectively like a mother cat would with her litter of kittens. With her other hand she typed in a message and read over it carefully to make sure it was for her intended recipient.

 

Lady: Hey! Is it possible that you can see me tonight? I’ve got something I want to give you.

 

Not long after she sent the text did she receive one back. 

 

Terra:  I’ll be there, where do you want me?

 

She laughed, even over text he sounded so serious. 

 

Lady: Did Demyx tell you where Noctis’ apartment is? There’s a park near it, let’s meet there tonight.

 

Terra:  Alright, I’ll see you then. 

 

Terra:  :) 

 

Lady let out another laugh at what could have been his first use of an emoji. Pocketing her phone, she traced her steps back to the bench she was sitting at earlier with Ignis and sighed with relief to see that the boys truly went back home to await her there. Sitting down on the empty bench, she placed the brown paper bag on her lap and began working. 

 

*******

 

Four pairs of eyes looked up when the front door opened and Lady poked her head in first before sliding her body through the small crack in the entrance she made for herself. 

 

“Look who’s here,” Noctis mused. “You left in a hurry this morning.”

 

“I stayed for a bit actually,” she tutted as she exchanged her outdoor shoes for house slippers and slid her way towards him gracefully as if the wood was ice. “You’re just never up to see that,” she then ruffled his hair and he tried to grab at her arm to stop her. 

 

“Well you’re just in time for a late lunch,” Ignis called to her from his position behind the kitchen counter, his eyes still looking down at whatever he was preparing. Gladio sat on the couch with his right leg crossed over his left while Prompto sat on the floor with his legs criss-crossed as he fiddled with a contraption in his hand.

 

Walking over to set up for the meal, Ignis placed five plates on the table and started setting cups down while Lady followed suit and helped him with the task. Once they were done, Ignis cleared his throat loudly so that the others knew to come to the table. 

 

Reaching over to grab the remote from the end table near him, Gladio stopped when he saw a notebook resting atop the table and he picked it up. Whistling to get Noctis’ attention, he waved the hardback journal in the air and shook his head. “You really need to learn to not keep a girl waiting. You haven’t responded yet?” He walked over to the table and set it down in front of the prince while he took a seat. 

 

Noctis looked annoyed, “Give me a break- I will, I just haven’t thought of one yet.”

 

“It’s a wonder what Luna sees in you,” Gladio said jokingly but the flash in Noctis’ eyes made it clear that he didn’t see it as a joke at all. 

 

“Lady Lunafreya contacted you?” Prompto gasped as he bounded up to the table and peered at the notebook from his end, “Oh man, you haven’t talked to her since we left, I bet it sucked for Umbra not being able to get in the apartments because of that barrier-“ He was interrupted by a sharp jab from the side of Gladio’s foot as he shot the blond a glare that looked quickly up to Lady. Ignis looked up silently and shared the disapproving glare that was pointed towards Prompto, all the while Noctis kept silent. 

 

Lady slowly sat down in the chair adjacent from Noctis’ and slowly he looked up to meet her gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me this? Had I known, I would’ve-“

 

“I didn’t wanna bother you,” Noctis said quickly, “you already had too much going on.”

 

She heard Ignis take the other remaining empty seat and she played with her fingers. “It wouldn’t be that hard for me, trust me, it’s my job to keep my tenants happy.” She released her fingers and rested them atop each other. “And honestly, with all the stuff I made you guys go through during your stay- it would be the least I can do to repay all of you,” she added on quietly. 

 

“None of that was your fault,” Gladio sighed. “I hate to be the one to bring this up, but about that Eli guy- is he still out there?”

 

A hush fell about the table and she fiddled with her fingers restlessly. Nodding, she looked up at the man, “More or less.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“I mean,” she hesitated to even look at the others and focused solely on Gladio. “There was never an Eli, just some guy disguised to get closer to me I think. I escaped, but I don’t know what happened to him.”

 

“You escaped-” Gladio was pushing it and made her remember that night again, it hurt but she and him both knew that she had to, “- but don’t remember what happened?”

 

“No..” She shook her head and she remembered the stench of blood and the piercing noise of screams; she raised her hand to cradle her forehead as it began to pang painfully. “I remember being in a dark room for hours.. maybe it was days? I’m not too sure. Wherever he kept me, there were no windows and he was the only person that kept me company.” She winced when her head pulsed more yet she continued to push herself, “He left me alone in this room with.. a broken mirror. I remember crawling towards it and staring into it for a while before-“  _ Before I let Jenova take over.  _ Her head throbbed even more and she wanted to throw up. 

 

“That’s enough,” Ignis stopped her and Gladio relaxed in his seat. Prompto looked nervously between her and the rest while Noctis couldn’t decide what to do. “What matters now is that you’re here and you’re safe. Nothing like that will happen to you ever again in our care.” 

 

All she could do was give him a smile and toake the brown paper bag from her pocket and opened it. It crinkled as she dug deep to pull out a leather band, a necklace, and a ring. The leather band was made with sturdy hide from an aged behemoth, if she squinted at it hard enough she would still see some of the fine scars that the hunters gave the beast before it fell to their swords. In the middle, wrapped around in equally durable light brown leather was a square-cut ruby encased in brass. 

 

Next was the necklace containing a small rectangular emerald hanging daintily off a thin silver chain. If one were to look deep into the jewel dangling at the end, one would find themselves in the middle of a lush, enchanted forest. 

 

Finally, a simple dark steel ring with no fancy engravings or embellishments besides the heart-shaped sapphire that sat in the middle. The dark hue of the jewel reminded her of the eyes of the person she intended it for. 

 

She handed the leather band to Gladio, the necklace to Ignis, and the ring to Noctis. With a smile, she spoke to them, “I wanted to give you all something to remember me by and as an apology for always causing so much problems for all of you. Once this war is over, you guys will be here and I’ll be in Elera still- so..” she sniffed, “-make sure you at least stay in touch, okay?” She looked at Prompto, “Sorry, I didn’t make you one because you already have your bracelet.”

 

“Don’t be like that,” Noctis slipped on the ring, surprised to see that it fitted perfectly on his middle finger. “It doesn’t have to end in goodbyes.”

 

“Yeah, there’s no way we’d ever forget you, at least I won’t,” Gladio said as he fastened the leather band around his left wrist and admired the ruby wound up in the center. 

 

“My thanks, this is a marvelous gift,” Ignis turned the emerald in his palm and she could see the glint of it in his glasses. “You must’ve gotten this from Olin, didn’t you?”

 

“I did,” she admitted, “He was surprisingly generous with me this time.” 

 

Prompto fiddled with his amber beads wrapped around his wrist. “I still wear mine everyday,” he boasted pridefully as he held up his hand to show her. “See? Never leaves my sight.”

 

“There is a protective charm I placed on it, just like Prompto’s,” she added, closing her eyes and remembering Ignis’ face in her vision. “It’ll keep you safe, when I can’t.”

 

“You’re not the only one worried about safety here, we can protect ourselves and most importantly we want to keep you alive and well too,” Gladio crossed his arms. “You’re not alone, don’t forget that.”

 

She nodded, “I know.” 

 

Prompto looked at the plate of food in front of him, “I don’t want to be  _ that  _ guy, buuut, food’s gettin’ cold.”

 

“Way to ruin the moment,” Gladio huffed and Prompto grinned bashfully. 

 

“I got some video games that might cheer you up,” Prompto then added, feeling guilty for not contributing something. “I brought them over so we can play them, y’know, like back at the Alstro!”

 

“Well we can do that after,” Noctis picked up his fork. “I’m starving and you need your energy up before you get absolutely destroyed,” he said as he pointed it at her.

 

“Not this again,” she rolled her eyes and kicked him under the table to which he smirked. “You use cheats, I swear you do.” 

 

“If anyone uses cheats, it’s that guy,” Noctis then pointed his fork at Ignis and the latter closed his eyes.

 

“That’s absurd, I would never,” Ignis had a look of mock offense. 

 

“Hah! I’ll show you who’s the  _ real _ gamer here,” Gladio winked at Lady.

 

Prompto pouted, “That’s supposed to be my line!” 

 

“Then it’s settled, how ‘bout whoever’s the loser has to clean up dishes?” Noctis offered. “This’ll be cake.”  

 

“You’re on,” Lady replied with a smug smile. 

 

*******

 

“This is actual bullshit,” Lady sighed as she set the controller down on the table and hung her head in shame. On the screen in front of her were bold red letters that announced her untimely demise. 

 

**‘You died. Continue?’**

 

“Sponge and soap are on the sink, goblin,” Noctis gave her a playful push and she turned around with her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. 

 

“Wait, but I’ve never played this game before so at least let me try again!” She cried as she tried to reach for her controller again. Just as her fingers touched it, Noctis snatched it out of her way and held it far behind him and out of her reach. “No fair, give it back!” 

 

“No way, a deal’s a deal!” His hands pressed against her shoulder to drive her back and he swore he felt this sensation before. “Don’t be a sore loser.”

 

“I’m not,” she scoffed as she finally pushed him down and his face flushed a deep red as she straddled him to get the controller. “Finally- stop struggling and give it to me!” She shouted it with such heated fervor that his face flushed even more. He tried to ignore the proximity of her crotch and how close it was over his. He prayed that he wouldn’t get  _ too _ excited right now- it would be the death of him. He then remembered his dream of her inside the Regalia; how her lips wrapped around him and how her hips felt as she grinned against him and rode him until the windows fogged up to an opaque white. He wondered if her face, when filled with desire and flushed with lust, was really how that looked when she was in heat. At a loss for words, he tossed it towards Gladio and the man caught it with expert hands. 

 

Getting off of Noctis, she leapt towards Gladio just as he stood up and held the controller at the full extent of his tall frame. “Come on, pretty lady, don’t be like that,” he tutted at her and she puffed up her cheeks. 

 

“You’re way too tall..” she stood on her tippy toes and even that didn’t help as she struggled visibly. Giving up, she landed flat on her feet and opted for a more emotional appeal. “Come on, Gladdy,” she traced a finger across his collarbone slowly. “Can I have the controller?”

 

Catching on, he smirked, “Where’s the please?”

 

Batting her eyelashes, she reduced her voice to a whispy sound, reminiscent of a faint breeze. “Can I have the controller,  _ please? _ ” 

 

He regarded her for a moment before doing that cocky grin again. “You’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that,” he said in a low voice edged with hunger before tossing the controller to Prompto. 

 

Her eyes immediately locked onto the blond and he gulped as he stumbled back onto the couch and she stalked towards him quietly. “Heeyy sunshine,” she said sweetly and pointed to the apparatus in his hands, “can I have that?”

 

“Don’t give in Prompto!” Noctis cried as he sat up on his elbows with his face still blushing furiously. “If she has that controller, it’s all over for us!”

 

Noctis’ words were just white noise to him while his eyes focused mainly on Lady and how her voice spoke in such soothing tones. “Uhh,” was all he could say as her fingers wrapped around his wrist to bring his hand closer until the controller was within her grasp. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he quickly moved his hand away from her to which she groaned in annoyance. Straddling him in a similar fashion as she did to Noctis, her only focus was the controller and ignored how her breasts almost completely smothered Prompto’s face as she was trying to reach for it. His arm length was just long enough to keep it away but the more he did that, the more her breasts pushed against him and the poor boy was thankful no one could see his tomato red face. 

 

Clearing his throat, Ignis walked behind the couch where the controller was being dangled and took it from the blond. He then looked at Lady as she met his eyes and he pulled her phone from behind his back. “Someone’s calling you,” he murmured and she hopped off of Prompto to answer. 

 

After a minute or two talking to the person calling her, she grinned and hung up. “Sorry, I’ll be back- don’t wait up for me!”

 

“Where you going?” Noctis called after her but she was already out the door and the four of them were left to their own devices. Turning to his best friend, he sighed, “Prompto, I’m gonna kill you.”

 

“Go ahead,” the blond sighed in contentment, sinking into the cushions, “I think I’ve already experienced heaven.”

 

“You two both look like you got a little too excited,” Gladio chuckled, looking between Noctis and Prompto. 

 

“Says you,” Noctis clicked his tongue. “I saw the look you gave her.”

 

“How ‘bout you Iggy? Sorry you missed out,” Prompto said to Ignis and he only replied in one heavy sigh as he collected the dirty dishes on the table.

 

*******

 

“Terra!” Lady called to him and he quickly turned around at the sound of his name. Immediately his arms opened and she jumped into them with her own arms wrapping around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

 

“Well, you did tell me to come,” he said and she looked up at the setting sun. 

 

“Yeah I meant later tonight,” she laughed, “it’s still pretty early.”

 

“Sorry,” he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the ground, mildly ashamed that he let himself get ahead. 

 

“No it’s okay,” she grinned and pulled him towards a bench to sit down with her, it shielded away from the rest of the park’s possibly prying eyes and shaded the two quite nicely. “I’ve been so excited- I made you something, I hope you like it!” As she dug around in her pocket, she paused and looked up at him, “Can you close your eyes first and hold out your hand?”

 

Doing as he was told, he heard something rustling and then his hand being cupped by hers as something cool was placed in his palm. Closing his fingers around it, she then whispered for him to open his eyes as he unwrapped his fingers to see what was underneath. 

 

His initial reaction were that his eyes widened at the stunnin g gift that was laid out for him. White flowers encased in crystal clear resin with a deep bronze metal casing surrounding it to further protect it from harm; on the top of the medal was a bronze chain and he realized that it was fashioned into a keychain. He looked up at her and saw her eyes filled with excitement and anticipation for what he had to say. 

 

“So? What do you think?” She asked him and she was afraid his reaction would be anything less of impressed. 

 

“This is.. really beautiful,” he breathed as he inspected it further. “Are you sure you want to give this to me?” 

 

“Of course,” she pouted, “I made it specially for you! I made it into a keychain, because- you know, you’re a Keyblade wielder and all that so I thought it would be fun.”

 

Holding out his other hand, he summoned his Keyblade and turned the base towards him where he latched his new keychain onto it. Both of them watched as his previous keychain disappeared when replaced and the Keyblade in his hand transformed in a flash of light. His previous Keyblade of deep gold, dark brass, and steel blue changed form into one of opalescent white, dark green and small accents of light gold. It’s shape was changed into one with a longer shaft and the teeth of the keys swirled and formed into a half-heart; in the center of the shaft just above the handle was an engraved bouquet of the white heather and reached out to form a  slightly curved circle that made up the end of the handle. White orbed lights appeared from the keychain and traveled up the Keyblade and disappeared when it reached the pointed tip at the very top. Terra held it up as he stood up and gave it a practice swing; as the Keyblade was brought down, it left behind a trail of mint-green and light-blue lights that shimmered and evaporated when it touched the ground. 

 

“Wow,” Lady gasped, “I didn’t know it could do  _ that _ .”

 

Terra faced the end towards him and flipped the keychain in his hands. “Did you enchant this?” He asked her.

 

“Yeah, just a little charm,” she smiled.

 

He took a seat again and looked at his newly fashioned Keyblade, admiring it’s elegant structure yet feeling the raw power coursing through it. What would he call this one? Looking at the keychain, he felt the protective charm that she placed on it and his heart became heavy. Letting the Keyblade fade from his hands, he put his elbows on his knees and his head hung down. 

 

“That was twice I failed to protect you,” he said quietly with anger welling up inside of him. “I’m sorry.”

 

“What are you talking about?” She scooted closer, bringing her head down to the same level as his. “Stop blaming yourself, c’mon.”

 

“You don’t understand,” he turned his face to look at her. “If I came sooner, then maybe the others could’ve found you quicker. But I was too caught up in training, I didn’t even give it a second thought on how you were..”

 

“Training?” She asked him. “For what?”

 

Sighing, his shoulders sagged, “All my life, I just wanted to pass the Mark of Mastery and become an official Keyblade Master. On the day that I was supposed to take it Larxene came and told me what happened to you. I should’ve been there for you.”

 

“I’m fine now,” she said firmly, placing her hand atop his, “you can’t expect to be there all the time for me. I want you to live your life without constantly worrying about me, okay?” She squeezed his hand and let go to settle back in her seat, “I want to see you succeed and pass your test.”

 

“Then come with me,” he raised his face. “There’s a lot of rooms, I’m sure I can talk Master Eraqus into letting you stay.”

 

“What?” Her eyes widened.

 

“It’s at a place far away, but you would be safe, no darkness would harm you there,” he added,  _ nothing would take away your light _ , he thought. “Plus Ventus and Aqua are there too so you would get to meet them.”

 

“Terra,” she hesitated, “I can’t.. not right now at least.” When she saw the disappointment in his eyes, she quickly placed her hand on his shoulder, “But after, we can both go and I’ll be there to see you finally become a Keyblade Master- but on  _ one  _ condition.” 

 

His eyebrow quirked, “What is it?”

 

“You have to use  _ that  _ Keyblade,” she grinned, pointing at his hand where his Keyblade previously rested. “It would make me really happy.”

 

“You got yourself a deal,” he smiled, remembering how the charm she gave him felt warm in his hands. “After that, you’re coming with me to explore the other worlds- there’s this one with a huge castle and garden I think you’d like.”

 

“Castles and gardens are two of my favorite things,” she looked completely giddy. “I know I’m not supposed to know about the world order or whatever- but are there princes and princesses too?”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, “they always have balls too and the like.”

 

“Oh! Maybe we can sneak in,” she gestured to the two of them, “and we can dance the night away and run into the garden maze afterwards.”

 

“Maybe,” he looked up, “or we can look at the night sky and guess how many worlds there really are out there.” 

 

Lady looked at his side profile and admired how at peace he looked then burst into a small giggle. Terra turned towards her with raised eyebrows, “What is it?” 

 

“You know.. you come off as a stoïc kinda guy but in reality you’re a bit of a romantic,” she tried to cover her mouth as her shoulders shook with laughter. After looking back at him, she wondered:  _ Is Xemnas the same under that cold exterior?  _ She remembered how he cupped her face and asked her that question that still surprised her to no end.  _ “Teach me how to love you.”  _ Heat rose to the back of her neck as she recalled the sensation she felt when he did. 

 

Looking up, she noticed the night grew overhead and stood up when she noticed the moon started to rise over the citadel.  _ Has it turned that late already?  _ Just as the celestial body was pierced by the towers, the moon was completely blocked out with an even greater radiance that emanated from the interior of the tower. 

 

_ “Time is growing shorter.”  _

 

Frowning, she gazed at it with clenched fists.  _ Impatient, whatever it is.. Fine, have it your way.  _ Turning to Terra with an apologetic smile, she sighed, “It’s getting late, you should head back before anyone worries where you are.”

 

Standing up, he shared her expression. “Lady.. how long are you staying here?”

 

She smiled at this,  _ you’re rather impatient too, aren’t you?  _ “I won’t be long, I just need to wrap up some loose ends and I’ll head home. Tell you what, I’ll let you pick me up and take me back too.”

 

“You sure?” 

 

“Of course,” she nodded, “besides, if you want to travel together you should start getting used to me riding along with you, right?”

 

He chuckled, “You’re right, at least let me walk you back to Noct’s apartment.”

 

Standing beside him, she wrapped her arm around his and they walked back towards the prince’s apartment. They traveled in silence but she felt comfortable; it was a good sign to walk along with someone and do so in silence that was not the least bit awkward- it meant she was in good company. When they arrived at the apartment, Terra stopped and faced her, “Tell Noct he owes me another game of volleyball.”

 

“I thought you guys won last time,” she teased and released her arm from his. 

 

“I would say that was a tie,” he chuckled and turned his body till it faced her completely. He held one arm out towards the door and his other arm behind his back as he bowed his head. “We’ve arrived safely.”

 

“Thank you,” she pulled the folds of her jacket up and did a minor curtsy and soon they couldn’t hold back the laughter at how ridiculous they made their goodbyes. Walking up towards the sliding door of the apartment building, she stopped, turned on her heels and ran up to give Terra a quick peck on his cheek. “Good night, Terra,” she murmured quietly and didn’t give him a chance to reply before she disappeared inside the building. 

 

Terra held two fingers on his cheek on the spot where she kissed him and he felt warmth blossom in his chest. Holding his hand out to summon his weapon, more warmth grew within him when he saw the new Keyblade again; with its ethereal glow and brass flowers growing on it’s handle. Upon closer inspection, he saw the vivid white of its petals and vibrant green of its stem- he soon recognized it to be white heather. From what he remembered from going through the flower book that Larxene took from Lady’s room, it meant two things: to protect and to see one’s dreams come true. He gripped it tight, those are two things that he would make sure happen. 

 

*******

 

When the elevator stopped on Noctis’ floor, she pressed the button and went up some more. Further up until she reached the roof and the elevator doors opened with a pleasant chime. Stepping out, she could see the Citadel just over yonder and walked until she reached the metal railing that separated the roof from the edge that would lead down to the steep drop below. Climbing over the rail, she gripped it as she measured the distance from where she was to the Citadel. 

 

Could she make that? Or would she be shot down if any of the guards below would see her. How far would her aero spell take her before she had to land again and start over? Her finger tapped against the bar as she tried to eye it. 

 

A flash caught her eye and she looked towards it. 

 

_ “Spread thy wings and fly towards the radiance.”  _

 

“Spread my wings..?” Shaking her head, she chose to get there with her aero spell alone. Summoning gusts of winds, she felt her body being lifted up and her fingers let go of the rail slowly. To her surprise, she watched as the winds stretched out and went around until they were behind her; then she watched them coil up and unfurl into wings of pure mana and mako.  _ That’s.. new.  _ Ultimately deciding on worrying about that later, she felt the wings flutter and generate a powerful swirl of wind. Taking a deep breath, she let go of the rail and stepped over the edge as she let her wings carry her across the night sky. 

 

From below, she hoped that anyone who was looking up would only see a passing bird; she flew across the circular river that separated the Citadel from the rest of Insomnia with the hopes that she wouldn’t start an alarm if any of the Glaives were to see her. Following the bright light that she saw, she rose up higher until she reached the balcony that surrounded the peak of one of the twin towers. Landing softly on her feet, she looked around and saw no one else but her on the desolate balcony that gave her a view of all of Insomnia. She allowed herself only a second to admire the breathtaking view of the city that never sleeps before turning her attention back to the task at hand. 

 

In front of her, double doors were left ajar and wide open that led into a chamber inside with a dimly glowing crystal held up and suspended by chains. Walking inside, her wings disappeared in a cloud of mako and drifted down around her feet. Stepping closer to the crystal, she blinked as its features became sharper and she realized where she had seen it before. In the deepest depths of her dream, she saw a circular platform of stained glass that depicted her, a set of three wings, a heart-shaped moon.. and this. This crystal that was displayed before her. 

 

The Crystal of Lucis was one she heard of before briefly, it gave the Kingsglaive and other loyal soldiers to the Crown the powers they had now. It bestowed them a fraction of the might of the rulers of old. Reaching towards it, her hand flinched when she heard footsteps approach. Just as she was about to backtrack her way out of the chamber, she was surprised to see the figure emerge from the darkness. 

 

Not knowing what else to do, she bowed her head in deference. “King Regis,” she greeted the man. “I can explain.”

 

“No need,” the aged king replied, raising his left hand up to tell her to calm herself. He leaned onto his gilded cane for support and placed it in front of him as he spoke. “I know why you came, the Crystal called to you, didn’t it?”

 

Her head raised up, “Yes.. a voice has been talking to me all day. Do you know what it is?”

 

Regis regarded her carefully, his shoulders sagging slightly before raising up when he looked at the Crystal. His eyes shimmered with despair and hopelessness, “This Crystal tasks on holding the Draconian within. It is part of the reason why the Empire might want such a prize for themselves.”

 

_ Draconian..?  _ Her eyes widened, “You mean, this is where Bahamut resides?!” She couldn’t hold back the surprise. It was a secret and a mystery where the Draconian disappeared to so long ago. She only heard stories as a child, stories of the King of Astrals and his almighty power that could bring about the destruction of this world. That powerful being, within such a simple geode? Now that she thought about it, it made sense. 

 

“Yes,” he nodded, “I’m telling this to you in confidence and what I am about to tell you is of the utmost secrecy, you must understand.”

 

She inhaled sharply, “You saw what I saw yesterday, right? Of Noctis and that girl- Lunafreya.”

 

At the mention of the latter’s name, Regis eyes filled with even more despair. “Yes,” he admitted with a heavy sigh, “that was shown to me by the crystal. As I am right now, I cannot hope to change the tides of fate- even if it’s for my own son.” 

 

Her fists clenched and she raised her head, “What was the real reason I was summoned here? What did you want to show me?”

 

Regis gestured to the Crystal, “The Draconian.. wished to speak with you.” He gestured her time come closer towards the geode and she did so with caution. 

 

Holding up her hand, she let it rest on the rough exterior of the Crystal and she saw the edges of her vision go black until it covered her eyes completely. Blinking furiously as if to shoo away the miasma that filled her sight, she was then blinded by an overwhelming shower of light. Squinting, she saw clouds of purple, streaks of blue, and whirls of light swim past her and towards a looming figure that stood proudly in front of her. The back of her neck hurt at how far she had to angle her neck to see the one standing before her. 

 

“Bahamut..” she murmured in awe as her eyes soon had the full view of the armored individual. Great wings of darkened blue steel and gold made up it’s full span with a smaller set right below it; the impressive armor it wore were made of the same materials as it covered every square inch of its body in it. A horned helmet covered its face save for the piercing blue eyes rimmed with soft lavender in its irises. All in all, it was truly a striking display; one fit for the one who had been dubbed the God of War.  

 

In his hands was a massive sword that pointed downwards, the pommel being covered as he rested over it in a stance one would take as a guardian. Slowly, one of his hands raised and caught Lady as she floated down into his large palm. Looking up at the deity, she was even more awestruck. It took her a moment for the realization that a god was speaking to her directly, one straight from the legends she heard as a child. 

 

_ “The destruction of the planet is soon at hand.”  _

 

Even when she was face to face with him, she still heard his voice echo within her head- like Jenova when it wanted to speak with her. Though she dared not take the comparison any further. 

 

_ “The one tainted by darkness will soon come and thy must put an end to him.” _

 

“Are you talking about Ardyn?”

 

Bahamut lowered her further until the cosmic fog around them turned to a long plane of golden wheat swaying in the afternoon wind. Looking around her, she saw a lone tree with two figures standing below it. Pushing past the grass, she stopped when the two figures came into focus yet did not acknowledge her presence. One of them was a girl with pale blonde hair that came down her chin, her soft blue eyes matched her equally gentle face; she wore a white dress that covered her shoulders and flowed neatly by her ankles. 

 

The other was a man that made her breath hitch. “Eli..?” 

 

His face was similar and the very same structure she looked upon as the charismatic bartender so long ago; the only difference was the shorter crop of hair versus the long ponytail that would’ve dangled behind on his back. His eyes were the same gorgeous deep blue as she remembered and she held in her breath.  _ Why would Ardyn take on the image of this man..? _

 

_ “Aera and Somnus. Fiancee and brother to the Fallen One.” _

 

The woman, Aera, looked up at Lady as did the man, Somnus.  _ Brother to Ardyn, this means this was the one who locked up Ardyn? The Founder King?  _ The both of them looked in her direction yet their eyes were focused on something much more distant than her. Before she could turn around to see what they were looking at, her body shimmered and became translucent before another figure walked right past her and towards the two standing beneath the tree. 

 

Rich violet-maroon hair tied back in a low ponytail appeared, his tall frame was covered in flimsy white robes that were rather filthy at the bottom hem- a telltale sign of garments well traveled in. As he stopped, he turned around and she was looking at the face of Ardyn Lucis Caelum. Her lips parted in surprise at how  _ peaceful  _ he looked, no trace of malice or hate were in his eyes, rather, they were filled with dreams and hope and shimmered wonderfully in the sun as if they were pools of sweet honey. 

 

All three of them gathered under the shade of the tree and she watched them conversate amongst themselves. In the distance, over the mountain peaks, the three of them and herself included watched as a meteor fell towards the planet- hurtling at breakneck speeds and crash landing far, far away where they were from.

 

The ground beneath her began to sink and swallow her up until she fell beneath the golden wheat and was plunged into the cold darkness. She landed on something solid and her hands rested on two arms of a stone chair; looking ahead of her, she sat over a ruined and darkened room. It took a minute for her to realize that she sat in what looked like the remains of the Citadel’s throne room. Above her, suspended in rusted chains were bodies of people that made her bite her lip from crying out for them.  _ This is just a vision, this isn’t real, this is fake- none of this is real!!  _

 

The bodies of Lunafreya, King Regis, and Nyx were dangling overhead; their limp figures disturbed her further when she saw black, oily miasma oozing out of their eyes and whatever wounds decorated their decaying flesh. It made her stomach turn. 

 

Suddenly the doors to the throne room swung open and she jumped in her seat, looking down upon the older Noctis she saw earlier along with the rest of his loyal retinue. All of them properly aged and carrying wounds from years long past. 

 

“Off my throne, jester. The King sits there,” Noctis said as he strode up confidently towards the front with his chin raised. His posture was stick straight and proud, truly the mark of a ruler. 

 

Before she could say anything, a familiar cloaked figure arose from the side of her vision. She watched as Ardyn looked ruefully upon Noctis. Stopping, Ardyn looked back and this time he seemed to see her completely as his lips curled into a smirk. He looked to Noctis with a sickly sweet smile, “Why save the best for last? Don’t you miss your sweet sweet Lady?”

 

He then reached behind him and snatched her up; she was shocked to feel how tightly he gripped her as he held her in front of him. Then and only then did Noctis and the others finally see her and their eyes, save for Ignis, widened in recognition. 

 

Gritting his teeth, Noctis glared at Ardyn. “Let her go!” He barked.

 

As an answer, Ardyn grabbed her face forcefully and his lips crashed into hers. The kiss was painful and she tried her best to push him off. She wanted to scream when she felt and saw the black miasma oozing from his eyes and crawling into her mouth. She could feel whatever parasite he had wriggle deep into her and fill her with the same dark burden he carried; he continued to grasp her as she slowly stopped struggling and fell limp in his arms. 

 

“Arise, my dear angel, and bring ruin to the false King,” he whispered softly to her as he cradled her face and her vision filled with black once more.

 

When she could see again, she squinted at the brilliance that temporarily blinded her. Looking up, she saw the watchful eyes of Bahamut carefully perceiving her. 

 

“What was that?” She coughed, holding her throat when she swore she could still feel the cold touch of Ardyn’s lips on hers as well as the black ooze that tainted her. 

 

_ “Adagium has grown too strong in his years of exile. The King of Kings is not yet ready to face such an adversary. Thy must face him to allow the Chosen King to grow and prosper.” _

 

“What? ‘King of Kings’? I don’t understand!” She stumbled up on her feet. 

 

_ “114th in line to the throne of Lucis, son of Regis Lucis Caelum, who in turn is son of Mors Lucis Caelum. It is he who will bring back balance to this world. As he is now, the Tainted One will destroy him, thy must take up his burden.”  _

 

“So, what,” she crossed her arms, “you want me to fight him? I could barely hold him off on my own last time!”

 

_ “Use the power granted to the Lucian line, it will aid in thy battle. Darkness fast approaches, the time to choose has grown thin.” _

 

Bahamut began lifting her back up and she felt her body float in his palm. 

 

“Wait!” She cried, “I still have questions!” Her body floated just inches away. “The Ring of the Lucii isn’t meant for someone like me!”

 

_ “If thou does not shoulder this hardship, others will succeed where thou has failed.”  _

 

The God of War didn’t respond to her as she stumbled back and found herself in the chamber that held the Crystal. Gasping for air, she looked to her right to see Regis beside himself with even more worry. If it wasn’t for the Ring of the Lucii draining the man of his vitality, it would certainly be the stress of the world resting on his shoulders. 

 

“Did you see all of that?” She asked the king.

 

“I did, yes,” he said. “Do not heed the Bladekeeper, the Ring of the Lucii demands a blood price and should not be worn lightly.” His hand unconsciously covered the hand that had the onyx ring slid on it. “This shouldn’t be yours to worry about, it is ours to shoulder.” 

 

“But,” she bit her lip, could she speak so freely towards him? She took that chance, “Forgive me for saying this- but I don’t think you can take him on yourself. Ardyn is way too strong, I couldn’t even do any real damage against him!” 

 

Regis walked past her and towards the balcony that overlooked the city; she followed close behind and stood next to him. He looked down at Insomnia, panning from left to right as a heavy sigh escaped him. “May the gods forgive me for what I am about to do,” he muttered, he turned to Lady, “will you take care of my son? Leave the city when Ardyn arrives.” 

 

“What- no!” She exclaimed, how could he even suggest such a thing?! “I’m not leaving you behind to die!” 

 

“There are little options open,” Regis said with practiced patience. “Those few require sacrifice on every choice given to us.”

 

“We can figure something out,” she insisted, “just don’t give up. We can all make it out of this, I swear-” She wanted to find more words to say but ended up failing as the options she was coming up with came to the same dead end as he did. She lowered her head and massaged her forehead, feeling the steady rhythm of her fingers rubbing against her skin and tried to come up with a solution. 

 

“You must ask yourself, when the time comes,” Regis spoke quietly. “Who could Noctis bear to lose the most?”

 

Hearing those words, Lady felt her heart leap from her chest and straight down below, crashing onto the pristine white marble stairs and splattering all over it. Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t answer that question readily; although it was asked in the rhetorical sense- she knew what the answer was and it made her lungs feel as if they were overflowing with water that slowly choked her. Silently, she stepped away from the King and he turned to see her walk back towards the chamber. 

 

“Would you like someone to escort you home?” He asked her. 

 

“No,” she responded quickly, “I’ll walk, thank you.”  _ I’ve got a lot of things to think about. _

 

As she descended in the elevator of the Citadel, as she passed the patrolling Glaives while they gave her surprised looks and exchanged hushed whispers as to what her business was there, as she absentmindedly walked past Nyx who stopped to call her name but she didn’t reply as her head was steeped in disparaging stupor- she set out into the darkened streets of Insomnia, one question remained on her mind. 

 

_ “When the time comes, who could Noctis bear to lose the most?”  _


	58. LVIII

_“Sephiroth!!”_

 

_“Why did you kill the townspeople? Why did you hurt Tifa? Answer me, Sephiroth!”_

 

Lady turned her head in the direction of the noise, confused as to why she heard that name being called with such violence. The name echoed louder and louder until it sounded as if it were right next to her. 

 

“Sephiroth… I trusted you!” 

 

She winced at the intensity of the shouting and covered her ears with her eyes facing the ground when they suddenly became blurry and out of focus. When her vision cleared up and she could see clearly, she found herself staring at a metal floor. Her head snapped up to see a dark metallic chamber containing many tubes of various sizes, all of which were glowing green through their rubber insulation as mako was being processed within. Standing in front of where the tubes connected, she saw Zack holding the Buster Sword. She followed the metal edge to the tip until she saw where he pointed it at. Towards the man standing in front of the thing that’s been haunting her dreams for as long as she could remember. In front of Jenova, who was imprisoned within a giant glass cylinder, with its’ piercing purple eyes that could entrance anyone. 

 

Zack was leaning back on the haunches of his leg, he was ready to strike Sephiroth- yet she still saw a fraction of hesitation in his eyes. He didn’t want to do this… but he looked as if he had to. 

 

_But.. why? Sephiroth wouldn’t hurt anyone without cause! This can’t be the soldier she knew now- no way._

 

As Zack raised the Buster Sword, he ran up the thick red tube that connected the bottom platform he was on to the upper where Sephiroth stood. Her mouth opened to yell at him to stop; this had to be a mistake, there’s no way Sephiroth would do anything to warrant this! As she willed her vocal cords to come alive- no noise came out. She watched in silent fear as Zack’s attack was skillfully blocked and he was tossed back down like a ragdoll. Not giving Zack a chance to recover, Sephiroth sliced away at Zack and the latter dropped the Buster Sword as he flew out of the chamber from the door. The Buster Sword landed in front of her and Sephiroth merely gave it an uninterested look before turning back to face Jenova. 

 

A chill ran up her spine when she saw Sephiroth’s eyes. So cold and devoid of emotion. An endless abyss of hatred swam in his green-blue eyes. Who that hatred was pointed towards, she didn’t want to know- but it pierced every fiber of her being. 

 

“Mother…” the man murmured to Jenova’s lifeless body as he raised his hands to make a motion of embracing a loved one. "I had an epiphany. Let's take back the planet together, mother."

 

_Why is the Buster Sword here and not Angeal? Where is he?_

 

Faint footsteps walked in and she turned to it, expecting to see the black-clad 1st Class come in to reclaim his rightful sword. Instead, she was surprised to look upon blond spikes and determined blue eyes. 

 

_Cloud? What the fuck is going on?_

 

She watched as Cloud picked up the Buster Sword, holding out in a similar fashion as to Zack- no, as to Angeal. Holding it out, he ran towards Sephiroth and she watched as the silver-haired man reached out to the remains of Jenova and a part of her made her feel regretful as his hand slowly and carefully moved towards the glass as if the figure inside were fragile. She then watched as the glass cracked and the Buster Sword pierced Sephiroth, pinning him against the glass as his blood coated the dark steel of the blade. 

 

She never saw him bleed before. It shouldn’t have come as a shock to see that he bled red like everyone else. 

 

_This can’t be happening, where’s Genesis, where’s Angeal?! Why is Sephiroth acting this way?!_

 

Her throat would’ve been raw if she could scream and she started towards him just as the scenery changed around her and she saw herself in a dilapidated building bathed in the afternoon sun. Ruins of steel shafts hung overhead as the plaster of what remained of the roof lay shattered on the ground. A sniffle caught her attention and she looked behind her to see Zack hunched over a figure laying on the ground. In the figure’s hand was the Buster Sword. 

 

Walking slowly towards Zack, she bit her lip until she could taste iron perforate her taste buds. 

 

Angeal lay amongst a scattered array of pure, white feathers. His body seemingly on the brink of fading away into dust; with cracked gray skin and strands of his usual black hair streaked with dull silver. Zack was on his knees, hunched over his mentor as tears streamed down his young face. His wails that followed only made her heart break more as she rushed to Angeal’s side and kneeled down. Whispers left her lips but fell on deaf ears as the man she called to didn’t hear her. His dark eyes only looked towards something unknown in the sky above her. Her hand reached over to cradle his face and she gritted her teeth in agony when her fingers only passed by him as if she was the ghost and not the man in front of her doomed to fade. 

 

“My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I?” 

 

Lady’s head snapped up towards that familiar voice and saw Genesis standing in the far corner. His usually pristine crimson coat was cracked and faded to an ugly gray that was unbecoming of a man who prided himself on his looks. His hair that used to be a warm auburn was now close to a dark gray as the sides of his face had striations of cracks, similar to the one on Angeal’s face. She watched as Genesis looked at Angeal’s fading body with a somber and almost regretful look before turning away and walking out into the dark hallway that led somewhere else. 

 

With one last look at Angeal, she willed the image of him dying to go away and mentally screamed at herself that this was just a dream and nothing more. Getting up, she took a couple steps back with her eyes still locked on Angeal and Zack before she ripped her vision from the two and ran where she last saw Genesis. Running into a full sprint, she squinted as she saw more and more light fill the darkened tunnel she was in until a flurry of black feathers blinded her and she found herself in a cave.  

 

Looking around, she only saw extensive stalagmites and an array of pointed rocks that decorated the place heavily. The only other source of decoration was the giant statue of what appeared to be a holy woman with the palms of her hand pointed towards the heavens; her eyes were closed as a steady stream of endless mako enveloped her robed body. Sitting below the statue was Genesis with his head hanging down as his chest rose and deflated heavily. Walking closer to him, she stopped when she heard a sob. 

 

Turning around, she expected someone else to be there with her but turned back to Genesis when she heard that sob again. 

 

She should’ve realized that the cries came from him. 

 

Resuming her walk towards him, she knelt down by his side and saw tears drip down his face as it was contorted in pain. Everything about him now seemed reminiscent of a broken statue- parts of him were almost completely grey as if that part was composed mainly of ash and not skin and bone. Labored pants left him as he sniffed and wiped angrily at his tears. 

 

He looked so tired, so hurt and when she reached out to him, her touch only went through him as if he were made out of fog. No way was this the Genesis she knew and loved, this one shared the eyes of one who hated the world with such intensity that it could burn holes in the planet’s surface. The same hatred she saw in Sephiroth’s eyes earlier. 

 

“Genesis,” she whispered, “what happened to you?” The man looked to be on the brink of extinction. 

 

Standing up, the truth dawned on her and she remembered everything of the files she recovered from the Shinra mansion. _The degradation, the Jenova cells!_ But that would be impossible, right? Was all of this just a figment of her grossly vivid imagination, or was it the future? _No, I would’ve never let this happen!_

 

_“Thy pain will strengthen thee.”_

 

“Bahamut?” She looked for the source of the voice that could only belong to the God of War. “Why are you showing me this?!”

 

**“He’s not the one showing you this.”**

 

Lady turned around to be faced with a mirror reflection of herself, save for the signature purple eyes that she hated so much. The cave around them disappeared and Genesis’ body was the last to fade as darkness overtook them and they landed onto a stained glass platform- the very one she kept seeing in her dreams. 

 

“What do _you_ want?” Lady spat out the words like venom. 

 

 **“To show the futility of your endeavors.”** Jenova waved out her arm and Lady soon felt rain pelt against her head. Looking up, Lady was greeted with darkened skies and rolling thunder. She felt something warm pool against her feet and she looked down to see a puddle of bright red blood gather around her. The torrential rain kept the blood flowing like a river of crimson that headed downhill; she followed the trail with immense fear until she found the origin. 

 

There, lying in his own blood with a shower of bullet casings around him, was Zack. 

 

His chest was littered with holes while his arms bloomed with bruises and the pants on his legs were torn up. Near him were remains of armor that looked like it belonged to the Shinra infantry and crawling up towards him was another one dressed in that very armor. At first she wanted to block their path from getting any closer to Zack, futile as it may be, but stopped when she saw blond spikes trodden down and softened with rainwater. 

 

Dragging himself up the hill, she watched as the infantryman reached Zack and called out for him softly. 

 

“Z..Zack?” 

 

The wounded soldier did his best as he gave the blond a weak smile but it was clear that even this small act required great effort from him. 

 

“Cloud..” Zack’s voice was so faint that it was almost hard to hear him over the weather. “For.. the both.. of us…”

 

“Both.. of us?” Cloud repeated in a hushed voice. 

 

“Live,” Then came another one of Zack’s smiles, a smile that could usher in the sun and light up any room that he was in. It was disheartening to see that same smile tainted as blood ran from his lips. “You’ll be.. my living legacy..” He exhaled as he grabbed the Buster Sword from his side and thrust it into Cloud’s trembling hands. 

 

Lady watched the exact moment where Zack’s grip loosened on the handle and fell to the ground as the last of his strength left him. And this time her hand flew to her mouth to try and muffle the pained scream that she released. 

 

Why did Zack have to die? Why did any of them have to suffer? Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis. Why, why, _why?!_

 

Her feet carried her uphill towards Cloud and Zack and reached for them just as their bodies disintegrated into dust and she was standing on the precipice of the cliff. From where she was, she could see the upper plate portion of Midgar and its’ surrounding reactors. Clenching her fists, she shouted at nothing but knew _it_ was listening. 

 

“What do you get from showing me this?! Nothing like this would ever happen!” 

 

A laugh echoed around her and she desperately looked for its source. 

 

**“I wouldn’t be too sure. This was simply.. a possibility.”**

 

“You’ll never break me,” Lady growled and the laughing grew louder and louder until she swore she could feel a breath on the back of her neck. “I’ll send you back to the void.”

 

 **“You are already broken,”** the voice said, its’ tone laced with visceral cravings. **“All you need is. One. Last. Push.”**

 

Lady felt her body being shoved and the ground below the cliff hastily approached as she closed her eyes and braced for the coming impact. In the distance, she could hear someone calling for her. 

 

*******

 

“Lady..”

 

“Lady!”

 

Ignis’ hands pried hers off the steel handle of the pot as the water within it was boiling and steaming at the amount of heat it was subjected to. He watched as her eyes, dulled and glazed over, slowly lit up and filled with recognition when she saw him.

 

“Ignis, what’s wrong?” She asked dreamily, her eyes looking up at him with such innocence. 

 

He sighed, shaking his head and looked down at her hand that he cradled in his. She followed his gaze and seemed to be more surprised than he was. The palm of her hand was burned raw and she could begin to see the individual sinews of the muscles that lay just beneath the uppermost layer of her epidermis. 

 

“What were you doing?” He asked quietly as he led her towards the couch and motioned for her to take a seat. “Do you realize how long you’ve been holding onto that pan? Are you trying to hurt yourself on purpose?” 

 

“No, I think I was trying to make tea..” she averted her eyes from his stern gaze and in response his face softened. Setting her hand down carefully, he walked towards one of the cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out a tin box. Making his way back to the couch, he knelt down in front of her as he began to open up the box and take out the necessary remedials. 

 

First, he took out a spherical bottle with soft green liquid within; holding her hand with her palm facing upward, he crushed the bottle and Lady watched as the glass and all of its contents swirled in a mini whirlpool of green and blue light that swam towards her damaged skin. She watched as it repaired a little bit of her flesh, mending and crossing over one another until she was left with nothing but subtle scarring. For extra measure, he tore open an alcohol pad and wiped at her healed skin yet the sensation of the chemical made her hiss slightly as it seeped into her. He muttered quick apologies every time she made a noise and ended his treatment with a neatly wrapped bandage around her palm. 

 

“Potions can only do so much, let your body handle the rest,” he said with the utmost authority as he wrapped up his supplies and placed the tin where he last found it. Ignis then sat on the couch beside her and waited while she wrung her wrist with her uninjured hand nervously. “Would you care to explain?” He asked slowly. 

 

“I would if I could,” she shivered, “I don’t know. I’m sorry I wish I could tell you.” She brought her head down and cradled it, “I wish I could just say it but I don’t know how or where to even start.”

 

“From the beginning then,” he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know only a little of what you might struggle with and I won’t even begin to pretend that I know the hardships you’re suffering.” She looked up at the man and his eyes widened when he saw how her bottom lip was trembling. 

 

“I’m so scared Ignis,” she exhaled slowly for fear of making her voice shake even more than it was. “Sometimes I’m so scared of what’s going to happen that I can’t breathe.” She felt like she could confide in him and whatever problems she laid out bare for him would stay a well-kept secret. “I can feel _it_ trying to come out-” her hand flew to her throat and stroked the skin there absentmindedly, “-it sometimes feels like something clawing its way out and I see it in my dreams and now I can see it in my waking hours too. It makes me sees things, Ignis, I see things that I’m not sure of, I don’t know if it’s the future or just Jenova trying to wear me down.” Her eyes slowly panned over to Ignis, hoping the words she was saying didn’t sound like the mere ravings of a madwoman. 

 

“Please don’t think less of me,” she whispered breathlessly. _Don’t make me feel more of a monster than I already am._

 

Ignis took a moment to collect his thoughts, pondering on what words to use for a situation that demanded the careful procedure. Finally, he found what he hoped would be the right things to say. “In all my life,” he started, his voice sounded smoother than crème anglaise. “I’ve never met a woman quite like you.” With almost any other man, this might have sounded cliché- but from his lips, it sounded so sincere. “One that is as kind, compassionate, and holds values close- no matter what odds are thrown at you, you never give up and you’re never scared to live for yourself or for others.” His hand hesitated before resting on hers with his fingerpads brushing against the bandaged area of her palm. “You are indestructible and anyone who dares stand in your way are mere fools.”

 

A hot tear ran down the side of her cheek and before she could reach up to wipe it, his was already there and stopped the saline drop from running any further. 

 

“It’s funny hearing you say I’m ‘indestructible’,” she chuckled, “right now, as I’m crying.”

 

“Your tears are not signs of weakness,” he murmured, “they show how long you stood fast against the impossible.”

 

“Thank you,” she smiled gratefully, her hand squeezing his. “Someday you’ll make a woman very happy, anyone should be so lucky to have someone like you in their lives.”

 

Ignis reflected on her words carefully. Truthfully, he hadn’t imagined the possibility of settling down with anyone. Such things were a fleeting fancy that he couldn’t entertain; the time slots of his days were filled to the brim and sometimes he could barely make time for himself. But, maybe, just maybe..

 

No, he thought to himself, _perish the thought_. 

 

Clearing his throat, he stood up, “I’ve something I must take care of. Don’t hesitate to call if you need me again.” After excusing himself and walking out of the door as Lady followed to see him out. Before he could exit, she grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt with two fingers. He turned towards her as she hid half of her body behind the door; her eyes were averted and her cheeks were slightly pink. 

 

“Thank you again, Iggy,” she smiled. “I really needed this.”

 

“It was my pleasure,” he bowed his head and she let go of his shirt and waited till he heard the door click close behind him before proceeding to the elevator down the hall. 

 

Stepping in and watching the doors slide to a close, he pulled out his phone and dialed in a number. Brining it up to his ear, he only waited till the second ring before a voice on the other line answered. 

 

_“What updates do you have?”_

 

“It’s her,” Ignis sighed, his back relaxing against the cool steel wall. “Her condition, it seems, is worsening.”

 

Silence. Then- _“We’re moving as fast as we can. I suppose I don’t need to remind you the difficulty of this situation?”_

 

“I understand, but please hurry.”

 

_“We want her just as safe as you do, but we need time to figure out the best option. Just keep a close eye on her until we do- did you catch her in a daze again?”_

 

Ignis took a moment to remember how Lady’s eyes were glazed over and transfixed as the very flesh of her hand burned off on the hot handle and how unbothered she was when she came to. It unnerved him. “Yes, and she wasn’t even aware that she was hurting herself.”

 

_“... I see. Please, take care of her for us.”_

 

“Understood.” Ignis heard a click and he pocketed his phone just as the elevator bell rang and the doors slid open.

 

*******

 

Zexion tossed the phone onto the table and watched it slide across the counter- focusing on it and heeding the device to stop with a minor spell before it completely tipped over onto the ground. He ran his fingers across his tired eyes in an attempt to brush away the fatigue that plagued his face. It worked for a bit but when he looked down at the discarded notes, crossed out diagrams, and abandoned projects- he felt the fatigue crash back onto him like a riptide. Now, he wasn’t the type for profanities, but he wouldn’t be opposed to dealing out a string of choice words right about now. But he knew that wouldn’t help him at all. He needed a plan. 

 

Walking out of his room, he felt eyes upon him as he rushed past them and towards the kitchen. Opening the cabinet, he took out a tin containing herbs that Lady concocted for him. Upon removing the lid, he inhaled the scents of the various essences that would mix together to make a divine concoction. Shaking it, he realized just how little he had left and he had no idea what the recipe for it was- only she knew and it made his heart yearn for her presence even more. 

 

As he set out a mug of water to be heated, he tapped his finger on the counter as he waited. He could feel the stares grow ever more intense. 

 

“Can I help you?” He finally said, not taking his eyes away from his heating water. 

 

“Was that Ignis that called?” Xigbar craned his neck to get a better view of him in the kitchen. 

 

Zexion sighed loudly. “Need I remind you about eavesdropping?” 

 

“Look, we’re all concerned, and he’s our lookout guy- why wouldn’t I wanna eavesdrop?” Xigbar shrugged, not seeing the fault in his argument and unfortunately, neither did Zexion. 

 

“She’s-“ Zexion sighed again, “-he caught her hurting herself but he claims that she didn’t even realize what she was doing.” 

 

“So what, that Jenova thing is trying to weaken her until it finally takes over?” Xigbar leaned back in his chair, using his natural tendency to defy physics to keep himself up. “You need to tell us everything, this isn’t something you should keep a secret.”

 

“Do you realize the pandemonium that could happen if I do? Most of the ones here would fly off the handle, and I need a quiet environment to think in,” Zexion’s eyes narrowed.

 

“If you don’t,” the chair Xigbar sat upon landed on all four legs back onto the ground. “Then I will.”

 

“Xigbar, no!” Zexion rushed to bar his path but the other man was much faster and phased past him and out the door. 

 

*******

 

Naminé looked up at Xion when they heard another shout. The black-haired girl raised an eyebrow in confusion, as did the blonde in front of her. 

 

“Is something going on..?” Naminé turned towards the door leading out to the living room. They both sat upon Lady’s bed, looking through an old photo book that they retrieved from her shelf. 

 

Another round of muffled shouting was heard from the outside and Xion’s head perked up again. “That sounded like Axel..” she muttered. 

 

“Should we go check it out?” Naminé looked to Xion again. 

 

“Maybe,” Xion slid off the bed and set the hood of her jacket back down. 

 

Naminé wore another hoodie that was pure white; it dangled close to her knees and kept her body insulated against the cooling weather. Both of Xion’s and Naminé’s hoodies were pillaged from Lady’s closet- after asking her for permission of course. Slipping on their shoes, Xion was the first to open the front door and that’s when the shouting was audible at its fullest volume. 

 

Angry shouts roared in the courtyard that tried to throw their points across as aggressively as possible. Not a single moment of silence ever happened as more shouting filled the usual serene peace that could be found at the Alstroemeria. Xion sighed heavily, strife was commonplace now that there was barely a mediator to keep everyone’s head cool. 

 

For a group who claimed to feel nothing, emotions were going rampant as their collective rage was voiced clearly.

 

“I say we take this Hojo guy, and make him do something.”

 

“Do _what,_ exactly?! We can’t just take someone!”

 

“Oh, _now_ you haven objections against taking people? You didn’t seem to have an issue with it before-“

 

“ _That was a different time!”_

 

“I hate to break this to you, but you’re no fucking different than when you were in the Organization! You’re still just as vicious and vindict-“

 

“ _Shut. Up!”_  

 

It was then that Xion and Naminé rushed down to the courtyard; seeing and hearing everyone from Organization XIII in a messy circle. Compared to the perfectly formed circle of white thrones, their stances were more relaxed and casual. She had to admit it gave off a similar air with how they gathered as before; the only thing missing from this accumulation of Nobodies was Xemnas- or more specifically in this case, Lady. 

 

“Why don’t we go to Shinra and make those damned scientists do something about this?” Roxas’ face was a darkened storm as he stared at Zexion. 

 

“I’m sure this situation requires a more delicate touch,” Zexion huffed. 

 

“That alien thing inside of her is going to keep making her hurt herself until it’ll make Lady throw herself off a cliff,” Larxene growled. “Then what will you do? I’m surprised you’re not more concerned.”

 

“I am,” Zexion protested, turning his gaze from Roxas to Larxene. “But no, I don’t think Jenova would-“

 

“You don’t think? You don’t sound very sure,” Marluxia’s eyes narrowed. 

 

“Jenova works like a parasite,” Vexen butted in. 

 

“So?” Axel sneered at the older man. “You’re just confirming that it wants to steal her energy.”

 

“If you’d shut your mouth and think first then you would see it differently,” it was Vexen’s turn to sneer. “As I said, it is a parasite so it wouldn’t want to kill Lady at all.”

 

“Quite the opposite,” Zexion nodded, “it’ll do whatever it takes to keep its host alive.”

 

“So why weaken her at all? If Jenova wants a healthy vessel, why would she harm her host in any way?” Demyx asked aloud.

 

 Saïx crossed his arms. “That time I was kept hostage-” he directed an accusatory glare at Roxas, “-it was a full moon and she quelled my anger. But I assumed it wasn’t her.” 

 

“How could you tell?” Axel looked at him.

 

Saïx looked up at the redhead before turning to Zexion, “Her eyes. They looked inhuman.”

 

“I remember,” Lexaeus spoke up much to everyone’s surprise. “During that fight a long time ago. Her eyes had an otherworldly glow.” 

 

Xaldin gave a slight nod in agreement, “I assumed that strength wasn’t entirely hers- I’m sure everyone here felt the overwhelming darkness emanating from her.” 

 

“Is it possible for Jenova to be extracted?” Luxord stroked his chin. “Much how light can be taken from the source?”

 

“Maybe,” Zexion looked down at the ground. “But if so, I do believe that means she won’t be able to repair our hearts anymore,” that last bit he added quietly but was loud enough to silence everything else in that courtyard. 

 

“What do you mean by that?” Roxas asked.

 

“Jenova is able to copy traits unto others, through Lady- she serves as a two-way conduit. I can’t truthfully answer as to why Jenova has been doing something so benevolent in our favor, but I do have speculations and.. They’re not good,” Zexion answered. 

 

“So we’re given a choice,” Xigbar sighed bitterly, “let her suffer more and sit on our asses and suck on our thumbs while we get our hearts remade- or we extract Jenova from her and never be completed.” 

 

Demyx gripped his fists until he relaxed them to let go of his frustrated thoughts. Looking up at everyone in the courtyard, he spoke, “I don’t know about you guys, but I know which I would choose.” When Xigbar raised his eyebrows in surprise, Demyx continued, “I’d rather be with Lady without a heart than have one while she’s suffering.” 

 

“For once, I agree with Demyx,” Axel mused. “Heart or not, it won’t ever be the same without our landlady.”

 

“Are we all in agreement then?” Zexion looked at everyone in turn, with all of them giving him a nod or verbal consent. “There’s still the question of extraction. Theoretically, if Jenova was taken away from Lady completely..”

 

“It would jump to find another host,” Vexen frowned. “Another dilemma, who would be the most suitable host after her?”

 

“Those three SOLDIER guys had Jenova’s cells within them too, right?” Xigbar cocked his head towards the mentioned’s shared apartment. 

 

“Not anymore,” Vexen corrected him, “I’ve reviewed their blood samples and I see no trace of Jenova within them anymore.” 

 

“It’s not just them, I’m assuming,” Saïx questioned the scientist. “If it were to come out, any one of us here can be a viable host.” 

 

Another bout of uncomfortable silence occurred as they all shared a look with a question that was prominent in their minds. Who would carry such a burden?

 

Touching the periwinkle-colored ribbon wrapped around a strand of her hair- a gift from Lady, Xion took a deep breath and stepped forward. 

 

“I’ll do it,” she said with unwavering confidence, her blue eyes filled with determination.

 

“What?!” Roxas whipped around with bewildered eyes. “No, you can’t- I’ll do it!” 

 

Ignoring Roxas’ plea, Xion stared at Vexen. “I know what I was created for,” she said as her eyes quickly glanced at Roxas, “I would be the best person for this.” 

 

Vexen stared down at the girl in front of him. The created puppet that was made to absorb the power of the Keyblade. A puppet that can be easily disposed of if that process went awry. Xion was right and everyone knew it. 

 

“Are you sure?” He asked.

 

“Yes,” the girl replied. 

 

*******

 

Lady stretched her arms above her head and rubbed her eyes. She sat in a quiet room in the Citadel that King Regis was so gracious enough to lend her, it was as elegant as the rest of the building with a giant wooden desk and a rather luscious-looking bed for a quick nap if she ever felt the need arise. Sprawled in front of her was a scaled map of Insomnia and all of its surrounding areas- as well as highlighted points and paths necessary for evacuation. 

 

With the loud ticking of the ornate grandfather clock as her only companion in the room, she decided to do her planning and work here- away from Noctis’ eyes since it would only serve to worry him even more. Biting down on the head of the eraser, she look at all of the drawn diagrams of the statues surrounding the city. _The Old Wall.. that would be the absolute last resort, Regis is struggling enough to keep up that outer wall._

 

Leaning back in the wooden armchair that seemed much too big for her, she groaned. Who knew planning for an assault was so difficult. Sure, she could do something small scale- a couple stragglers here and there in a contained area. But this.. this was so much more. It was a city that she didn’t want to see get ruined. She would have to plan exit routes, try to see which areas could take the most hits without being completely destroyed, avoiding the total decimation of buildings or lands that could cripple Insomnia heavily after. _Gods_ , she rubbed her eyes again, _I would hate to be a ruler._  

 

Massaging the back of her neck, she reached for her phone and punched in a number. Holding it up to her ear, she waited for an answer until she finally heard a woman’s voice. 

 

_“Hello?”_

 

“Cindy,” Lady cleared her throat, “it’s me, La-”

 

 _“Heya there, sweet pea. I was wonderin’ if you made it to the Crown City safely!”_ Cindy sounded enthused to be talking to her and it brought a smile to Lady’s face. 

 

“I made it well enough,” Lady chose to exclude the details of her tantrum that she threw to get the city’s attention to let her in. “Listen, I’ve got a favor to ask of you. I know I’ve already took enough of your time and you’ve already done so much for me.”

 

_“Don’t be like that, tell me what it is.”_

 

Taking a deep breath, Lady sighed. “There might be an attack on Insomnia soon and if there’s a need to evacuate, I was hoping they could stop by Hammerhead.. If that’s too much I’ll find somewhere else where everyone can rendezvous.” 

 

Silence was on the other line and Lady feared that the beautiful mechanic was going to reject her. _“Yeah of course, I’m sure pawpaw won’t mind that at all. Does the King know about this?”_

 

“Yeah, he wants to make sure everyone is safe.”

 

 _“Pawpaw will be overjoyed to hear that, he’s always wanted King Regis to do something like that for the longest!”_ Lady had a hard time imagining that grumpy old man jumping for joy for anything. _“Will you be coming too?”_

 

“No.. I’m staying to help defend the city.”

 

_“Oh.. are you sure that’s a good idea? What if something happens?”_

 

“Cindy, I can take care of myself. Don’t worry about me.”

 

 _“Alright..”_ Cindy sighed heavily. _“But I need a favor too then.”_

 

“Anything.”

 

_“You be careful, you hear? I want to see you again.”_

 

Lady chuckled. “I owe you a million gil for all that you’ve done for me.”

 

_“I’ll settle for a nice dinner with just the two of us, how ‘bout it?”_

 

“Sure thing Cindy, thank you. I have a couple more calls to make, I’ll keep you updated on the whole situation.”

 

_“Keep in touch, sweet pea.”_

 

“I will, bye,” Lady ended the call and stared at the LED phone screen; the call lasted a mere six minutes. Thumbing through her contacts, she looked for a specific person and clicked on it. Holding it up to her ear again, she waited three clicks until the person on the other end answered. 

 

_“..Lady?”_

 

“Yeah,” she felt choked up hearing his voice again. “It’s me, Seph. I wanted to see how you were doing.” 

 

 _“I could be better if you were here,_ ” he admitted and she grinned at how easily he could admit his feelings now as compared to his previous standoff-ish nature. _“Are you safe?”_

 

“Yes I am, I just have something to take care of.”

 

_“... You know I trust you, but please don’t get ahead of yourself. Whatever it is, I’m sure the Lucians are competent enough to take care of whatever situation they’re handling.”_

 

“Sephiroth, I’m not leaving Noctis behind like this. I’m going to help them and with the guy they’re dealing with-they need all the help they can get.”

 

_“Who is this adversary?”_

 

Lady bit her lip. “He goes by the name Ardyn. He was the one that kidnapped me.” 

 

_“Ardyn? I thought the man’s name was Eli?”_

 

“It’s a long story,” she tugged on a strand of hair. “I’ll explain it later, I still can’t wrap my head around it myself… I wish I could see you, I need a hug right about now.” _Been needing that a lot more lately._

 

 _“I’ll always be with you.”_ He said the words that his mother often spoke to him. Those simple utterings brought him great comfort and he hoped it would do the same for her. _“But I wish the same. It’s not home without you.”_

 

“Seph, you have Gen and Angeal even if I’m not there, don’t forget that okay? You three need to look out for each other. Don’t let Gen run his mouth, don’t let Angeal worry too much, also don’t forget that you have Zack and Vincent and me and-”

 

 _“Lady.”_ She stopped rambling and listened for Sephiroth to continue. _“We’ll take care of things here, there’s no need to worry about us. I know I’m not alone.. For years I thought different, but I think I’ve finally found where I belong. And it’s all thanks to you.”_

 

A tear of happiness slid down her face and she let it run its course down her cheek her jaw until it spilled onto her lap. “Okay, good, good.. I, uh, I got some more stuff to do. I’ll call you again later if that’s okay.”

 

_“It’ll always be okay, as long as it’s you.”_

 

Her heart fluttered hearing those words come from his lips. “Alright, goodbye Seph.”

 

_“Lady?”_

 

“Yes?”

 

_“I love you.”_

 

“I love you more,” she sniffed, biting her bottom lip and holding back the emotional downpour she was apt to release if this conversation continued any longer. “I’ll see you later, bye.” Hanging up, she looked at the call log and saw that their conversation lasted only a mere ten minutes. How she wished it would last much longer. How she wanted to be back home again and be with everyone again. 

 

Deciding to get up and take a breath of fresh air, she walked over to the tall, double-paned window and unhooked the latch that kept it closed. Once opened, she inhaled the fresh air and let the cold breeze fill her up to clear out the frustration that built up inside. Along with that rush of cold, she could feel another presence behind her. 

 

“I was wondering when you’d show up again,” she said and tried to prevent the growing smile on her lips. “You’re like a shadow that keeps me company.” 

 

As she turned around, she felt her body being pressed up against the windowsill as hands held her hips in place to prevent her from falling. Warm musk filled her nostrils and she sighed after she inhaled. Damn, did it smell good. 

 

“You were waiting for me?” Xemnas looked almost amused, his left hand trailing up to caress her face. 

 

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she huffed. “I was just wondering, that’s all.” 

 

His fingers rested on the midline of her wrist  and his amused smile widened. “It’s easy to tell when a human lies.” 

 

“I’m not lying!” She frowned. 

 

“Your heartbeat tells me different,” he looked down at where his fingers could feel her pulse. 

 

Grabbing her hand back, she sighed and walked past him. Plopping down onto the bed, it wasn’t long after when he followed and she looked up at him standing in front of her. She patted the spot next to her, “You can relax too, ya know?” 

 

His eyes wandered over to the large desk with the map and pointers resting on it. “What could you possibly be up to?” He asked when he sat down beside her. 

 

“Didn’t you hear?” She scooted back and dangled her feet over the edge. “They’re electing me as the next Queen of Insomnia. You should be on your knees in reverence right about now.” She hoped he understood sarcasm. Actually, she hoped he wasn’t actually taking her seriously right now. 

 

“Is that so?” He said and she groaned internally. _It was a joke, the other Nobodies understand what those are._ He leaned over and gently pushed her down until she laid completely flat against the bed. “And here I thought you would be the one that enjoyed being on _your_ knees,” his deep voice was sultry and made her shiver to hear it so close to her ear.

 

“What are you here for?” She whispered, eyes locked with his. 

 

“You,” he answered quickly, his lips were so close to the skin of her ear as his hands pulled her closer to him. “You fill my mind in all of my waking hours.” His fingers gripped the crook of her waist and his eyes darkened with lust. “I find myself wanting to see you more and more,” his touch felt so hot even against the layer of clothes she wore. “Let me have you.”

 

She dared herself to bring her hands up to caress his face as he did to her earlier. When her fingers touched his cheeks, his eyes flashed and she felt her hands being pulled up to be pinned above her head with one hand. He now hovered over her with his other free hand holding her chin as he leaned in closer. How many times have they done this? This fight for dominance. Who would come out on top? That question may never be truly answered. 

 

Lady closed her eyes just as Xemnas lips brushed hers. What was going on? Should she be doing this? 

 

When his lips completely encompassed hers, all reasonable thoughts left her. _Maybe just this once..?_ She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck but was restrained by his hand without much effort; so instead she raised her hips against his and pushed her lips further against him. This gesture was surprisingly well-received and he trusted her enough to close his eyes completely as he licked the seam between her lips. 

 

Again, the desire to touch him back enveloped her and she squirmed in his grip to let him know that she too wanted to relish in touching him as well. Reluctantly, he let go of her hands but remained his grip firmly on his waist; slowly she wrapped her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. Craning her neck, she left a trail of kisses from the patch of his skin that was accessible to her and she felt a low growl emanating from his throat. She could feel his hand sliding up her shirt and the cool black leather grazed her skin and made her shiver. 

 

“I will learn where you can feel the most pleasure from,” he said softly and continued to speak hushed promises to her as he explored the surface area of her now exposed skin. Watching him, she placed her hands atop his to stop him momentarily. His eyes looked up at her with an eyebrow raised in confusion and she could only give him a sad smile.Moving his hand down, she pushed against his chest gently until he rolled off of her and onto his side. Sitting up, she  saw his hand maintaining contact with her at all times.

 

“Remember when I told you to make a wish on that lantern?” She asked him, allowing his fingers to intertwine with hers. “What did you wish for?”

 

“I thought you couldn’t say what it is otherwise it won’t come true,” he answered back with a matter-of-fact tone, as if he was an aficionado on how wishes work and she let out a small groan of frustration. 

 

“Not even a hint?” She wanted to pout but retained her dignity. 

 

His answer was another kiss that he chose to plant on the crook of her neck; golden eyes looked at her in question after, as to ask if she would stop his advances again. 

 

With a sigh, she played with the strands of his hair and was delighted when he did not flinch this time. “What’s going through your mind? Why do you want to do this?”

 

“Is this not how one shows affection?” He asked with genuine curiosity. 

 

“Yes, but,” a strand of silver was twisted around her finger and she watched it fall like silk when she let go. “There are other ways that can be far more intimate.”

 

“Really?” His eyes widened slightly and his tone took on one of that of a curious child. “What could be more intimate than this?” He nuzzled his nose against the side of her cheek before placing another kiss upon her lips. 

 

She allowed him to kiss her again before she spoke. “Xemnas.. to love someone is to know them on a much deeper level than anyone else. If you really want to know how to love someone, I can show you.”

 

He stopped his touches but his eyes never left her as he leaned back onto the bed and looked at her until she figured that was his way of telling her to do whatever she intended to do. Crawling up till she hovered over his chest, she gave him a kiss on his jaw before sitting back on her haunches and looking at him. “You aren’t.. I dunno, uncomfortable in that?” She pointed star his heavy black Organization coat. Then, in a second, she saw the coat’s thick, opaque black leather turn into translucent smoke and evaporated from his body until his whole chest was bared; the coat and his boots disappeared as well and only his pants remained. Following suit, she kicked off her shoes and slid up to lie beside him. 

 

Laying back down, Xemnas made room for Lady to lay comfortably on his arm and curl up on his chest. Placing her hand tentatively on his skin, she scooted her body closer to his and relished the warmth he gave off. All movements she made were slow and she made sure he could see it at all times so that he wouldn’t feel too shocked at the sudden contact. Recently he’s stopped flinching slightly at her soft touches and she found that to be a good thing- it was odd though, fast movements with offensive intent didn’t make him bat a single lash.

 

Tracing his skin, she saw no evidence of scars on his smooth chest and she admired the deep tan color of his muscled body; the way his white-silver hair contrasted beautifully against it gave Xemnas an even more ethereal look about him and if he were to walk by her on the street- she would definitely stop in her tracks to take a look at his aesthetically pleasing figure. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a very handsome man?” She let that slip without thinking and her finger stopped when she realized what she just said aloud. 

 

To her surprise, he chuckled and stroked her arm to bring her closer. “Your beauty is just as striking if not more.” A finger traced along the curvature of her chin, “No light can compare to yours.” He looked up from her lips to her eyes and noticed the slight puffiness in them. “You were crying?”

 

“A little,” she admitted, ashamed that he was able to tell so easily. “But they were happy tears so they weren’t bad at all.”

 

“Happy tears?” He repeated the words, confused as to why ‘happy’ and ‘tears’ were in the same sentence. Surely such a thing would be bad? He has seen people lacrimate when they were upset and even angry- but to shed tears while one was happy? It seemed impossible. How was such a joyful emotion capable of making someone cry? He racked his brain for answers and ended up with nothing. 

 

“Oh Xemnas,” she sighed deeply and cupped his face as she smiled. “You’ve so much to learn.” She adjusted her head on his shoulder, “Emotions can be complicated and even painful, but I believe they’re necessary.” Xemnas was so warm, she could fall asleep right here. “If you don’t mind, can I ask when you became a Nobody?” 

 

“It is a long story,” he simply said. 

 

“I still want to know,” she stifled a yawn, had she always been this tired? Her eyelids grew heavier and the rhythmic tone of his deep voice did little to assuage her need for sleep. As she felt herself drifting off, she swore she heard Xemnas start to speak of his origins. 

 

“It happened in the nearby future…”

 

In the future? She made a face as her eyes closed completely- maybe she heard it wrong. _Besides, time travel seems impossible._ Lady soon fell asleep without her even realizing while wrapped up in Xemnas’ arms. 

 

*******

 

Xemnas looked down at the woman sleeping soundly; her face looked completely unbothered and she looked peaceful as she dozed. It was strange seeing someone so at ease within his presence, but it wasn’t unwelcome. Running a hand down her hair to smooth it down, he slowly grabbed the blanket and placed it over her shoulders. A slight smile appeared on his face when he saw how she cuddled up in the sheets and buried her nose in its fabric. Laying back down to relax beside her, he studied the way her chest rose and fell as she slept. Pondering on whether or not that he should find some rest, his attention was called to a shadowed corner in the room as he sat up immediately just in time to watch a corridor of darkness open up. 

 

A hooded figure walked through and Xemnas frowned at the face hidden by the black coat. 

 

“You’re letting yourself get soft,” a deep voice came from under the hood and Xemnas watched as they took off their hood to reveal their face. “You need to come back to the castle.”

 

“What I do is none of your concern,” Xemnas glowered at the man in front of him. Their faces were almost identical as were their features- tanned skin, silver-white hair, and vivid golden eyes. “Ansem, don’t you have better tasks to attend to?”

 

The man who possessed the namesake of his previous mentor chuckled, his deep voice echoing in the room and Xemnas turned to see if Lady awoke. He then turned back towards Ansem just to see him walk around the bed to the other side and peer down at the sleeping woman wrapped up in the sheets. “Fascinating,” he said, his golden eyes glowing with visceral hunger, “I can sense the strength of her heart.” He looked up at Xemnas with an amused smirk, “I see why she holds your interest. Why not just bring her back with us?”

 

“I don’t wish to bring her against her will,” Xemnas muttered. “Leave her be.” 

 

Ansem didn’t listen as he placed his knee onto the bed and waited till the mattress dipped under his weight before he moved any more. 

 

“Ansem,” Xemnas warned. 

 

Golden eyes glared up at Xemnas.  “Calm yourself. I wouldn’t want to do anything that offends my brother,” he leered, “but don’t brothers share their possessions?” 

 

“Stop,” was all the Nobody said, staring daggers at his Heartless counterpart as the latter relented after leaving a ghost of a touch on Lady’s face. 

 

“Have it your way,” Ansem said, “it’s rare to see you capable of irritation. Is she truly making a difference to that devoid cavity in your chest?”

 

“Possibly,” Xemnas replied softly as he looked down at her. “Leave us, I wish to be left alone with her.”

 

“Not without you,” Ansem crossed his arms, “you are needed.” 

 

Xemnas eyes were downturned but the clear irksome mood was evident on his face. “Very well.” Holding out his palm, black and white thorns swirled around his arm until it reached his hand. The thorns intertwined into a ball that stretched out until it formed into the discernable shape of a flower and disappeared; leaving behind a rose with pure white petals and a black stem with blackened thorns in his hand. Carefully, he placed the rose on the pillow beside Lady’s head and reached for her hand that was sticking out of the blanket. Bringing it up, he wished he was kissing her lips instead but he refused to do so in front of the Heartless. 

 

Setting her hand back down, he turned towards Ansem, “Let us be on our way.”

 

“You don’t want to take her with us?” Ansem asked again.

 

“Don’t touch her,” Xemnas’ words were pure malice.

 

“You’re breaking my heart,” Ansem sneered, walking back towards his open corridor. “Don’t be a fool Xemnas, you want what you cannot have.” 

 

 With one last look at Lady, Xemnas waited for the Heartless to be out of earshot before speaking. “What I wished for on that day..” He remembered how warm the lantern felt in his hands before he lifted it up and watched it float away into the night sky. “I wished for you,” he spoke quietly to try and keep it a secret for his ears only as he turned around and disappeared into the darkness. 


	59. LIX

Lady held the white rose to her nose and inhaled it’s sweet fragrance; carefully holding it so that she avoided the sharp black thorns, she twisted it in her fingers and admired its immaculate beauty. Instead of seeing Xemnas, he was replaced by this gorgeous flower; not that she was disappointed to receive such a gift, but she wanted to see the Nobody instead. She had so much to ask and talk to him about, especially with the story he was telling her before she rudely dozed off. She stopped walking, trying to remember what small details she picked up before falling asleep completely last night. _From the nearby future?_ She shook her head and pierced her thumb on one of the thorns. _No, that’s not right._ Tucking the rose in her breast pocket of her blazer, she made her way towards the dining room where she was summoned for a council with the King and his retinue. 

 

Luckily she finished most of her planning the night before so she would at least have something to show before them. How embarrassing would it be to show up with absolutely nothing. Counting her steps, she tried to calm the rising anxiety of speaking before the council on her plans. It made her queasy the more she thought about it, it was almost laughable that they invited her to such a private council only days after she came to Insomnia- as if she was a strategical consul from a faraway land. She hoped that decision didn’t discredit King Regis in any way. Before she knew it, she stood before large double doors; the two Glaives stationed nearby opened it for her and she thanked them before slipping inside. Once she was inside, the doors behind her closed immediately and the ones present in the room looked up at the one who had just arrived. 

 

The interior was smaller than the throne room, but large enough to accommodate a handful of important figureheads as well as some Glaives for added protection. They were all seated around a circular table with maps laid out in the middle, including some other documents that she assumed contained sensitive information. 

 

“Come this way please,” Nyx approached her and addressed her with such formality that it made her feel uncomfortable. When he looked up again, he shot her a small wink and her face relaxed into a smile. Leading Lady towards a seat that was close to Regis and Clarus, she adjusted in the tall seat until she made sure her back was stick straight against the dark velvet that lined the chair. Behind her, the doors opened again and a cart was wheeled in with a butler following shortly after. The butler set cups all around the table as well as some small breakfast items consisting of buttered wheat toast and chocolate stuffed croissants as well as some petite sandwiches with poached eggs on top with a platter of assorted fruits. Pots of tea and coffee were set down in the middle so that the summoned may help themselves after the butler has been long gone. 

 

At first she thought this an excessive gesture with seeing it as a mere show of the fine trimmings that one would receive as being part of the higher echelon of the council; but after seeing everyone’s tired faces light up at something as simple as buttered toast, she understood why. Everyone here was just as tired as her- if not more so and these small breakfast items would probably be the only highlight of their long day. 

 

Clarus was already pouring Regis a cup of the blackest coffee she’s ever seen, it’s rich aroma almost choked her when it wafted in her direction. The old Shield offered the pot to her and she nodded her head yes as she held her cup up to have the dark ambrosia spill into her delicate container. Clarus stopped pouring just before it reached the brim and she was thankful there was still room in her cup to put some creamer in to dilute the brew; once she poured the milky white concoction in, she stirred the brew with a piece of croissant that she popped into her mouth when finished. Everyone took a sip of their drink and set it back down on the table with a soft _clink_ ; the conjoined noise was a signal to let everyone in the room know that the meeting had officially begun. 

 

The butler took his leave and the Glaives stood around the room facing the table with their arms dutifully bound behind their backs. Lady looked up near the window where Nyx was stationed and even when their eyes met, he retained his serious expression. He was working now and had no time for fun and games. Looking instead to the King, she noticed his eyes were dull with fatigue and he looked down at the map before him, his eyes grew heavier with sorrow. 

 

“Your Majesty, you were right to call back our forces as the Empire did the same not too long ago,” an older woman spoke, her gray hair was done up in a tight bun held by a single silver comb. She wore the black and gold robes as the rest of the King’s court, save hers had a pin with three circles arranged in a triangle- the mark of a Lucian mage which was in itself a rare occurrence. 

 

“That’s worrisome, so this attack will happen soon?” Another man spoke, his cheek was scarred with three claw marks going down diagonally. “We must prepare, how much time do you estimate we have?”

 

“We may as well start now, for all we know we are severely underprepared,” Clarus grimaced. “I need a status update on all of the Kingsglaives, where is Drautos and Cor?” He looked towards the empty seats beside him and Lady heard the other councils murmuring in curiosity. 

 

Then, as if on prepared timing, the door opened and in walked a tall man with black pauldrons covering his broad shoulders. A maroon leather cloak hung from his shoulders and draped all the way down on his left arm whereas a silver chain connected his lapel to a seam in his coat on his right arm. Black leather pants tucked into knee-high, black, lace-up boots and it was almost eerie how his elaborate outfit made no noise as he moved; even with that large two-handed sword that hung from his left hip. His face was scarred from numerous battles and only served to add to his intimidating aura along with his shortly cropped brown hair and piercing blue eyes- of which automatically trained on her as he entered. That stare could paralyze someone on the spot and she was thankful she was sitting down, partly concealed by the tall back of the chair. 

 

Beside him was another man of equally broad and tall stature; wearing all black with a black suit jacket that was open to reveal the shirt inside that looked like Nyx’s. His outfit looked similar to what Noctis and the others wore- darkened hues with small silver trimmings here and there. Although less flashy than the one who walked in first, he still had a look about him that told her he was definitely no pushover. His light blue eyes scanned the room, nodding to some of the Glaives before he too looked at her with hidden curiosity. Lady bit her bottom lip and turned back around in her seat to face her cup of coffee that was now room temperature. She grimaced, would they penalize her here for heating up her coffee with magic? Looking around, she wanted to sigh loudly when she realized how severely underdressed she was compared to the ones already gathered.

 

Not that her clothes were shabby, in fact they were quite the opposite as the royal seamstress had seen to that. She wore a simple black pencil skirt that hugged around her upper calves, she practically begged Grena to find her a skirt that had a small slit on the side to allow her for ease of movement. After much eye-rolling and titters, Grena finally gave in to her request. Lady didn’t ask for much, only to have an outfit she could easily move around in. Along with the skirt, she had a dark navy button-up blouse that was tucked into the skirt and held fast by a silver snake-skin belt. Covering her blouse was a black blazer that she unbuttoned shortly after leaving Grena’s watchful eyes to come to this very meeting. 

 

She looked up to see the two men who just walked in take the two vacant seats in front of her, both of their eyes looking to each other before turning to her again and she clenched her fists under the table. _What’s their problem? Why are they staring like that?_

 

“You must be Lady, correct?” The one with the maroon and black coat spoke to her first with what seemed like disgusted regard. 

 

“I am,” she responded to her most well-known moniker. “And you are?”

 

“You realize how lucky you were to be let in after that spectacle you pulled off?” The scars on his face deepened when he frowned and Lady clutched her skirt below the table in irritation. The man didn’t even bother introducing himself and something told her she wouldn’t get the pleasure of a formal introduction. 

 

“Peace, Drautos,” Regis looked towards the scarred, cloaked man and the one called out sat down in his seat but not before shooting her another heated glare. The one beside him also stared at her but his icy blue eyes were filled with more intrigue than animosity. “What news of the Kingsglaive and Crownsguard, Cor?” 

 

The man with ice-blue eyes turned to Regis and spoke, “We have many wounded from fighting at the front lines, their wounds will take at least a week to heal and the recovery process will take even longer.” His face was heavy with stress, “It seems the Empire has new toys every week, just recently they deployed a massive daemon-infused machine that wiped out nearly half our numbers. Our scouts say they’re called Diamond WEAPONs.” 

 

_Cor, where have I heard that name? I swear Ignis mentioned a Marshal named Cor, is this the same one?  It has to be. And Diamond WEAPON? I swear Shinra was working on something called the same thing._

 

“If I may ask, where did we get this information about this supposed _ambush_ ,” Drautos turned to cast his gaze on Lady once more and her jaw locked in place. This asshole already knew the answer to that question, he was aiming to discredit her in front of King Regis. “Are we sure this source is reliable?” 

 

“Titus,” Regis ignored formal decorum and called to him by what she assumed was the man’s first name. “She has traveled far to bring us this information and if Noctis says that he trusts this woman with his life, then that is more than enough reason for me to trust her as well. As Captain of the Kingsglaive, I ask you to trust in my decision, please.”

 

Her heart fluttered. _Noct said that about me? When?_

 

“There is no room for sentiment in war,” Drautos knocked his knuckles against the table but relented nonetheless, “but I will do as you say, Your Majesty.” 

 

Regis nodded and looked to Clarus who then looked at Cor, “How many rations do we have to help the wounded?” 

 

“Not nearly enough,” Cor sighed, eyeing the last piece of croissant that lay on the platter but denied his own request. “The mages are wounded too, otherwise they would be tasked on healer duties.” 

 

“I can help,” Lady interjected and immediately regretted speaking aloud. Oh well, she can’t take it back now. “I used to work in the infirmary in Shinra, I know a bit about first-aid.”

 

“A _bit?_ These aren’t the type of wounds that can be fixed by putting a band-aid on it,” Drautos said. 

 

“I assure you, _captain,_ ” she hissed out his title but bit back her tongue from further following up with a string of insults. “I’ve seen my fair share of war injuries and I know how to provide aid, stitches, sutures, and white magic are one of my specialties. Would you like to see my resume while we’re at it?” 

 

“No need,” he gave her an amused smile. “Already seen it.”

 

_What?_

 

It was then that Drautos pulled a file from the stack he was carrying in, flipping through it till he opened a file with her headshot pinned to a document containing her age, height, weight, and last known location; on the bottom was Shinra’s official logo printed proudly in red ink. 

 

_Ugh, not this shit again. Why does everyone wanna dig up dirt on me?_

 

The captain glanced at it and then back up at her and stated her full name  with practiced eloquence and she felt her breath stop in her throat. “SOLDIER 1st Class, classified as M.I.A after a solo mission in Nibelheim and resurfaced four years later. Proficient in martial arts, various weapons and magicks, proceed with caution if approached.” Drautos tapped his finger against her picture and she gulped. “Shinra is known for producing superhuman soldiers with-” he looked down at the files and then back at her after finding an appropriate word, “- _monstrous_ strength. Are you even sure your soldiers have the same anatomy as ours?” 

 

 _Don’t lose your head, don’t lose your head, don’t lose your head._ “That may be, but I assure you we’re just as human inside and out as those serving here,” she gave him a tight-lipped smile. 

 

“It also says you served on the front lines during the Wutai War five years ago, your kill count was amongst the highest,” he tapped on a set of numbers on the page. “That was before your capture and you were a P.O.W for about three weeks-”

 

_Here we go again, ‘you served in this war’ yadda yadda yadda.. so what!!_

 

“Four-” she cut him off with a look of pure irate. “It was four weeks. A little over a month, I was rescued by Angeal Hewley, another 1st Class, at about 0800 hours.” She released a breath of air through her nose, “Do you have any more little anecdotes  in that memo of yours? I’d be happy to fact-check them for you.”

 

"You were responsible for the partial destruction of an entire clan and their homeland," his eyes were aflame with rage but they didn't seem to be directed at her. 

 

"Didn't you just say there's no room for sentiment in war?" Lady said coldly, throwing his own words back across his face. 

 

“That’s enough,” Clarus looked at the two of them disapprovingly. “We must focus on the task at hand.” 

 

“I am,” Drautos countered, “I’m making sure this _stranger_ has her loyalties correct.” 

 

“I would never betray Noctis,” Lady growled. “He is someone dear to me and I will do whatever it takes to make sure he is safe at all costs.” 

 

“Bold words,” Drautos raised his eyebrows, “are you prepared to die for them?”

 

“Always,” Lady raised her chin and held his pointed gaze. 

 

“And if I find your loyalty lacking?” He asked.

 

“Then I would expect you to take that sword of yours and strike me down,” her finger raised up to draw an ‘x’ over her heart. 

 

“I think she’s proven her loyalty enough, Drautos,” Cor muttered to the man beside him then turned his attention to her. “Can you help those in the infirmary and if it’s not too much to ask, would you be willing to fight alongside the other Glaives?” 

 

“Of course,” she gave a curt nod, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

 

*******

 

Vincent stood before Xion, his deep red eyes looking down at her with disapproval. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.” 

 

Xion began to protest. “I do-” 

 

“ _No,_ you don’t,” his gravelly voice cut her off like a swift wind and she bit her tongue and averted her gaze. 

 

“Vincent.. That’s enough,” Axel crossed his arms, looking over to Xion with worry. “She just wants to help Lady, we all do, don’t you?” 

 

“Of course,” crimson eyes snapped up to the red-head before slowly returning to Xion. “Do you understand what you’re asking for?” 

 

“Every waking minute will be a nightmare, your mind will be clouded with hate and an urge to kill without reason, you realize this?” Vincent continued his inquisition even as Xion’s clear blue eyes widened with fear. 

 

“How do you know that?” Roxas interjected, throwing a protective arm in front of Xion. 

 

“Because in that respect, Lady and I are the same,” Vincent explained, “there were many a night where I had to wake her from her own fear-infested nightmares because she couldn’t seem to wake herself up even as she screamed out for help.” Xion looked visibly shaken but he didn’t relent, “If you’re absolutely sure, your mind and body must withstand this dark entity. I assure you, it will use your own weaknesses against you everyday. Even the smallest bit of entry that exists in your willpower- it will try to break through it and if you can’t hold it back then you might as well be already dead.”

 

“You speak as if you know for yourself,” Saïx side-eyed Vincent.  

 

“That’s because I do,” Vincent retorted with an irritated look. 

 

“You carry the Chaos gene,” Zexion breathed. “How do you control it?” 

 

Vincent held a hand over his chest and even through his hand, the ones gathered could see a light shine through the cracks of his fingers. “I have the Protomateria, it helps keeps Chaos at bay. Without it.. Chaos can take over completely.”  

 

“Great,” Axel put a hand on his hip, “where can we find one of those? Maybe we can get one for Lady.” 

 

“Impossible,” Vincent shook his head. “There’s only one in existence.”

 

“And you have it,” Axel sighed at how his newly hatched plan didn’t even take off. “Well, fuck. What now? Not that I doubt you Xion, but your plan isn’t the best.”

 

“What other choice do we have?” Xion’s voice raised. “Lady’s suffering and the more we argue about it, the more Jenova has time to break her completely.”

 

“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Vincent repeated himself and Xion met his gaze. “Your demons will be personified, the darkness you harbor in your heart will grow until it chokes you, are you sure you want to live that life?” 

 

Xion was quiet, inhaling and exhaling deeply before she replied. “If Lady can do it, then so can I.”

 

“But you’re not Lady,” Vincent’s words cut through Xion and the girl felt something akin to heartache. Xion never took the time to formally tell Lady how much she looked up to her, how she admired her strength of will and courage of heart. How badly she wanted to tell that to her now. In a way, Xion looked up to Lady as if she was an older sister. Gripping her fists, she was at a loss of words of what to say if she could say anything at all. Silence filled the air and Xion swore she could hear her own heart race with anxiety. 

 

*******

 

Lady closed the door behind her and rested her back along the wall, once she was out she let out a sigh. Clutching the white rose she had in her chest pocket, she cherished the sweet scent coming from it before taking a deep breath and making her way towards the elevator down the hall. Impatiently jamming the button to go downwards, she thought back to the plans discussed in the war room. The Kingsglaive and Crownsguard would fight together to hold back any immediate threat to the city, whatever mages they had would be stationed on the buildings containing the statues of the Old Kings and Queens and help power up the wall to protect from ballistae, and those who are able-bodied would help escort all citizens to safety; if need be they’ll be escorted towards Hammerhead to find their own way to other places for refuge. As for her, she was tasked in helping the mages keep up the barrier or if the front lines looked like they were in trouble- she would be on the ground helping fend off the Empire. After about the twentieth time hitting the button to go down, the elevator doors chimed lightly and opened up for her. 

 

Stepping in, she stopped when she heard her name being called from down the hall. Looking behind her, she saw King Regis walking towards the elevator with Cor in tow. Just as the elevator doors began to close, she stuck her hands in the middle of the crevices and forced them back open and provided the two room to step into the elevator. Regis stood facing the elevator doors while Cor stood in the corner, at a position where he could see the both of them. 

When the doors slid close, Lady braced herself for one of the most awkward rides ever and counted Moogles in her head. 

 

“I apologize for Titus’ behavior,” King Regis spoke without turning his head. “He can be a bit antagonistic at times, but I assure you, his heart is in the right place.” 

 

“That’s one word for him alright,” she sighed and she could see Regis’ lips pull into a small smile. “I have to ask though, where will you be putting Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto in all of this?” Regis’ smile disappeared and Lady regretted asking so blatantly. 

 

“Those four will be on their way out of here before the attack begins, I want you to go along with them,” he said and Lady’s face creased into a deep frown. From the corner, Cor watched her intently for her reaction. 

 

“No way, I told you I’m staying here to fight and that’s what I’m doing,” she protested. “Noct already lost one parent, you really think he would be okay with losing you too? I’m not letting that happen.” Her voice echoed in the small elevator, but she didn’t care. “If this is about that prophecy, pardon my language, but who gives a damn? Prophecies aren’t set in stone and can always be changed and I refuse to let any of what I saw happen. You would let someone else control your fate that you can write yourself? If I knew what was coming, I would do my best to make sure that never becomes reality.” She didn’t know if she was speaking to assuage Regis’ fears or her own, maybe she did so for the both of them.

 

“Your courage gives this old man hope,” Regis murmured quietly just as the elevator doors opened. “I will meditate on them, excuse me.” The King stepped out and walked down the hall while Cor stayed behind, his posture lax against the back wall with crossed arms and one leg crossed over the other. 

 

“We made the right decision sending the Prince and his friends to you at the start,” he spoke, walking over to the doors and holding them open with his hand. “You’ve got heart, I’ll give you that, but do you also have the fight?”

 

“I’m always ready for a fight,” her eyes narrowed. She was tired of being challenged today. 

 

“Come on then,” he beckoned her to step onto the floor with him. 

 

“Where are we going?” She followed suit, her heels clacking loudly against the black marble. 

 

“Infirmary, you said you were a healer, remember?” He said without looking and continued his fast stride while she followed noisily behind him. They walked and turned corners until they stopped at a door at the end of a long hallway towards the back of the Citadel. Opening the doors, they looked upon a large room with white tiles that nearly blinded her compared to the all-black aesthetic of the castle. Through a thick glass wall with a sliding door that let out cold condensation to touch any of those who passed through she saw beds lining the walls that were filled with bodies writhing in pain while staff rushed to each person to try and help them- but the high demand for medical assistance greatly outsourced the ones providing. One long hallway stretching expansively connected multiple rooms containing specialized equipment for different needs and purposes. Taking a deep breath, she felt diminutive amongst the vast hospital setting. 

 

Lady was in awe at how many bodies were present and Cor looked back at her shocked expression. “Are you having second doubts?” He asked her. 

 

“No, I’m just surprised,” she breathed. “Why don’t you just take them to the hospital?”

 

“We did,” he replied curtly, his eyes filled with regret, “but they couldn’t accommodate us all, so we took the ones they couldn’t take in.” 

 

“I understand,” she started removing her blazer and folded it in her arms while making sure the rose tucked in her pocket didn’t fall out. She regretted not bringing something to tie up her hair with until her eyes fell upon the rose. Taking it, she gave the stem between the thorns a light squeeze and was surprised at how durable it felt. Instead of a slightly spongy stem, it was solid- as if made from metal; everything about it was hard, save for the silken white petals. “Can you hold this for me for a bit?” She gave Cor her blazer and the man nodded and took it. He watched as she bent down to let her hair fall down and whipped her head back to catch the hair then proceeded to tie it into a bun and used the rose to pin it in place. After making sure it was snug, with the thorns providing extra hold, she held her arm out to receive her blazer again. 

 

“Where do you want me?” She asked the man as she folded up her sleeves of her button-up until they were at her elbows. 

 

“You can start at the back, those were the ones who’ve been here longer,” he pointed towards the end of the room. Stands with IV bags kept each person company by their bedside and she looked at the equipment made available at the foot of each bed. “Our head medic can help guide you.” He turned to leave, “Best of luck.” With that final farewell, he walked back out the door and Lady stood alone on the floor upon the hall of the wounded.

 

“You Lady?” An older man approached her with a surgical mask covering his face. His voice was a bit muffled but she could thankfully still hear him clearly. 

 

“Yes, I am,” she brought her hand forward to shake his but stopped immediately and retracted her hand when she noticed his gloves and the way he held his arms up so that they didn’t touch his robes. She assumed he was a doctor that just scrubbed in and she had no intent of dirtying him with external bacteria. 

 

“Have you had experience?” He wasted no time diving into her practice. 

 

“Yes, mild to moderate and occasionally extreme,” she replied quickly. 

 

He asked another question. “Magic as well as practical use?” 

 

“Yes, mostly magic used during field work but I’ve some knowledge with stitching amongst other things.”

 

“Good,” he turned and remained his posture of not touching anything but the air with his gloves, “I’ll need you over there to see to the wounds caused by daemons, and if you can, extract blood samples from them too while you’re at it to scan for anything possibly causing a homeostatic imbalance- daemons carry a lot of diseases and if those lacerations don’t kill these soldier, then sickness will. Find me when you’re done and make sure you disinfect yourself before you proceed any further.” With those simple instructions, he left in a hurry towards another wing that held more wounded and she was left alone once more. 

 

Looking behind her, she set her coat on a rack and took one of the face masks from a box sitting on the counter and quickly wrapped it around her mouth; she also made sure her hair was tightened fast and walked over to a metal sink and began scrubbing her hands and forearms clean. The water steamed and stung her skin at the searing hot temperature, it was so hot in fact that the uppermost layer of her epidermis started to look red. After making sure everything was well and disinfected where she would be making contact with the patients, she stepped in through the thick glass doors and began her assigned duties. 

 

*******

 

Noctis forked the piece of behemoth steak on his plate and popped it into his mouth. He immediately taste the sweet demi-glace coating the savory protein and swallowed it after giving it a hearty chew. Across from him, he saw his dad cutting into his own steak, looking up at the windows were three Glaives who stood guard as the two Lucian royalty ate their meal in an almost awkward silence. He hated this, not because he disliked his father- but for the sole purpose that each of their meals for as long as he could remember was always set in this palpable tension of each wanting to open their mouths to say something but resorted back to taking in another bite of food. 

 

He looked down at his plate and swirled the piece of lettuce in the sauce until the green was no longer visible and shone with a red-brown sheen- but even then, Noctis didn’t want to put it in his mouth. Setting his fork down, he looked up at his dad who still worked away on his steak. 

 

“Dad,” he said and immediately King Regis looked up at Noctis with undisturbed attention. 

 

“Yes, son?” He replied and Noctis felt something pull at his heart, but couldn’t discern what emotion it was yet. 

 

“Why am I here?” Noctis asked aloud and he saw a Glaive shifted uncomfortably. 

 

“We’re having dinner,” Regis answered with a soft smile. It was only four in the afternoon, a little too early to be having dinner- but this was the only time he had free today and he wanted to put it to good use. “I.. just wanted to spend time with you, Noctis.” 

 

“Cor says we’re on the brink of war, is this really the right time for this?” The Prince asked. 

 

“It may be the only time for this,” the King replied with a heavy heart. 

 

Noctis felt his breath lodge in his throat, “What do you mean by that?”

 

“Nothing,” Regis averted his gaze. “I just wanted to enjoy a meal with my son, will you fault me for that?” 

 

“Of course not,” Noctis softened his tone. “I thought you would have more important things to do, y’know, being king and all.”

 

“Nothing is more important in my life than you, Noctis,” Regis smiled. “You’ve finished your meal, how about some dessert?” 

 

“As long as it’s not squishy,” the raven-haired boy huffed and his father chuckled as he motioned over the butler to place the next course in front of them after taking the previous plate first. In front of them was a tarte tatin and immediately, Noctis could smell the caramelized sugar that coated the thick slices of apples that had no skin on them yet he could see the pure white flesh through the honey covering that was arranged into a neat circle in a pastry shell. Before the butler could retreat, Noctis looked up, “Excuse me, um, what type of apples are these?” 

 

The butler looked clearly flustered, not used to the prince speaking to anyone save for his father but quickly recomposed himself. “They’re Banora Whites, Your Highness. Are they not to your liking?”

 

“No, uh, they’re perfect, thanks,” Noctis took the brand new fork that was laid down to replace his old ones used for the main course and took one of the apples into his mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, he swallowed and realized why Lady and Genesis were so fond of them. They were juicy and sweet, and each bite he took felt like he was kissing a pair of soft lips traced with white chardonnay, flambéed caramel. He thought back to how Lady’s lips looked as she slept with him in his room and he quickly waved the thought away and focused on the dessert instead. 

 

“Do you like it?” Regis asked him after taking a bite for himself. “It is quite delicious.”

 

Noctis held up one of the apples, “This is Lady’s favorite, or at least she talks about it a lot. I’ve never had one but I can see why she wants to start an apple farm with these.” 

 

Regis looked at how his son’s eyes lit up at the mere mention of that specific landlady and he settled back in his seat. “She reminds me a lot of your mother.” 

 

“How so?” Noct’s eyes were attentive. 

 

“Strong, compassionate, and will do anything to protect the ones she loves,” Regis spoke. “She’s a good woman.”

 

 _She is,_ Noctis thought. “Where is she now?” Noctis hadn’t seen her all day, she didn’t even come home last night but she reassured him that she was safe. 

 

As if to answer his son’s thoughts, Regis continued, “She stayed here overnight and is helping treat those down in the infirmary. She was assigned there two hours ago, who knows when they’ll let her go.” 

 

“Everywhere she goes, she’s always working, she can’t ever just sit down and take a break?” Noctis grumbled. 

 

Regis cleared his throat. “Son, I have to ask..” 

 

“Yeah? What is it?” Noctis looked at his dad. 

 

“Do you have feelings for her?” His dad’s question dropped on him like a bomb. 

 

Noctis choked on his water that he was sipping and set his glass back down, “D-dad, seriously?”

 

“I’m just curious, how could I not be?” Regis had an authentic smile on his face. “I’ve never seen you so affectionate over a girl.”

 

“Ugh dad c’mon, cut it out, I don’t wanna talk about this,” Noctis looked away to try and hide the growing blush on his face. He opted to cover it with a napkin as he pretended to wipe his mouth. 

 

“You know, I think she would make a fine queen and a strong ruler,” Regis continued to tease him, enjoying these rare few moments where he could truly be himself, a father and not a sovereign. 

 

Noctis’ face grew redder and he could only stare at the tart in front of him like it held what remained of his dignity. Regis resigned to eating his own dessert with an amused smile at his son’s expense. 

 

*******

 

Lady shone a flashlight into the Glaive’s eyes and watched as his pupils dilated into an almost complete black circle against his irises. “Pupillary reflexes look good,” she said aloud as she set the flashlight down and began to roll up his sleeve. “Could you sit up for me, sweetheart? I need to take your blood pressure.” The Glaive did as he was asked and she helped him sit upright in an almost perfect ninety-degree angle with his back pressed against the headboard; the Glaive hissed in pain and let out a groan as he set his head back. 

 

“Wiggle your toes for me?” She asked and he did so while she watched his toes move slightly. “Alright, distal motors seem to be running fine.”

 

“Is my body supposed to hurt this much?” He muttered while she felt for his pulse along his brachial nerve. Once she felt the beat, she began to wrap the sleeve of the sphygmomanometer around the nook of his elbow and tightened it. Taking the stethoscope she had wrapped around her neck, she held the bell two inches above the wrap and listened in with her earpieces. 

 

“Tell me where it hurts after,” she said softly as she began to squeeze the bulb rapidly, watching the valve go down from 180 millimeters. Waiting for the tick was key to finding blood pressure and she heard approximately two distinct ticks at about 140 millimeters then at 92 millimeters. Taking the stethoscope from her ears, she unwrapped the cuff from the Glaive’s arm and set it aside and immediately began writing down her results. “Systolic pressure.. 140.. diastolic is about 92.. a little higher than normal.”

 

“What does that mean?” The Glaive looked worried. 

 

“So far everything’s fine except for your blood pressure, the bar would be 120 over 80- but stress is a key factor of high BP-“ she explained as she began packing up her stuff and setting the Glaive to lay back down on his back. “-but since you just came back from battle, it’s understandable. Still, I’ll make sure to come back and check on you again, sweetheart.”

 

“I like it when you call me that,” he mumbled incoherently. “What can I call you though? Nurse..?”

 

“Lady’s fine,” she pulled the blanket back over his chest. 

 

“Nurse Lady..” the Glaive said with a dreamy smile before closing his eyes and falling asleep on the spot. She grinned as she placed the clipboard containing his status onto the counter next to him. Placing her hand over his forehead, soft green light emitted from her palm and shot out in streams of light which the streamed down over his body. She watched as the green magic sank into his body and his face was no longer contorted in discomfort, instead changing to that of peace. _That will help ease the pain a bit,_ she exhaled and another wave of fatigue left her. Standing up, she started walking down and counting the people in her row- tapping on the metal ends of their beds as she counted. 

 

After making sure everyone she’s seen to was perfectly normal, she walked back to the front and began washing her hands vigorously. _My hands will be so dry after this._ She grimaced as she tried to think of a place to find creams imbued with natural humectants- she would have to see to that later 

 

“Lady, did you check everyone in this hall already?” The surgeon from earlier approached her and this time he had no mask. His face was worn and had a vertical scar on the left side of his lip. If she didn’t know any better, it looked like the handiwork of a fine scalpel. 

 

“Yes, I’ve left their reports by their bedside and so far everyone I’ve seen to looks relatively normal. No signs of daemon miasma or metastasization. Blood pressure for at least half of them are higher than normal, I assumed it was because of the duress- but I’ll check back again later,” she said without missing a beat. “Some needed basic stitches but nothing that requires your skills and some are kept stabilized by a flux of mana I left them.”

 

“Good,” the surgeon sighed, “I don’t need any more cases today, believe me. Thank you for your hard work- are you willing to stay longer to do some more work?” 

 

Lady’s legs were hurting like hell and the lateral parts of her feet felt like they were about to burst from being squeezed painfully in her shoes. She hasn’t sat down ever since the meeting this morning but she couldn’t complain- there were people in this room that were hurting way more than she was. “Yes, that’s fine,” she gave him a strained smile. “Where do you want me next?”

 

The surgeon looked up past her and bowed his head, “Your Highness, how can we help you?” 

 

Lady turned around to see Noctis walk into the infirmary ward, his eyes focused solely on her. “Noctis, what’s wrong?”

 

“I, uh,” he looked from her to the surgeon and back to her, seeing the stethoscope wrapped around her neck. “Just wanted to check on you, wanted to make sure you were okay.”

 

“I’m fine, Your Highness,” she smiled at him, “I have other patients to attend to, if you’ll excuse me-”

 

“No no, you’ve done enough today,” the surgeon interjected. “You’re free to go, Lady.”

 

Lady raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? But you just said-” 

 

“I think you’ve others that require your attention more,” the surgeon said quietly and patted her on the shoulder as he walked past. She let out a sigh and unwrapped the stethoscope from around her neck and placed it on a nearby table for instruments needing sanitation. Walking over to the coat rack near the door, she took hers and folded it over her arm and followed Noctis out of the ward. 

 

“They kept you in there for a while, huh?” He stopped walking, “Lady?” Turning around, he saw her with her back slumped against the wall and sliding down slightly. Her breaths left her in pants and Noctis rushed to her side and lifted her up. “You okay, goblin?” 

 

“I’m fine,” she said with a weary smile, “I think I just used too much mana in there.” 

 

“That’s enough, you need to rest, seriously,” he offered her his hand which she took gratefully. Lady grasped onto his arm and put her head on his shoulder, feeling better with this new level of support versus just standing by herself. 

 

“Thank you, Noct,” she exhaled, rolling her head. “Can you help me to my room?” 

 

Nodding, they started walking down the hall until they reached the foyer which lead outside. Stopping, she looked up to see Gladio and Ignis walk in with Prompto nervously following behind. Once the blond saw Lady, his eyes lit up and his awkward stride turned into one of excitement as he run to where she was. 

 

“Lady!” Prompto hugged her and she winced under his grip, she certainly underestimated his strength. 

 

“Good to see you too sunshine,” she patted him on the back and stroked his soft hair. “How are you?” 

 

“Cut it out,” Noctis frowned at Prompto before the blond could respond, “she’s tired.”

 

“Where are you guys going? What were you doing? Did you stay in the Citadel overnight?” Prompto threw a flurry of questions at her and she could only stare at him slack-jawed and not knowing where to start. 

 

“Cool it,” Gladio brushed past Prompto and towards Lady. “C’mon, I’ll take you where you need to go.” 

 

“I got it,” Noctis glared up at his Shield and the latter only rolled his eyes and took Lady from the prince gently. 

 

“Get on my back, I’ll carry you,” he spoke softly to her and she felt her cheeks heated at the thought of gallivanting on his back throughout the Citadel. 

 

“I’m wearing a skirt, I can’t,” she denied him gently and his eyes regarded the pencil skirt that hugged her legs. “I can walk, seriously, I’m fine.” Then as if to prove her point, she let go of his arm and stood upright by herself, “See?” 

 

“Hmph, if I see you struggling to walk, I’m lifting you up on my shoulders,” Gladio crossed his arms. 

 

“Whatever makes you happy,” she grinned and turned to Ignis. “What are you guys doing here?”

 

“Marksman training,” Ignis’ eyes fell on Prompto to which the blond shrank under the tactician's diminutive stare. 

 

“It’s not my fault that I’m not as battle seasoned as you guys,” Prompto whined and his bottom lip stuck out. “Cut me some slack here, I’m just a peasant, remember?”

 

“That’s not an excuse,” Gladio shook his head. “But you are making improvements, even if they are little. Can’t believe you tripped on your own foot and choked on your own gas bomb, unbelievable.”

 

Prompto’s face turned bright red and he looked at Gladio then to Lady then back to Gladio, “DUDE, not cool! You don’t have to announce that to the world!”

 

Noctis chortled, “You choked on your own gas? What a _loser_!” 

 

Lady and Ignis tried hiding their own laughs and she tried to turn her face just as a choked giggle escaped her. Clearing her throat loudly, she looked at Prompto, “It’s okay sunshine, I caught my shirt on fire with my own magic once.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Prompto tilted his head. “How old were you then?”

 

Lady looked up to the high vaulted ceilings. “I was six, I think.”

 

“See! Even Lady makes mistakes,” Prompto looked to Gladio with his newly supported claim. 

 

“Yeah, she was six, an actual _kid_ ,” Gladio scoffed. “You’re twenty-fucking-years-old, Prompto. There’s a big difference there.”

 

“Whatever, you guys suck,” Prompto sighed loudly. “Anyways, I thought we were going to go somewhere to eat?”

 

Ignis pushed up his glasses, “I’m perfectly fine with eating at home.”

 

“But I’m craving some good old-fashioned fast food,” Prompto grinned and Ignis shot him a look as if he just insulted his father and his father before him. 

 

“Wanna come with us?” Noctis bumped Lady on the shoulder.

 

“Yeah, can I change first? I can still smell the iodine and salves from the infirmary,” Lady sniffed and her face fell in disappointment. “I smell like a hospital.” 

 

“Were you in the infirmary?” Ignis asked her and she nodded.

 

“Let’s go, we’ll wait for you outside your room,” Gladio offered Lady his arm and she took it. “Lead on.” 

 

The five of them made their way towards the elevators and Lady pressed on the button that would lead upward to where her temporary living quarters were at. In the elevator, they were all silent, four of them were stationed in one direction around her while she stood in the middle with her arms clasped behind her back. Once the elevator doors chimed to announce their arrival, she brushed past Noctis and walked ahead of the group towards a single door down the hall. She stopped and turned to them and pointed at a set of chairs surrounding a small coffee table by a tall window overlooking the city below. 

 

“Do you guys mind waiting there for me? I won’t be long,” she said. 

 

“Give us a holler if you need anything, ‘kay?” Gladio said in a low tone so that only she could hear his words. She nodded and opened the door, giving them a small wave before disappearing into her room. 

 

Once inside, she immediately kicked off her shoes and strode over to the set of clothes that she received for casual wear. Going through the sets of hoodies, she grimaced when she saw a simple black shirt that had the words ‘I heart Insomnia’ on it. She laughed at the idea of coming out of her room wearing that shirt and actually considered it, but ultimately set it aside as a sleeping shirt. Humming to herself, she opted for a pair of black skinny jeans and a simple dark green blouse with a pair of beige ankle boots. That was as casual as the royal seamstress would allow her, it seems. 

 

As she set her blazer on the writing desk and also began to unbutton her shirt, she could feel a cold presence in the room and the sound of winds rushing. Her lips curled into a smile when she recognized what elicited those very sensations. Without turning around, she started to unbutton her shirt from the bottom and called out to the figure from the dark. “You left so soon last night, did I scare you off or something?” 

 

“As if you could ever frighten me.” A deep voice answered her and her fingers froze when she didn’t recognize it. 

 

Turning around, she suddenly felt a hand grab her by the back of her neck and bend her over on the desk in front of her. Struggling to get up, she tried to grab at the hands that held her down but her strength had already left her earlier and as of now- she was just a ragdoll that was subject to this person’s manipulations. 

 

“Who are you?!” She hissed and tried to turn her head to the side to see who her assailant was. Then, her body was lifted until she was facing up and towards a face that was familiar and unknown at the same time. Silver-white hair fell past his shoulders with his bangs slicked back and contrasted with this warm tanned skin, glowing golden eyes stared down at her with hunger as she tried to remember where she’s seen his face before. Thinking back to when she stayed at Heron Point, she remembered the dream where she saw Xemnas, the other mysterious hooded figure, and this one. _What was his name? Who is this asshole?!_

 

“You may call me Ansem,” he said after seeing how her eyes searched his face for any clues as to who he was. _Ansem? Isn’t that the guy who ran Radiant Garden? Ansem the Wise?_ She racked her head. _This can’t be the same guy. Fuck, this is so confusing!_

 

“Get off of me,” she growled and this amused him even more as his grin widened. 

 

“I can smell your light even from a great distance, it’s no wonder my brother craves you so,” he said lowly. “Do you think Xemnas would be upset if I were to return with your scent all over me?”

 

Lady’s brows knitted in confusion. _What the fuck is he saying?_ Before she could even process what was going on, his lips crashed onto hers painfully and she let out a small groan as his hands and body pinned her down on the desk. Ansem bit down on her bottom lip harshly and by the time she parted her lips to let his tongue slide over hers, she tasted blood run down her mouth and into her throat. A whimper escaped her at how rough he was handling her; such intimate acts like this were made violent and incomprehensible as he continued his exploration. Her shirt was bunched up in his hand and she heard the fabric rip right down the middle as well as the buttons popping off while a rush of cool wind blew against her now naked skin. Only her bra was left that served as a buffer from her becoming fully nude but even that was torn away as well. His mouth quickly left hers and his hand clamped down over in replacement to prevent her from screaming as his tongue darted out over her exposed breasts and bit down on the soft flesh. 

 

Throwing her head back against the table, another pathetic whimper escaped her as she tried to push him back but failed miserably again. She could feel his teeth nibble on the tips of her areolas; it hurt so much at how rough he was treating her but a part of her wanted to admit that this pain edged on the sensation of pleasure. His hand began to slide down and grab the slit of her skirt, ripping it upwards loudly until she could feel his fingers plunge into her without bothering to move aside her panties. Ansem lifted up his head and looked at her with a sneer, “It seems like you’re enjoying this.” He spoke as he curled his fingers inside her and swirled them around in a circle as he came in deeper. “Do I give you more pleasure than Xemnas?” It was then that he quickly reached up to pull something from her hair and she felt her own tresses fall against her again, at the time she couldn’t register what he pulled as her mind was hazed with unwanted lust. 

 

“What kind of question is that?!” She cried out and threw her head back again when his thumb pressed hard against her clit. Panting, she tried to contain herself- but the more he fingered her and treated her breasts roughly with his teeth, the more her head began to get clouded. A stream of saliva exited the side of her mouth and she tried to hold back moans to prevent giving him anymore of a rise than he was already experiencing. 

 

“I’ll make it so that Xemnas can never pleasure you as much as I can,” he said in a guttural whisper by her ear before biting down on her neck and licking on the assaulted spot. “You will come crawling to me on your knees, begging for more. I guarantee it.” He balled up her panties in his fist and ripped it off of her, tossing it to the side and continued to finger her- this time without obstruction. “Your heart will belong to me,” how his eyes glowed with visible hunger, it made her feel like being cornered by a starved wolf. His fingers exited and entered her faster and faster and she bit down on her lip as she felt an orgasm quickly coming to rise. Lewd wet noises filled the room as the walls of her pussy clamped around his long fingers that quickly found the entrance to her cervix every time they entered. She panted as the electrical tension inside her built up as he continued to finger her at an excruciating pace while he teeth bit down on her nipples. 

 

_There’s no way, how can he make me cum so quick?_

 

“Submit to me,” Ansem kissed her again and their tongues swirled in tandem as he pushed the back of her head towards him to deepen their kiss. Her legs felt weak and she was grateful that the desk supported her, otherwise she would have fell. A part of her wanted to continue while another wanted to sock the bastard in the jaw. When one of her hands were finally free, she felt around the desk for something to hit him with and when she felt a glass paper weight brush under her fingertips- she raised it up and aimed directly for his head.

 

*******

 

Noctis looked up as did the other three when they heard glass crash loudly onto the floor. Gladio was the first one to get up and walk hurriedly to Lady’s door; once there, he knocked once. 

 

“You okay in there?” He called out and his only response was the sound of something being slammed against wood. His instincts as a shield kicked in and he attempted to turn the knob to open the door, only to find that it was locked. Gritting his teeth, he looked to the others on what to do next- Gladio definitely didn’t want to cause property damage within the Citadel. But when they heard another crash inside the room, Gladio’s common sense left him and he began to throw his body against the locked door.

 

*******

 

Lady tried to kick him off but her hits were like the bite of a flea for this man. Why was she so weak right now?  Her legs were still shaking from the fact that she was on the cusp of an explosive orgasm but denied herself her own release when she hit him with that paper weight. Cursing aloud, she heard something heavy hitting her door and she tried to call out for help until Ansem covered her mouth with his hand and didn’t even bat an eye as she struggled under his grip. He looked over his shoulder at how the door moved against the hinges and ripe to burst at any moment. Leaning down over her, her body stilled when his voice echoed in her ear. 

 

“I’ll be sure to send Xemnas your regards,” he chuckled darkly and summoned a corridor of darkness behind him just as the door busted open. 

 

*******

 

“Lady!” Gladio roared as he looked around the room for her. Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis followed in shortly and they all saw a swirl of darkness sweep across the floor and form into a ball before disappearing completely. In the middle of that darkness, Lady was knelt down on the floor; holding what remained of her ripped blouse to cover her chest with her arms hugging herself tightly; her skirt was ripped and most of her legs were exposed from the thigh down. Her mouth was set in a thin line with a stream of blood coming from the left side of her lip with dark bruises already forming on her neck and shoulders. Her eyes looked over to the four Lucians nervously, fear eminent in her eyes even as she laid still in the mess that was now covering the room of her floor. 

 

While the other three was in shock at the disarray, Ignis walked past and gathered the bedsheet in his arms before throwing it over Lady’s shoulder and covering her body completely. 

 

“What happened?” Gladio stepped forward. “Was it someone from the Organization?”

 

“I didn’t know who he was,” she muttered, standing up slowly. It was a partial lie. 

 

“You should stay back at Noct’s place, I don’t think this place is safe anymore,” Gladio surveyed the room. 

 

“I’m not safe anywhere,” she tutted in irritation and she couldn’t help how her voice raised. “It doesn’t matter where I go or who I’m with, there’s some power-hungry bastard out there that wants this stupid fucking power that I have!” She inhaled deeply with her eyes closed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I’m just.. really tired.”

 

“You should rest, we can take turns staying with you,” Noctis offered and she shook her head. 

 

“It’s not the type of tired that you can fix with sleep,” she huffed, pulling the sheets closed around her with one hand while the other felt the top of her head. Her eyes widened when she realized nothing was there and she began to frantically search her immediate vicinity. 

 

“What are you looking for?” Prompto asked her. 

 

“My rose..” she mumbled. “Whatever. I guess it doesn’t matter right now.” Looking around at the clothes she picked out for their night out, she turned to the group. “I’m going to change, are you guys going to wait outside the door or?”

 

“No way, not with what just happened,” Gladio stood firmly by his decision. “If it’s all the same to you, one of us can stay here with our backs turned.” Nodding, she gathered her clothes and walked towards a folding screen which she pulled out and stepped behind while the four of them discussed who would stay. 

 

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Prompto whispered.

 

“We’re not kids,” Gladio scoffed, “I’ll stay.” 

 

“Why you?” Noctis’ eyes narrowed. 

 

“I do believe someone with a clear mind should stay,” Ignis offered and the other three looked at him with disbelief then at the folding screen. The setting sun shone in the room with enough light to see the silhouette of Lady sliding her shirt off her shoulders and they could see the unadulterated curve of her hips as she flipped her hair to slide on her other shirt. If they looked closely, they could see the curve and pout of her lips and the length of her lashes- like a sensual shadow portrait. 

 

Gladio threw Prompto and Noctis an accusatory look and the blond scoffed. “Perverts.” 

 

“Hypocrite, you were looking too,” Noctis said in a harsh whisper. 

 

Ignis shook his head and massaged his temples with one hand. “Enough banter, we need to decide.”

 

“Alright, did you guys decide where to eat?” Lady popped up in between Prompto and Noctis and the two jumped at her sudden appearance. 

 

“You’re done already?” Prompto squeaked. 

 

“Yeah?” Lady had an amused smile on her face and patted his cheek. “Come on, I want to leave already.” She walked past Ignis and Gladio and towards the door. “Where’s the best place to get some food here?”

 

Prompto jutted his thumb towards himself. “Leave it to me, I’m a gourmand of fast food!”

 

“Can you turn your perkiness down a bit?” Gladio grumbled as he walked towards the door. 

 

“It should be safer if we’re all together, right?” Noctis asked Ignis quietly while he watched Prompto, Gladio, and Lady discuss where to eat. 

 

“Of course,” Ignis nodded. 

 

*******

 

Xemnas stopped walking along the pure white halls when a corridor of darkness appeared in front of him and out stepped Ansem with his black coat unzipped over his chest slightly. A triumphant sneer was present on the Heartless’ face as he started walking past the Nobody. It was then that Xemnas froze when he sniffed the air and smelled the scent that he knew all too well- a fragrance that was similar to a fresh breeze over a field of blooming wildflowers. Golden eyes stared at each other as they passed each other by and with a single quick movement, Ansem tossed something towards Xemnas with accelerated velocity and he raised a hand up to catch and his eyes widened slightly when he saw what the item was. 

 

A rose of white petals and black thorns rested in his hand and he shot his counterpart a glare of dulled rage. “What did you do?” He asked calmly despite the tired waves of anger that built up inside of him. 

 

“Go see my handiwork for yourself,” Ansem waved away Xemnas’ concern and turned back around. Before he walked off any further, he looked at the Nobody over his shoulder. “She tastes absolutely delectable, a creature of benevolent light- are you willing to let such a pure thing be tainted with your darkness?” 

 

Xemnas merely narrowed his eyes and held the rose closer to his chest as he watched Ansem walk away. Looking out of one of the many tall windows that decorated the Castle That Never Was, the Superior of the In-Between could see the pale light of the fabricated Kingdom Hearts. How funny, he thought, he used to bask in its cold light- hoping to feel something just by being in its presence. Twisting the flower twixt his fingers, he thought of how the only light that he ever wanted to be basked in from now on belonged to the woman he gave this rose to. 

 

He wanted to laugh. Was it truly possible that a Nobody like him was falling in love? 

 

*******

 

As the four Lucians and Lady bounded down the steps of the Citadel, they stopped when someone called Noctis’ name. 

 

“Prince Noctis!” 

 

The one called turned around as did the others and they saw Titus Drautos, Captain of the Kingsglaive. 

 

“Yeah, what’s up?” Noctis raised an eyebrow of inquiry. 

 

Lady frowned slightly, she knew Noctis to never act princely- but she noticed the way that he spoke to important figureheads in the castle as well as mere servants was how he would speak to a friend in a casual manner. In a way, it was kinda cute. 

 

Titus’ eyes went from the prince to Lady and his blue eyes narrowed upon meeting hers. “The soldier from Shinra,” he greeted her, despite knowing her name and nickname. “Weren’t you supposed to be in the infirmary today?” 

 

“I already got done patching up at least three dozen of your men, most of them them will be up tomorrow- under my supervision while the others will be completely recovered in a few days time,” Lady countered. “You’re welcome by the way.”

 

Drautos’ lips tightened into a thin line as he looked a bit disgruntled, he looked at Noctis and back to her and his posture relaxed. “My apologies for my behavior, you have my thanks,” he extended out a hand and she looked down at the proposed peace offering like she would a piece of rotten meat. Her eyes narrowed at the gesture then shot back up at him with a false smile. 

 

“It’s my absolute pleasure,” she purred and moved to wrap her hand around his; and just as her fingers gripped his palm firmly, his face was covered in shadows until it formed horns above his head. Her eyes widened with growing concern as the shadows became lustered until it formed a dark metal with a brilliant sheen. Titus Drautos’ body was completely covered by this metallic armor and it reminded her of the very armor fashioned by the Empire and powered by Magitek technology. Black flames rose up from underneath his feet and Lady squinted through the fire to see the armored captain fight off Nyx who was merely tossed to the side while Drautos looked towards Regis who watched from afar. Nyx threw his kukri at Drautos but the captain knocked it aside and Nyx’s warp-strike was disrupted as he was thrown against the wall again. Regis tossed aside his walking cane as waves of energy came to his outstretched arm and he launched a powerful magical attack towards Drautos. The magic of the old monarch was strong- but could not match the endurance of the younger captain as he rushed towards Regis and raised his sword.

 

Just as she watched the exact moment the tip of Drautos’ sword pierced Regis’ heart, a firm grip shook her back to reality and she found herself staring at the dark blue eyes of the man she just saw kill the King of Lucis. 

 

Dropping his hand, she gritted her teeth and took a step back. Her eyes filled with a subtle purple glow and dilated into slits for a split moment before reverting back to normal. Without saying another word, she turned on her heels sharply and brushed past the others and towards the darkening streets of Insomnia. 


	60. LX

“Thanks for coming on my morning run with me,” Prompto grinned at Lady. “I definitely needed to go one. I feel like I’m still stuffed from last night!”

 

Lady chuckled, “I never seen you eat that much, it was kinda shocking.” He was the only one that truly enjoyed their meal last night; for her it was lackluster at best- but she didn’t have the heart to tell him that while he enjoyed his meal so. 

 

“Well,” his excited smile turned to a shy one, “I did use to be a reaallyyy chubby kid back in the day. I used to run all the time to lose all that weight.”

 

“And I’m sure you were still cute back then as you are today,” she pinched his cheeks softly and he rubbed the spot where she touched. “I think you’re wonderful no matter what you look like.”

 

His eyes brightened up with excitement, “Are you saying you’d date me while looking like an actual balloon?” 

 

“Perhaps,” she winked. “I wouldn’t care what you look like,” she pointed a finger towards where his heart was. “I would like you because you’re  _ you _ .”

 

Prompto’s face turned red and he hated the fact that he was a sweaty mess right now. Looking at Lady, he thought she was beautiful- even as strands of her hair stuck to her forehead and her face was flushed from running with him; he thought she still looked like an absolute goddess. 

 

“Well..” he cleared his throat, not wanting to look like an absolute dweeb in front of her. “We should get back to the guys before they worry.” At that exact moment, his stomach rumbled loudly and his face flushed an even deeper red. There’s no way he could recover from that. 

 

Lady let out a laugh and tugged Prompto along back towards the path to Noctis’ apartment. A blue bird chirped and flew overhead as the two took a leisurely pace back home. Prompto kept looking to Lady as she looked ahead at the path in front of her. His mouth kept opening to say something then shutting close when he thought about what he was going to say and ultimately deciding that it did indeed make him sound like a loser. When he looked back over to her again, she was looking right at him and this caught him off guard. 

 

“What is it, sunshine?” She asked. 

 

There it was, that nickname she had for him. Much like hers was Lady, his was sunshine- and how he loved hearing her call him that. It made him feel extraordinary as opposed to the fact he was just an ordinary guy. To him, it meant more than just some silly nickname, it made him special- even if it was just from one person. 

 

“It’s nothin’,” Prompto laughed nervously and turned his head to see a couple on a bench share a kiss before getting up. Their hands intertwined tightly and the girl rested her head on the guy’s shoulder as they walked. Prompto stopped completely and watched the couple walk away, thoughts ran through his head as he did: How did they meet? How long have they dated? Was that their first kiss? 

 

“Prompto, what are you looking at?” Lady followed the direction of his eyes towards the young couple that just left their seat. Her tone softened when she saw how his eyes looked at the entangled hands and the way the girl had such admiration on her face for her boyfriend. “When was your last girlfriend?” She asked him quietly. 

 

“Uh, in highschool,” the blond elongated that last word, making it sound more complicated than it should have and he looked to her to see if she believed it. So far she didn’t look the least bit convinced so he tried to step it up a notch, he looked up around at a sign that had a promotion for a shown called ‘Mary’. “Her name was Maryy-linn?”

 

“Mary-linn? Why are you saying it like that?” Lady raised an eyebrow at him. “Sounds like you didn’t know your own girlfriend’s name.” Her face still said that she was unconvinced and Prompto gave up spinning his poorly contrived lie.

 

“Aw, who am I kiddin’. I’ve never been in a relationship,” Prompto sighed loudly and his shoulders slumped over, his eyes were still locked on the couple. “I never even had my first kiss. I always wondered what that was like.” He looked at Lady, “You probably had a lot of people wanting to date you, huh?”

 

Lady shrugged. “If they did, I haven’t noticed.” Tapping her finger on her chin, she hummed, “If you could have your first kiss with anybody, who would it be?”

 

Prompto straightened his back and looked at her dead in the eye to try and avoid looking down at  _ her _ lips. “I, uh, um, well-“ his face felt hotter than when it didn’t when he was running and he, quite frankly, wanted to melt into the ground with how she was staring at him. His stomach grumbled and this time he was thankful for the interruption as he found the next topic for his scapegoat. “I’m kinda hungry, we should head back.”

 

“Alright then,” Lady slipped a hand around his arm and she felt his body tense under her touch but slowly relax. Prompto took one last look back at the couple and how the girl wrapped her arm around her boyfriend’s arm; he then looked at how Lady had hers wrapped around his and he smiled. 

 

At least right now he could pretend. 

 

*******

 

Gladio swatted at Noctis’ foot when the latter tried to kick his arm; Gladio gave him an unappreciated scowl to which Noctis shrugged and walked past but ended up tripping on the pillow that he was sleeping on last night. Gladio let out a loud laugh that solidified Noctis’ floundering embarrassment and Ignis looked up at them from above the tip of his newspaper. 

 

It was Noctis’ turn to scowl. “Shut it!” 

 

“You know the rules-” Gladio grunted as he pressed his body in a perfect parallel line across the floor then proceeded to push himself off to execute a perfect push-up. “-don’t bother me while I do my sets.” 

 

As Noctis gave his shield another exasperated sigh, Ignis looked at the analog clock then at the two blankets that were folded into neat squares on the edge of the couch. They all slept in the living room, Ignis, Noctis, Gladio, Prompto, and Lady. After an eventful night of going out to eat at a burger joint where Prompto  _ insisted  _ housed the best burgers in all of Insomnia- nay, in all of Lucis, they exchanged awkward glances as they sat alone in a half-lit diner while a lone employee cleaned, cooked, and manned the register. Once they ate their burger which suspiciously tasted like it was frozen for longer than needed, they all left and went back to Noctis’ apartment; they stopped when Lady spotted a stall selling meat skewers and she refused to leave until she tasted redemption for her last meal. Then, as most nights go when they were all gathered, the four of them ended their day with a round- or two, or three- of video games. 

Noctis looked at the pan set out on the stove as well as the other ingredients laying beside it and back at the man who set them out in the first place. “What’re you waiting for, specs?”

 

Ignis looked up from the Insomnian Chronicles just as the door opened and in came Prompto and Lady. “That,” he said as he folded his newspaper together, setting it on the table and getting up to go to the kitchen and began cooking. 

 

“Did you guys go out for a run?” Noctis looked at the beads of sweat on both Prompto and Lady that were soon evaporating within the apartments cooled ambient temperature. 

 

“Yeah, I was gonna go alone but Lady wanted to come with me,” Prompto grinned triumphantly. 

 

Lady walked over to Gladio and squatted down while placing her hands on her knees and watched him intently. “What number are you on?” 

 

“Thirty-two,” he huffed and stopped in plank position to look up at her with a smirk. “But if you keep sitting there with that pretty face of yours, I might get distracted and lose count.” 

 

“Have you ever done push-ups with weights?” She crooned her head. 

 

Gladio stopped again and looked up, “Come sit on me and find out.” 

 

Lady had a malicious grin on her face as she immediately stood up to stand at his feet. Slowly she brought herself down until she was on all fours and crawled up on his back; laying her body flat against his with her arms tucked under her chin and inched forward until she was close to his ear. “Go on then,” she purred, “show me what you got.” She felt his muscles tense underneath as he continued his set without any additional show of effort, even when he had a whole other person laying on top of him. 

 

“Ugh, show off,” Prompto grumbled as he took a seat at the dining table and watched them two. 

 

“Noct, if you’re not busy, do you mind chopping up something for me?” Ignis called from the kitchen and the raven-haired boy looked up just as he was starting a round of King’s Knight with Prompto. “Never you mind then,” Ignis sighed when he saw that the game had already started. 

 

“I’ll help!” Lady rolled off of Gladio and ran into the kitchen and by Ignis’ side. “What do you need?” She asked and he handed her a board with a lone peach on it- ready to be slaughtered. Looking up at Ignis, she noticed how his hair was down across his forehead versus the usual spikes that he had every day. She’s never seen his hair down like that and assumed it was because he didn’t bother fashioning it this morning when he awoke; nevertheless he looked good and it almost made him look younger. As he was now, this was probably the most casual she’s seen him- he still wore his grey shirt that he slept in last night as well as plaid pajama pants that were cuffed at his ankles. 

 

He stopped what he was doing when he felt her staring at him and turned his head toward her. “Is there something on my face?” 

 

“No,” she shook her head and quietly leaned over to whisper so that their conversation only stayed between them. “It’s just, I never seen you with your hair down and I thought you looked handsome!” Before she began chopping, she realized how her words might have sounded derogatory and she quickly tried to rectify it. “Not saying that you’re  _ not _ handsome even with your hair up, I think you look good all the time!” Her cheeks heated up, she was probably making herself into a bigger fool than she already was. 

 

To her relief, he chuckled and turned the pan in his hand to let the butter slide around its iron plane. “Thank you, you’re very kind.” He set it back down and returned the gesture to her, “You look radiant as always this morning.” 

 

Lady smiled, waving the thought away. Her? Radiant? The only thing radiant about her right now was the fine layer of sweat she had on her after her morning run. 

 

As Lady and Ignis cooked, Prompto tapped his finger on the side of his phone and looked at the group messages blowing up in his notifications. Seeing that their game was paused as is, Prompto exited the King’s Knight app and switched to the group chat where all of the Alstoemeria’s residents could talk amongst themselves safely.

 

-Prompto has entered the chat-

 

Demyx: heeyyy look who it is!

 

Prompto: Guys I have a question. Have you had your first kiss yet?”

 

Axel:  What is this? High school?

 

Demyx:  I did! 

 

Xigbar:  U fuckin liar. 

 

Larxene:  YOU? LOL 

 

Roxas:  Are you lying to make yourself look good?

 

Demyx : I’m not lying! I swear

 

Prompto:  Who was it?

 

Demyx:  Lady 

Demyx:  :) 

 

Axel:  No way

 

Xigbar: No way in hell

 

Roxas:  Ew no way

 

-Reno has entered the chat-

 

Reno: What I miss?

 

Reno:  HUH NO WAY. 

 

Larxene:  Stop telling everyone that was your first kiss! She gave you CPR because you were DROWNING. THAT ISN’T A KISS. 

 

Marluxia:  You drowned, Demyx?

 

Marluxia:  Oh my. 

 

Genesis:  That’s embarrassing. I thought water was your element. 

 

Reno:  CPR is technically called the kiss of life but.. 

 

Reno:  Don’t think that counts buddy. 

 

Demyx:  She still put her mouth on mine!

 

Larxene:  I’m about to put my fist on yours if you don’t shut up. 

 

-Larxene has left the chat-

 

Demyx : uh oh

 

-Demyx has left the chat. 

 

Xigbar:  RIP Demyx. 

 

Prompto: uh, yikes. That's my cue to leave!

 

-Prompto has left the chat-

 

“Dude pay attention, the raid’s starting,” Noctis frowned at his screen as he readied his character. 

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Prompto switched the apps and began their conjoined raid that was soon destroyed between their combined forces of Noctis’ knight and Prompto’s ranger. 

 

“I hope that level is almost done,” Ignis called to them from behind the stove. “Because breakfast is.” 

 

Gladio pulled up a seat right next to Prompto and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Peering over Prompto’s shoulder, Gladio chuckled, “You’re losing pretty badly there, blondie.”

 

“You don’t have to announce it!” Prompto cried, holding his phone away so that Gladio couldn’t see his screen but it was then turned towards Lady who walked to his side to set a plate down in front of him. 

 

“Ooh,” Lady made a face when she saw the low HP warning on Prompto’s screen. “Use a potion- oop, looks like you don’t have any, nevermind.” She set a plate in front of Gladio and lastly Noctis before taking a seat next to the prince. “Made this one specially for you,” she grinned as he set his phone down and scooted the plate closer to him. 

 

“Looks good.. for something you made,” he teased as he stuck a piece of the pancake in his mouth. He laughed when she nudged him and pouted, “I was kidding, it tastes good.”

 

“Better be,” she balanced her chin on her fist. “Or else you’d be insulting Ignis’ mad skills.”

 

Ignis sat down in front of her and they all began to unravel their plate and its delicious contents. Lady was one of the first to finish and she sat back in her seat, this meal definitely gave her the boost she needed to start her day since it would a long one. After setting her fork down, Ignis looked at her, “When does the Marshal need you?” 

 

When she felt three other sets of eyes on her, she swallowed hard.  _ It wouldn’t be wise to play stupid now.  _ “I’m leaving right after this,” she smiled to let them know that everything was alright- but of course they wouldn’t be so convinced by that same old ruse now. 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Noctis asked her and his eyes flashed with hurt. When she saw how his eyes deepened in color- a characteristic only present when he was in pain- her heart felt like breaking. She didn’t want to lie to him. This was for his own good, there’s already so much on his shoulders- she couldn’t bear to burden him now. 

 

“Because I wanted to enjoy breakfast with all of you before I go,” she closed her eyes and tried to erase their hurt looks from her vision; unfortunately she could still feel the sting even with her lids concealing her eyes. “I don’t know how long I’ll be out today and I wanted some more time with you guys.”

 

A large hand covered hers and she opened her eyes to see Gladio give her a reassuring smile. “We’ll be making rounds too, don’t think you’re in this alone.” 

 

Her hand twisted until she could grip his too and she tightened her fingers around his palm. “I know,” she said. Taking a deep breath, she looked at all of them in turn, “You guys finished? I’ll clean the dishes.” 

 

“No need, I’ll do that,” Ignis already had a head start on stacking the plates and Lady gave him a grateful smile. Standing up, she squeezed Noctis’ shoulder as she walked past and she felt him reach up to touch her fingertips but by then her hand had already slipped away and he was touching nothing but his own shoulder. 

 

*******

 

“Hey Gladdy, what’s this?” 

 

Gladio looked up as the leather bracelet was swiped from his wrist with alarming ease; his eyes narrowed but his face remained softly passive at the girl who took it from him. The young girl in front of him had chin-length straight brown hair that fluffed out, he always teased that she looked like a bunny rabbit with low ears with the way her hair acted. Large and curious honey-amber eyes rimmed with thick dark lashes looked up at him and back at the bracelet balanced in her small palm. Despite her thin frame, the girl was stronger than most gave her credit for and it filled Gladio with pride every time he saw her tackle one of the training dummies in their backyard. Even if she didn’t tackle dummies and rather spend her time indoors, Gladio would love her anyways; she was, after all, his little sister. 

 

“Iris,” he sighed and held his hand out. “Give it back. “

 

Pouting, she placed it in his hand and watched him slide it back over his wrist. “Come on, where’d you get that from?” She prodded him and crossed her arms over the black sleeveless shirt she wore that had a little sailor collar wrapped around her neck and swaying below her shoulder blades. Where she found a matching top to go with her black and red plaid skirt he would never know and she would never tell him. “Is that from one of your many  _ lady  _ friends?” 

 

Gladio chuckled, “Yeah, you could say that. This one’s special though.”

 

“But you say that about  _ every _ girl,” Iris rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms to put them on her hips. Iris loved her big brother, although she did hate his penchant for being a womanizer. Even though she’s never seen him bring any home out of respect for her and his dad, she did see him out and about with a new face almost every week. 

 

He raised his hands up in defense, “Fair enough, but trust me, she is. You should see how Noctis stares at her when she’s not looking, guy doesn’t know how to approach her and he always gets so tongue tied when he does talk to her. It’s actually pretty funny-” He stopped when he noticed Iris’ smile disappear slightly and her eyes shimmer with sadness.  _ Shit,  _ he thought. He had almost forgotten. 

 

Iris had feelings for Noctis ever since they were kids. 

 

Gladio rubbed the back of his neck in shame. “Iris.. I’m sorry. I-”

 

She raised a hand up to stop him and he saw her smile return although this one had less heart in it. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “I knew I never stood a chance. Noct-” she took a deep breath and exhaled shakily, “-Prince Noctis deserves someone better.” 

 

Gladio’s own heart broke at how she talked down to herself; clenching his fists, he forced a smile and raised his hand to ruffle her hair. “As if that little knucklehead is good enough for  _ my _ sister,” he grinned when she started laughing at how her own hair tickled her face while he messed it up. Stopping, he stood up and put a hand on her shoulder, “You’re an Amicitia, you’re going to grow up to be a strong and beautiful woman and if you wanted- I’m sure you could conquer the world.”

 

Iris smiled, brushing her fingers through her hair. “Thanks, bro,” she grinned and the cheery light returned to her eyes. “I do need to ask you a favor though.” 

 

“Anything..” he stopped, “as long as it’s within reason.”

 

“I want to meet her,” Iris smiled. “I want to meet this special lady friend of yours.”

 

“You’ll like her, I promise,” Gladio agreed to his sister’s request then heard the sound of their front door opening. Both of them glanced up and he saw his father walk in, his stern face shadowing their doorway before entering their household. 

 

“Dad!” Iris got up and ran over to Clarus, throwing her arms around him. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Gladio walked over to his old man and noted the worried expression on his face. Whatever he was going to say, it wasn’t going to be good. 

 

“Your friend is trying to help Regis with the Wall and all of our available soldiers are going to try and defend whatever parts in the city are the most vulnerable, we’re still in the middle of preparations and there is so much to be done, but-” Clarus took a deep sigh, looking at his only two children. 

 

“Dad.. what is it?” Iris eyes widened with anticipation while Gladio held his breath. 

 

Clarus turned to Gladio, putting a firm hand on his shoulder. “If things go awry,” his eyes were serious with no hint of humor in them, “I want you to take Iris and leave Insomnia immediately.”

 

“What?!” Iris beat Gladio to the punch with her exclamation. “No way, we’re not leaving you here! This is our city too, let us help!”

 

“Iris,” Clarus was hesitant to raise his voice but he did so anyways and it hurt his heart to see her flinch at his tone. “You’re still young and you have so many years left to live and as your father, I want to see you live them happily.” He turned back to his son, “Gladiolus, I insist.”

 

“Gladdy, we can’t,” Iris pleaded, turning her eyes towards her brother. 

 

Gladio released the breath he was holding and felt his shoulders tighten with the tension he was feeling. The two of them looked to him to make the decision and although he was never one to run in a fight, leaving Insomnia would mean Iris’ safety. He swallowed, the past few days felt off to him, like the calm before the storm; he heard whispers and saw the Glaives double back to Insomnia and huddle around the Citadel, preparing themselves. For what? He didn’t really know until now and he always assumed Lady knew more than she was letting on. The last time he asked her, her face was plastered with fear when he tried to extract more details from her- in the end she refused to talk about it and he noted how her hands tried to cover the many numerical scars covering her arms every time he tried to ask about it. 

 

Something really bad was coming and he’d never seen Lady so scared of an enemy until now. And that’s what bothered him the most- if she was scared, then he should be fucking terrified. 

 

If he was going to run for safety he would be leaving behind his dad and the city to defend themselves and he hated that option as much as he would hate himself if he turned tail. On the other hand, if they were to stay and help- what would the cost be? What would this battle take from him? He didn’t even know the enemy who was approaching and this concerned him the most. His anger built up, not at his dad, not at Iris- but himself. He felt utterly powerless, were these two options the only ones available for him? 

 

*******

 

“You wanted to see me, Your Majesty?” Ignis closed the doors behind him and saw King Regis sitting at his desk. The old king got up when he saw Ignis and grabbed the walking cane that was leaned against his chair; Ignis strode over to him first before he could walk any further for fear of him using more energy than necessary. 

 

Regis smiled, standing up straight to greet the man. “How are you, Ignis?” 

 

This gave Ignis pause. Ignis knew the monarch was gentle and caring, but there were far more important objectives at hand rather than his own well-being. “I’m well, thank you. And you?”

 

“I’m well, all things considered,” Regis smiled and walked over to the window with Ignis close behind. “Tell me, how has Noctis been?”

 

There it was, Ignis was waiting for that question. In his years of servitude, Ignis was always called by the king to ask on the well-being and growth of his son because Regis himself could not do it. “He’s grown into a fine young man,” Ignis spoke as if he was reading a report. “Over the past few months his social skills has improved greatly, I suppose it’s due to the fact of our last location.” Ignis wanted to expand on Noct’s fault as well but hesitated to do so in front of the topic’s father. 

 

“Go on,” Regis said, encouraging him to continue. “You need not hesitate, I want to hear it all.”

 

“There are times where it is difficult to instill discipline in him,” Ignis said before he could stop himself. “And waking him up in the mornings can prove to be fruitless.” He stopped before continuing and he saw a ghost of a smile on Regis’ face. “But,” Ignis continued, “he is loyal and won’t hesitate to fight beside those he loves even if the tides aren’t in his favor.” This last sentence caused the monarch to lose his smile and Ignis wondered if what he said was wrong. 

 

Turning around, Regis regarded the man who could very well be a brother to Noctis. “Do you remember when I first entrusted Noctis to you?” He asked. 

 

“I never forgot that day,” Ignis said as he remembered a younger Noctis who hid behind his father’s leg as he introduced him. “It has been one of the greatest honors I’ve been bestowed.” 

 

“I fear something is coming,” Regis said, “and at that time, I want to entrust you with Noctis’ well-being once more.” Ignis must have made a face that mirrored confusion and the king continued. “I want Noctis to live, as every parent wants for their child. I want him to live to an age older than I, to bask in the sun’s warm light- to be happy.” 

 

The puzzle pieces finally came into place and Ignis figured out why this whole conversation seemed a bit off for him. It sounded like King Regis was saying goodbye. 

 

“Your Majesty-” Ignis was cut off by the sound of the door opening behind him. Both him and the king looked upon Noctis entering the room, his body stopping when he saw Ignis and Regis was in the midst of a conversation. 

 

“Noctis, what’s wrong?” Regis asked him. 

 

“Nothing,” Noctis said passively, looking at Ignis then at his father. “I just wanted to see if you were okay dad.”

 

“I’m fine,” the king gripped his cane firmly as he smiled weakly in the face of his descendant. 

 

Noctis was silent as he merely nodded and opened his mouth to say something but decided against it as he shut the door to leave the two alone once more. Regis let out a sigh that he was holding in and looked to Ignis who nodded in return and walked out to follow the prince. 

 

*******

 

“Noct, Noct!” Ignis voice raised as he tried to catch up to Noctis as he descended the stairs from the Citadel. 

 

“What?” Noctis stopped and turned around, his face filled with irritation.

 

Ignis sighed, he knew that look. It’s the same one Noctis had even while growing up; a look that was an amalgamation of anxiety, worry, and fear. “Your father doesn’t want to worry you, he just wants to-”

 

“I don’t care what he wants!” Noctis yelled and clicked his tongue harshly as he tried to recompose himself. “How could he lie to me- saying that he’s fine when he obviously isn’t? I see him use that cane more and more and I know what the Ring is doing to him,” Noctis’ voice cracked at that last bit but he cleared his throat and tried to calm himself down. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Ignis with misty eyes, “I already lost mom, I don’t want to lose my dad either.” 

 

Ignis couldn’t respond- not to that. It was a rare moment for him to be at a loss for words and he hated that this had to be one of them. His best friend and brother could only stare at him as Noctis battled with emotions that he’d kept bottled up for so long. The pressure of becoming as great a king as his father, the pressure of an entire nation resting on his shoulders, the pressure of becoming a worthy  _ successor.  _ Noctis sniffed, everyone had been hiding things from his these past few days. Lady, his dad- it hurt him that they couldn’t trust him to help them and it already added to his internal anxiety. 

 

At this very moment he wanted to run, but where could he even go? All he wanted to do was to hold onto Lady until the thrashing waves of emotions he had washed away. 

 

*******

 

Lady paced the floor and racked her brain. What could she say?  _ Hey, Noct! By the way your great, great, great, great, greeeaaaattttttttt uncle wants to kill you, your dad, and destroy Insomnia! Also- he carries a plague caused by the very thing that possesses me!  _ Stopping, she massaged her forehead for the seventh time and looked to her right at the large Crystal that helped power up the Wall. She walked over to the balcony and looked down; squinting she could see two figures clad in black on the stairs leading up to the Citadel. From far away, it was hard to discern but the two looked familiar but at this distance she couldn’t confirm it for sure. 

 

Tapping her finger on the rail, she wanted to phone Noctis and tell him everything- the prophecy, the omens and visions, and the man who was going to be attacking his home. But how could she even start? Turning around, the Crystal flashed brilliantly and she winced at the bright light it gave off. 

 

_ “Thy visions is not for the King of King’s ears.” _

 

Frowning, she walked over to the Crystal. “What do you mean?” She asked the Astral within. “Why can’t I tell Noctis? Shouldn’t he know what he’s up against?”

 

_ “Changed be his fate if he knows.”  _

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?!” She cried aloud. “Who would want his death to pass?” This time Bahamut didn’t answer her and rage boiled inside of her. “Answer me, Draconian!” Still no answer and she groaned in irritation. It was as if the Astral was withholding secrets from her and that damned thing acted like a politician- leaving her with more questions than answers. Bahamut wanted her help but now he didn’t give her anything besides infuriating responses that were nothing but dead ends. 

 

She looked at the time on her phone and sighed heavily, she had been here long enough. 

 

*******

 

A single bullet was fired and struck the moving target that aimed for him directly in its heart and Prompto released his breath as his finger left the trigger.

 

“That was good work, Argentum,” Cor gave a nod of approval. “You’ve improved since your last session.”

 

“It’s nothin’,” Prompto rubbed the back of his neck. 

 

Raising an eyebrow, Cor crossed his arms, “You need to give yourself credit when it’s due. You did a good job Prompto, accept that fact. If you keep denying yourself like that, then opportunities would fly right past you.”

 

“Uh, y-yes sir!” Prompto’s back straightened into a stiff line. “Thank you!” 

 

Cor had a small smile on his face. “Come on, that’s enough for the day. You should take a break.” Opening the door for Prompto to walk out first, Cor followed last and stopped when he saw a figure walking towards the arched overpass that contained the training room. Stopping, he called over to the woman. “Hey, everything okay?” Prompto turned on his heels, thinking that the Marshal was addressing him but then saw who he was really talking to as Lady approached them with a storm brewing on her face. 

 

“Everything’s fine,” she said with a tight smile. “Just  _ peachy _ .” Her jaw hardened into a line as she glanced over at Prompto and back at Cor. “Do you need me back in the infirmary?” She asked him.

 

“No, they’re just resting for now,” said Cor. “You look like you need some too.” 

 

Lady held her hand out to Cor and he looked at it with confusion. After his eyes locked with hers, she held the hand out further. “Indulge me,” she pleaded and he did so. Once their hands locked, Prompto saw a purple glow in Lady’s eyes, shimmering and disappearing once she let go of Cor’s hand. 

 

Glancing back to Prompto, she gave the blond a small smile. “Do you mind leaving me and the Marshal alone for a bit? I have something to ask him.”

 

“Oh, sure,” Prompto nodded and turned back around to give the two some distance. When he looked back over his shoulder, he swore he could make out the word ‘Drautos’ on her lips.

 

*******

 

“That’s impossible,” Cor whispered harshly. “Drautos has served as captain for as long as I can remember. There’s no way he would kill the man who gave him that title.” 

 

“I’m not asking you to believe me,” she hissed back. “Just- just keep an eye on him.”

 

“Are your visions even to be trusted?” He raised a suspecting brow.

 

“They’re good enough for the king, why not you?” She countered.

 

“I’m a skeptic man,” Cor said firmly. “But I trust Regis, so I guess in turn that means I trust you.” 

 

Before she left, she prodded him some more. “How are preparations? Tell me the truth now that Prompto’s not here.” She saw his throat bob when he swallowed and she prepared herself for the worst.

 

“We need a few more days. Maybe a week at the least. Most of them can walk but can’t run, that won’t do in a fight.” When he finished, she felt her heart sank. It was bad enough that they were wounded, but to be pitted against Ardyn in a fight? He would kill them immediately. 

 

“Thank you, Marshal,” she whispered. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to speed up that process.” Before she turned to leave him, he grabbed at her arm firmly but gently.

 

Looking back at him, he asked her a question that made her blood run cold:

“You realize that Adagium, Ardyn, nearly killed Regis thirty years ago when he attacked Insomnia for the first time? Regis was at his prime then, and you see how frail he is now.” 

 

“What do you want me to do about that?” She asked him in return.

 

“The same I ask for all my soldiers,” he replied. “To fight.” 

 

*******

 

Prompto watched as Lady left Cor and walked towards him; the storm on her face seemed to grow darker and he was nervous to ask her what bothered her. When she neared him, she simply said: “Let’s go.”Nodding, he followed her out into the main courtyard before exiting the toll gates that guarded the Citadel before heading out into the city. She was walking at an extremely fast pace, as if something was biting at her ankles to keep her going; he had to jog in between steps to catch up to her. 

 

When she saw him doing that, she slowed herself down and looked around until she spotted something. Walking over to a bench that was situated in front of a rail that looked down at the busy road below where cars zoomed by, she patted the seat next to her for him to sit down. In front of them were many Insomnians walking to their destinations, unbeknownst of the threat that loomed over their city. In a way it was peaceful, seeing so many people living their lives- thinking of what to eat when they got home, or how much homework they had and worrying about that big exam tomorrow, or how excited they must feel to go see their significant others or to jump in bed and sleep all day. Her haze was interrupted when she heard Prompto shift in his seat.

 

“What’s up?” She turned to him. 

 

Prompto looked up as another couple passed him by and it reminded him of the one he saw this morning. Turning his head towards Lady, Cor’s words echoed in his head: _ If you keep denying yourself like that, then opportunities would fly right past you. _

 

He swallowed, it was now or never. “Lady, I-” He gripped the fabric of his pants to keep steady on his already lacking courage. “Remember when you asked me who I would want to have my first kiss with?” 

 

“Yeah, have you got an answer for me now?” She tilted her head, her eyes focused solely on him. 

 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It’s.. it’s..”

 

She raised an eyebrow, “‘It’s’...? Come on, I’ll keep it a secret. Don’t be shy!” Her eyes then widened in realization and she gasped, “Don’t tell me, I think I already know.” 

 

“Wha-?! You do?!” He squeaked and some of the people walking past them gave him a weird look. 

 

“It’s Larxene, isn’t it,” she nodded knowingly. “She’s really cute, I don’t blame you.”

 

White hot embarrassment turned into plain old red embarrassment. “No! That’s not it at all!” 

 

“Then who? One of the boys?” She raised a curious eyebrow. 

 

“ _ NO _ ,” he wanted to die inside and before she could list off any more names, he blurted out his answer. “It’s you, Lady. I want my first kiss with you.” 

 

Her face softened and her lips formed a small, perfect circle as a soft “oh” left them. Her eyes shimmered with despair and Prompto was surprised at the next set of words that left her lips. “Why would you want that with something like me?” 

 

_ Something? _ He thought,  _ shouldn’t it be ‘someone’, instead? _ Why? Why would she think she’s anything less than perfect? To Prompto, he had grown to appreciate all of her qualities- even if she hated something about herself. “Because, everything about you is amazing,” he started slowly. “I see a lot of pretty girls but I always feel so scared that they won’t like something about me, my hair, my freckles. I’m not Ignis, I can’t cook to save my life and I’m not the most practical person. I’m not Gladio, I’m not strong or good with people and I’m definitely not Noctis, I’m no prince. But-” he looked at her with his cornflower-blue eyes shimmering, “-you make me feel special even if I’m not and I’m so grateful for that.”

 

Lady smiled, putting her hand on his head and patting it. “Prompto, you’re such an amazing guy. You don’t need fancy titles or talents to stand out. Just be  _ you _ ..” Her hand slipped off of him. “With that said, I don’t think you want to waste your time with me.” 

 

“Why not?” Prompto looked at her with concern.

 

“Because,” she gave him a sad smile. “You know what’s inside me,” she said with a whisper. “I don’t want to burden anyone with the baggage I carry and-”

 

“I don’t care!” He cut her off and she looked at him with surprise. “I don’t care what you look like, or what you did or if some weird alien thing talks to you sometimes, I just want to be able to tell you how special you are to me everyday- just like you do for me!” His face was heating up with the words he was saying, but he pushed himself forward nonetheless. “I- that’s why I want my first kiss with you-”

 

His words were cut off when he felt warm, soft lips touch his. 

 

Prompto’s eyes widened and saw that Lady’s eyes were closed even as she pulled away. She opened her eyes just in time to see his fingers trail up to touch his bottom lip to make sure what just happened really happened. And before she could retreat fully, Prompto grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back towards him and brought his lips to hers. 

 

At first their front teeth crashed because of the kiss’ unexpected nature, but it softened as Prompto’s nonexistent kissing skills progressed into something that she didn’t recognize. The way he held her as if she was the most precious thing in the world and the way their kiss deepened when he initiated tongue and her lips parted so he can taste more of her, it was all Prompto- but this one had more confidence to go for the goal. She opened her eyes slightly to see what he looked like and she wasn’t disappointed; the way his eyes were shut tight so that he can relish the feeling of their kiss more was so cute and the way his blush enhanced the freckles on his face was even cuter. 

 

From his perspective, even amongst the bustling crowd of citizens and the hot rays of the midday sun, even as cars honked angrily from the road below them, and even if there was a threat looming over their heads- Prompto Argentum treasured this moment here and now. 

 

Pulling away, he already missed the feel of her lips on his.. but he didn’t want to scare her off with his eagerness. 

 

“That was..” He gulped. “That was better than I could’ve imagined.” Looking at her in hopes that she would have the same dream-like expression, he froze when she realized her face grew still with fear. “What’s wrong? Was it something I did?” 

 

“N-no,” she quickly patted his hand, the fear still evident in her eyes. “I just thought I saw someone..” Shaking her head, she chuckled as she tried to force the image of wine-colored hair and haunting golden eyes gazing at her from the passing crowd. “Maybe I really am losing it..”

 

Suddenly, her worst fears were confirmed as a chorus of deafening screams were heard in the distance. Looking towards the noise, she saw a column of smoke rise and she grimaced; fire rained from the sky and struck the ground below as more explosive noises were heard. Standing up in a panic, she looked at the far end of the bridge as mobs of people ran from the hailing flames. Cries of panic and fear echoed across the city, and below them were cars zooming in frenzied screeching to get away from whatever had just arrived. 

 

Daemons materialized from the shadows of the tall buildings that towered over the cement pavement and attacked any and all that had the misfortune of crossing their paths. Lady quickly dispatched a group of shadowy creatures that were about to prey upon an unsuspecting passersby with a bolt of lightning; she then turned to Prompto and urged him to get up. Without second thought, he followed her as they both ran towards the origin of the disruption. 

 

The attack on Insomnia had begun. 


	61. LXI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually listened to this while writing to try and hype myself up because it fits the mood I wanted to convey: https://youtu.be/rQuHwqMcN8w
> 
> (You definitely don't have to listen to it, but I HIGHLY recommend it and I thought it would be cool to add this in.)

One can never really forget the sound of a person dying. Whether it be a whisper of their last breath leaving them, or a whimper of a cry because they didn’t want to leave this plane of existence just yet, or even an agonized scream that announced their passing. In the end- it sounded all the same to her and it would stay with her until her own death. 

 

The same could be said for the stench of burning flesh. It sickened her to think that the very smell was similar to the meat she cooked this morning with Ignis; had she had time to stop and catch her breath, she would’ve grown nauseous from the thought of it- but instead she pushed through and forced herself to carry on. Behind her, she heard Prompto panting to keep up with her increased pace and she felt bad that she was dragging him along towards a fight. But for everyone’s sake, she couldn’t slow down. 

 

“Lady, look!” Prompto pointed at something and she slid to a stop as she followed where his finger directed. Her breath hitched when she saw a column of fire disperse into hot waves that incinerated everything within its path. At the middle of it all was something that came straight from the fairytale books she read as a child: Ifrit, the Infernian. 

 

His visage was shadowed with great fires that appeared around him and even at her distance she could feel the scorching flames leave a searing lash on her flesh as heat radiated from his giant form. Something about him was off though, as one half of his body looked as if it were consumed by blacky, slimy miasma while the other remained intact; his face almost looked sickly despite the proud posture he maintained. Sitting on his forehead was a crown of brilliant gold and shining rubies shone with pure obsidian horns rising just behind it from the tresses of his brown hair, adding to the appearance that let everyone know he was more beast than man. His piercing, glowing orange eyes that appeared to be glowing embers from the depths of hell looked at the fleeing humans with increasing detestation and she watched in horror as he flicked his wrist and a ball of fire immediately incinerated those that were hit as well as blew off the bricks of the impacted building. 

 

Lady turned to Prompto and grasped his shoulders. “Listen to me, you need to go alert Cor now- or anyone at the Citadel.”

 

“What about you?” He cried over the dissonant shrieks. 

 

“I need to make sure he’s contained,” she said, pointing at the forsaken Astral. “He’s going to burn down the city if he keeps that up!” 

 

Prompto hesitated, he didn’t want to leave her alone. “But-”

 

“Prompto,” her voice grew stern. “ _ Go! _ ” She then pushed him back towards the path to the Citadel and the blond gave her another look of hesitation before finally turning heel and running to get help. As for her, she frantically searched for something to aid in the coming fight and when she found what she was looking for- she ran like hell. 

  
*******

 

Gladio and Cor looked up just as Prompto sprinted towards them at full speed; he skidded to a halt in front of them and pointed back towards the city through the nearby window; his breaths were short and he panted heavily as he tried to fit words in between them but they only ended up as incoherent garbles. 

 

“Calm down, Prompto,” Gladio put his hand on Prompto’s back and patted. “What’s wrong?” To answer his question, another explosion sounded off in the distance and Cor and Gladio shared a look before looking at Prompto. “Is this really happening right now?” He growled. 

 

Cor inhaled. “I’ll gather the able-bodied. Where is Lady?”

 

Prompto got up, still panting but not as heavily as before. Pointing at the fire raining forming from the sky and falling onto the ground below, he choked out the words: “Lady’s out.. there..”

 

“What’s she doing?!” Gladio growled. 

 

Prompto swallowed. “Holding back-”

 

“Is it the Infernian?” Cor watched as another set of fireballs fell down upon the Crown City, his eyes flickered with recognition. He’d seen that same set of hailing fire a long time ago. 

 

“Yeah,” Prompto nodded. “What do we do?!”

 

“We’re ill-prepared,” Cor looked at the both of them. “There’s very slim chances we can make it out of this unharmed.”

 

“Then what do we do to increase those chances?” Gladio asked the Marshal. 

 

“Gladio,” Cor’s eyes were more serious than usual. “Has your father talked to you yet?” 

 

“Yeah, he did.. why?” Gladio didn’t like where this was going. 

 

“Find your sister and Prince Noctis,” Cor instructed him. “Then meet us at ten klicks south from the rendezvous point we discussed earlier.” With that, Cor turned and left him in disbelief.

 

Scowling, Gladio turned to Prompto, “You find Iris and Noct, she’ll know where you’re supposed to meet up.” When Prompto nodded, Gladio ran to catch up to Cor and the Marshal raised an eyebrow at him. 

 

“You had your orders, you’re willing to disobey them?” Cor asked while continuing his rushed pace. 

 

“This is my city too, marshal,” Gladio’s tone took of that as his father, serious and unyielding. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to defend it.” 

 

“Heh,” Cor couldn’t help the amused smile appearing on his face. About thirty years ago, Clarus looked just as Gladio did; a proud expression always set on doing what needed to be done no matter the cost. “Spoken like a true Amicitia. Let’s go then.”

 

*******

 

Ignis watched the Glaives running to battlestations and turned to the monarch he was escorting. “Your Majesty, we must move to safety,” he tried to hide the notes of urgency in his voice but had trouble maintaining his own composure. Insomnia was under attack and there weren’t many soldiers to defend it within its own walls; it had been so sudden- if only they had more time to prepare..!

 

Regis stopped, “Where is Noctis?” 

 

“Prompto went to find him and Iris, they should be at the rendezvous point shortly. We must head there too,” Ignis informed him and the king nodded and began to follow him again.

 

 When Regis stopped again, Ignis had half in mind to pick up the old king and run to safety if he had to- but when he saw the expression on Regis’ face, Ignis stopped as well. 

 

“Your Majesty, Ignis,” Nyx ran towards them and stopped, his face was coated in beads of sweat. “I finally found you,” he sighed in relief. “We’re surrounded, there’s daemons everywhere and we can’t fight them off and defend the citizens at the same time.”

 

Looking between the two men, King Regis looked out the window to see pillars of smoke rise from multiple districts surrounding them. “Ignis, Nyx,” Regis stood up straight. “The man who is responsible for this is only here for those of Lucian bloodline.” Ignis was perplexed, why the king saying this now? “I need you to find Noctis and leave Insomnia immediately. I will see about dealing with this threat.”

 

Nyx dropped all sense of decorum at his words. “If whoever the hell is attacking us is after you, why give him what he wants? With all due respect, you’re in no condition to fight.”

 

“I will do what I must,” Regis said sternly. “It will appease his anger.. Hopefully,” he murmured softly as he looked out the window at the destruction taking place outside. “See to it that you bring everyone to safety, I will stay and defend my city.” 

 

Ignis thought this was preposterous, leaving him to die in a futile situation. “King Regis, I can’t do that-”

 

“We’re all gonna make it through this, don’t give up just yet!” Nyx added. 

 

Looking back at the both of them, Regis held his head up high. “I’m not asking you as a king, but as a simple man that wants his family safe.” His eyes met with Ignis’ then at Nyx, “Please, I’ve lived my life already. Make sure Noctis lives his.”

 

*******

 

Fire and brimstone filled the air and just as a whirl of flames was about to strike down on another group of fleeing citizens, a stream of water immediately extinguished it. Ifrit looked up, his eyes filling with recognition at the other mythical body that had arrived to quell his rage. 

 

Above him, coiling up in the air with scales of brilliant turquoise, opal, and silver- was Leviathan. 

 

From its sharp beak sprouted another stream of water that put out the fires that surrounded the Infernian. Droplets dripped from its body like liquid escaping a gossamer sheet; and Ifrit sensed that the Leviathan in front of him was not the actual entity. 

 

This one was a fake. 

 

*******

 

“Shit, now we’ve got  _ two  _ Astrals to worry about!” Libertus panted as he knelt down on the ground. “Wait-”

 

“That one is a friendly,” Crowe gasped, pulling Libertus up to his feet. 

 

“It’s Lady’s, isn’t it?” Libertus asked as he gripped his kukri again, wiping off the remains of blackened blood splatters on his fatigues. 

 

“Definitely,” Crowe couldn’t take her eyes off the summoned beast that was dancing in the sky in the midst of hailing fire. She didn’t have time to admire it before but she allowed herself a second to sit back and watch the creature this time. Snapping herself out of it, she looked at Libertus, “We gotta find Nyx and group up, there’s too many daemons here!”

 

Just then, another shadowy daemon crashed through a wooden partition wall with what looked like the remains of someone’s arms in its mandibles- it spotted Libertus and Crowe and dropped the arm in its mouth. Growling as it paced towards them on all fours, Crowe readied a spell in her hand while Libertus made ready to throw his kukri. Sitting back on its hind legs, daemonic yellow eyes flashed with hunger before it lunged at the two; both of them were ready to strike until a bright flash of light appeared from the side and a kukri appeared with a body appearing next to it.

 

“Nyx!” Libertus exclaimed, delighted to see that the cavalry has arrived. 

 

Nyx dropped the daemon easily, digging his kukri into its skull and watching as the beast collapse into a pool of smoky black miasma- leaving no trace that it ever actually existed. Looking up, he let his kukri fall from his hand and disappear into small spheres of light. “Have you guys seen Lady?” 

 

“She’s probably near that thing,” Libertus pointed up at the Leviathan. 

 

Nyx nodded, “You guys find Drautos near the Mystic, see if he has a plan for all this chaos.” 

 

Crowe put a fist over her chest, “For hearth and home.”

 

“For hearth and home,” Nyx repeated the gesture then summoned his kukri to his hand again, “I’ll meet up with you two later!” He then flung his kukri up and warped towards the point where it made contact. 

 

*******

 

Lady stumbled, holding herself up on a pillar that belonged to a set that housed a statue of one of the rulers of Lucis- Crepera Lucis Caelum, the Rogue Queen. Closing her eyes, she muttered a quick prayer to herself towards the likeness of the queen.  _ Give me the strength to protect this city and everyone here.  _ Another wave of nausea washed over her and she felt sick to her stomach; looking behind her, she could see her Leviathan shimmering and looking like it was about to fall apart. Raising her hand again, the creature pulled itself back together before attacking Ifrit with its beak. Leaning her back against the pillar, she allowed herself a couple minutes of rest before continuing to see what other tasks she could see to. 

 

As she caught her breath, thoughts of the others filled her mind. _ Noct, Prompto, Iggy, Gladio, King Regis, Cor, Nyx, Lib, Crowe.. Please be safe.  _ Not even a full minute had passed when she forced herself to get up again.  _ There’s no time to rest, I can’t just sit here. _

 

“Where do you think  _ you’re  _ going, my angel?”

 

That smooth voice made her freeze in place and her knees felt like they were about to drop down. Turning around, she readied an ice spell in her hand and was about to aim for the man that voice belonged to. Unfortunately, no one was there behind her and she was once again left to question her sanity. Had Ardyn scared her so much that he was always present in the back of her mind?

 

Sighing, she lowered her fist and rested her hand against her chest where she felt her thumping heart. With everyone she’s fought and faced, why did he frighten her so much? Stepping back, she turned around and she was once again frozen in place when she saw locks of magenta hued hair and warm, golden eyes that shimmered with delight. Not allowing herself to be caught off guard for long, she raised her fist that was coated with thick ice towards the man, only to have her hand caught mid-strike and twisted back and up painfully. 

 

“Ah-ah,” Ardyn tutted as he gripped her wrist hard enough to the point where she felt like it was about to be dislocated. “What did I tell you about being a good girl?” He took a step toward her and she took one back, slowly they repeated this dance until she felt her back being pushed against the pillar. Keeping her firmly in place with just her arm held in a gridlock in his hand, he gazed at the Leviathan that kept extinguishing the fires before they could consume any more. Turning back towards her with a smile, he chuckled, “My Astral against yours, who will win?”

 

Biting down on her lip, she willed herself to move. “Surely mine-!” She cried out as she willed a line of fire to encircle her wrist and lash outwards until Ardyn let go of her hand. Jumping back, he still had an amused smirk on his face that only served to piss her off even more. 

 

“Your last attempt to kill me ended poorly, don’t you remember?” He cocked his head with a smile that was alarmingly calm.

 

“I’m sure it still hurt you,” Lady readied another set of spells that were warming up in her hand. 

 

Ardyn tapped a finger on his chin, then smiled again as he brandished a sword from bright crimson light. Its handle was pure black yet its blade slowly faded into an intense bright red, as if the sword was stained with the blood of his foes for all of eternity. Gripping it, he looked at her with disinterest, “It did hurt.. my feelings, at least.”

 

_ Enough is enough _ . She launched herself towards Ardyn with eyes set to kill him. Last time she couldn’t use her magic, this time she had some- but a lingering thought in her mind whispered to her that it might not be enough to take him down. He brought his sword up to block her attacks and she swiveled her body to bring her knee up and knock him back. Once he was a few paces away from her, she clapped her hands together and pulled them apart to summon forth her own sword of calcified, glowing green mako that was more jagged and less elegant than his- but it would have to do. 

 

“You’re not the only one with two-thousand years worth of demons in them,” she growled as she brought her sword up and locked blades with him. 

 

“Oh?” He brought his face close to her betwixt their crossed weapons. “I’d love to see your wings, my angel,” he purred. 

 

Baring her teeth, she pushed the sword forward and they both brought up their blades again; green and red light clashed when the two edges met in another scorching kiss. Ardyn was fast with his movements, proving that he was no pushover in the art of swordplay, but she was a master in her own right. Dodging a swing from his sword, she twisted her blade until she forced it up and made a move to stab him. Stepping to the side, the distance from where her blade was about to puncture him was missed by a hair and Lady scowled in frustration. 

 

Atop a tall building with arcane fire and water meeting as Ardyn’s and Lady’s swords did, they fought in an endless routine of parries, dodges, and pirouettes. Clamping her hand down on the dull surface of her sword, she caught Ardyn’s sword just before it could slice at her. Unlike him, her recovery wouldn’t be as fast if she were to be struck- and the last thing she needed was an injury to hold her back. Below them, Leviathan let out a howl as it launched a heavy ball of water at Ifrit, but the latter was as quick as its summoner- dodging the attack and bringing its sword up to strike at its ethereal body. A sword of flame struck the Leviathan and it released another screech as steam spurt out from where the sword hit it; from above, Lady could feel her magic weaken in her summon and she raised her heel to push her body up to force Ardyn back again. 

 

Turning around, she quickly raised her hand and imbued her summon with more power which left her feeling that sickening nausea once more. Sour bile formed in her mouth and she gagged, sticking her sword in the ground and using it to keep her standing. This fight was taking most of her energy faster than she would like it to, but if she were to release Leviathan and focus on Ardyn instead- her chances would become better.  _ But what about Ifrit _ ? She uttered a curse. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

 

“Pay attention, my dear,” were the last words she heard when she was grabbed by her throat and thrown against the column of stone. Gasping for air as her vision had spots of multi-colored stars that appeared in her peripherals, she felt the back of her head and winced when it felt tender to the touch. She wasn’t allowed even a second of recovery as she felt a hand wrap around her neck again and squeezed softly. “You’ve never lost your fire, after all. How delightful,” he said that last word with elongated vowels. 

 

When she opened her mouth to respond, his fingers clamped down harder and she let out a strangled gasp as she tried to cling onto the hand choking her. “Ar..dyn…” she breathed out through clenched teeth and he smiled at her attempts to scratch at his hand to make him let go. 

 

“You know, I really did miss having you around, pet,” he stroked her hair and brushed a piece from her face. “It just broke my heart into pieces when you left me, oh it was so devastating,” he shook his head and sighed heavily while something in his eyes twisted with malice.

 

 Then it clicked. Why this man scared her. It wasn’t his impressive strength or his deadly skill with a blade- it was his sheer indifference to almost everything. The way he could so easily harm someone without a second thought and unlike the Nobodies she’s faced before, he knew how emotions could feel so horrible and how to inflict pain upon it effectively. Ardyn didn’t,  _ doesn’t _ , care about anyone’s well-being, and she didn’t think he cared about his own either. 

 

Lady always feared people with nothing to lose, they always fought more ferociously than those that do.

 

Chains of red crystallized light emerged from his hand and wrapped around her arms and waist; tying her up against the column with restraints that pinched tightly against her skin. Wincing, she tried to move but only scraped herself against the stone and looked up at Ardyn with despicable eyes. “Damn you to hell!” She yelled out and his face remained still with stoicism. 

 

“I already am, darling,” Ardyn raised a hand to caress her cheek. “Now, be a good girl and stay here until I come back to fetch you.”

 

“Where are you going?!” She struggled against the phantom chains with futile attempts. “Come back and fight, coward!!” 

 

Ardyn stopped to pick up his fedora that fell off during their previous tussle and dusted it off. “I’ve an audience with royalty,” he said with false glib as he adjusted his hat onto his head. Then as soon as she blinked, Ardyn disappeared into a spark of crimson light. 

 

“No!!” She screamed out in frustration as she struggled earnestly in her bonds.  _ I have to get out of these damned things now!! _ But the more she moved, the tighter it held her back and she could feel her skin squeezing until it started to become raw.  _ Maybe magic will work..? _ She willed the chains that bound her to freeze and she could only coat one link of the chain before she stopped to catch her breath. Her energy had almost completely left her; looking up, she saw the reason why it did and it was cooling in the sky and shielding the citizens from fiery hail. 

 

In the corner of her eyes, she saw blue light zooming across the building tops in jilted progressions when it at last stopped just a few buildings down from her. When she recognized the figure clad in black, she saw hope again.

 

“Nyx!!!” She screamed as loud as she could, hoping her voice could be heard over Leviathan’s screeches. “Nyx, over here!!!!” She kept calling his name until the man froze and turned towards her direction in confusion. When he recognized her, he warped over to her location and ran to her. 

 

“What happened?” He said as he hurriedly tried to pull the chains off of her. 

 

“No time to expla- ow!” She exclaimed when he pulled on the tethers that only tightened around her further with each tug. “These things aren't normal, use ice magic on them and break them off!” 

 

Heeding her instruction, Nyx focused his magic on the chain she already had iced and expanding it till two, three, four links were coated; bringing his kukri down to break her bonds. The chain dropped at her feet and dissipated into black smoke and red crystalline light, rubbing the inner part of her elbows- she clicked her tongue when she saw the red marks they caused. Yet another mark that man gave her. 

 

“We need to get to Noctis and Regis,” Lady looked over the ledge to watch Ifrit holding back an attack from Leviathan. 

 

Nyx’s mouth was in a tight line. “I know where they are, I’ll take you to them,” his finger twitched slightly when he said that and he was grateful she didn’t catch it. 

 

Lady turned back to him, eyes widened with relief, “Oh thank the Astrals, let’s hurry up then!”

 

“And what about that thing?” He used his head to point towards the dueling Astrals below them. 

 

“Until Ifrit is contained, I’ll keep my summon up,” she felt queasy when she said those words. Who knew how long the Ifernian would be kept busy? “But I don’t know how much more I can do that.”

 

“Hold out for as long as you can,” Nyx put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Your summon is the only thing keeping the flames in check.”

 

“I know,” she nodded, her forehead began to warm up and her body felt flush with heat. “Come on, let’s go already.”

 

Nyx held out his hand to summon his kukri while the other wrapped around Lady’s waist; throwing his weapon forward, the both of them warped away from the building’s ledge. 

 

*******

 

“Woah!” Prompto stopped and was pushed forward when Noctis collided into him from the back. 

 

“What’s the big idea?” Noctis rubbed his nose as he too was pushed forward by the smaller body behind him. 

 

“Why’d we stop?” Iris poked her head out to see what made Prompto halt so suddenly.

 

Prompto pointed in front of them. “That!” 

 

Standing in front of them, positioned like a marionette free from their invisible strings, was a magitek soldier that carried a blade dripping with ripe blood. From the sides, he could see them more of the robotic soldiers gather as if pulled by an unseen force. Prompto gulped and summoned his gun- as well as his courage. 

 

“An MT..” Iris said with frightened wonder. “I’ve never seen one up so close.”

 

“Noct,” Prompto said with a stone so serious he almost didn’t recognize his own voice. “Get Iris and go, I’ll take care of these guys.”

 

“No way, I’m not leaving you here,” Noctis scowled at the very idea. “Come on, let’s make a break for it!” Before he could pull Prompto’s arm towards another direction, an MT soldier lunged at the three of them and just before it could bring it’s blade down- Prompto already fired a shot right in the middle of it’s green porcelain face and watched as it twitched and fell backwards. 

 

“Go!” Prompto pointed his gun forward. “I’ll meet you there! If anything happens to Iris, you know Gladio’s going to kill you.”

 

Noctis looked back at the brown-haired  girl behind him then back at Prompto who was already firing shots that punctured the MT’s mechanical armor. Gritting his teeth, Noct hated himself for making a decision. “You better come back safely, you hear me? I’m not losing anyone today!”

 

Prompto took a moment as smoke left the barrel of his handgun; looking back, Noctis saw a peaceful smile on his best friend’s face. “Ever at your side, Noct,” he said before summoning a larger gun in his hands and firing a spread shot into the gathered crowd of MT’s while the crown prince hesitated then finally turned heel with Iris in tow.

 

Taking deep breaths, Prompto focused every one of his senses as he honed in on the enemies surrounding him. Gripping his good luck charm on his wrist while he switched back to his handgun, he fought against the crowd with renewed confidence. “I’ve got people waiting on me, so I need you guys to go down already!” He shouted while tossing a ball of charged elementa energy; watching as forged bolts of lightning struck down the doll-like soldiers and riding their inner circuitry like vessels along a vein. It was effective for a short while- with the electricity causing them to pause and force their movements to become more jittery than usual. He took this moment to rush in and bash the head of the one standing in front of him with the butt of his handgun; with his finger in the trigger guard, he twirled it in his hand till it was in the familiar position to shoot. 

 

With practiced aim, he unloaded his bullets into the ones closest to him and ducked when one of them tried to lunge their sword at him. Taking a few steps back, he almost tripped on himself but caught his body just in time to push himself back up and caught the hand of the MT that lunged for him again. Shooting their hand off at the joined metal wrist, he then swung the sword at another MT and watched that one go down as the sword punctured it’s chest. 

 

Sadly, this victory was short-lived as an MT grabbed Prompto from behind and the blond struggled; elbowing against his metal captor in futile movements as his soft flesh did nothing against it. Bringing his head forward, he brought it back with full force and ignored the pounding sensation on the back of his skull as he took his gun and aimed it towards the arms that held him. When he shot the arm, he felt the MT let him go and looked down to see that his bullet also had grazed him, leaving behind an angry red gash that contrasted greatly against his pale, freckled skin. 

 

Holding his wound, he stepped back and looked up just as another brought its sword up. Not knowing what else to do, Prompto tried to catch the blade with his bare hand and flinched when the sword sliced something else and he heard something clatter onto the pavement. Feeling an absence of weight on his right wrist, he looked frantically for the thing that he was missing. 

 

When he saw what he was looking for, he ignored the MT’s approaching him as he dove for the amber bead bracelet that fell off his wrist; though now it was merely a string of honey colored pearls, the knots in between them were the only things keeping the bracelet’s integrity and preventing it from completely coming undone. Beside the bracelet, his black bandana he always kept wrapped around his wrist had fell off as well, but he had already made a choice on which he rather have as he wrapped the trinket up in his hand and held it close to his heart. 

 

Standing up, he was now completely surrounded by magitek soldiers; all of them approaching him with jilted marching which struck fear in Prompto; another had raised their blade again and he raised his hand up to protect himself and waited for another blow while he closed his eyes in anticipation. 

 

After a couple seconds, he already expected another cut to form on his arm, but when he opened his eyes, what he saw shocked him more. 

 

The magitek soldier had their blade lowered, its lifeless eyes seemed to be trained on Prompto’s arm and slowly it reached up to grab it. Another surprise was how gently it seemed to handle him, almost tenderly as it wrapped it’s metal claws around his arm and  turned his hand upwards to see more clearly. Then it slowly dawned on Prompto Argentum as to what the MT was looking at.

 

The barcode on his wrist. 

 

At the angle the MT had his arm, Prompto sucked in a breath when he saw an identical barcode decorating their green metallic wrist. Every detail including the black rhombuses had been etched onto the enemy in front of him.  _ But why?  _ His mind began racing at the possibilities for an answer and he didn’t like any of the ones he concluded with. While his mind ran amok, the MT’s lowered their weapons and scattered to leave Prompto alone. His mouth hung agape as he tried to think of logical reasons for what just happened. 

 

Some of the citizens still recovering and hanging around began to whisper and look at Prompto with worried eyes. The blond felt their questioning stares and bit his lip; shaking his head, he waved away all negative thoughts that began to cloud his mind. With his lucky bracelet still clutched tightly in his hand, he made a break for it to try and find Noct and the others. 

 

*******

 

Gladio swung down his greatsword with a loud grunt and watched as the daemons were sent flying black and disintegrated into black smoke. Looking behind him, he whistled, “Iggy! To your left!” 

 

Without saying a word, Ignis leapt back and flung his daggers right into the side of a daemon’s neck and summoned it back to lunge his weapon at another. “I saw him coming,” Ignis pushed his glasses up and nodded to his comrade. “No need to worry about me,” he added with a subtle smile and Gladio smirked. 

 

“Ignis! Gladio!” Both of the ones called looked to an alleyway where Noct ran towards them with full speed and Iris in tow. 

 

Without another word, Gladio ran towards them as Iris let go of Noct and threw her arms around her brother’s neck. “You okay?” Gladio asked his little sister then looked up at Noct next. “Where’s Prompto and Lady?”

 

Then, in good timing, a familiar voice called out. “Guys!” They all turned to see Prompto with his left hand cuffing his right wrist as he sprinted towards them. “Oh boy, I’m glad to see all of you,” he sniffed with a faltering smile when he neared them. Given the situation that they were all in, the somber expression on Prompto’s face was understandable and none of them thought more of it. 

 

“Noct!!” Another voice rang out and the prince looked as blue light crystals formed a ways from them as Nyx appeared with Lady in hand. Prompto started towards her but stopped when he saw Noct dash forward and embraced Lady tightly with his arms almost completely encompassing her body. Prompto’s hesitant smile, at that point, almost completely disappeared when he saw his best friend with the girl he shared his first kiss with. He looked down at his wrist, fingers lifting up just enough to see the black marks that were similar to the ones you can find at a massive assembly line. 

 

As just another non-special product. 

 

Biting his lip, Prompto hid his right hand behind his back and tried to keep a smile on his face when Lady approached the group. 

 

“We’re all here-” Noct paused to look around and Nyx looked down to avert his gaze. “Wait, where’s dad?” Nyx and Ignis’ eyes met for a brief moment before turning to Noctis. 

 

“The king-” Ignis couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence yet he knew he must. 

 

“His Majesty has elected to stay,” a stern voice finished for him and the group looked to Cor walking up to them with his katana gripped tightly in his hand. 

 

“What?!” Noctis exclaimed, his face changing from relief to that of anger. He immediately looked at Ignis, “Did you know this?”

 

“Don’t blame anyone, Your Highness,” Cor continued, “it was the king’s wish for you and your friends to go on.” 

 

“What, he thinks we can’t handle ourselves?” Gladio crossed his arms. 

 

“On the contrary,” Cor looked at the future Shield. “But this enemy.. It’s unlike any you’ve faced before.”

 

“Then we need to go help him,” Noctis protested, looking to his friends for their support. “I’m not leaving my dad behind!”

 

Lady gulped before speaking, her fists clenched up into a tight ball. She didn’t like the idea of leaving Regis either. “Cor’s right, Noct. This enemy.. You won’t be able to handle him.” All eyes turned to her and her fingers traced along her arm subconsciously. 

 

“You sound as if you know this foe,” Ignis interjected and she bit her lip until she could taste bitter iron. That’s right- she never told them. She never got the chance… Or was she too much of a coward to fess up to who this enemy really was?

 

“He’s the one who did this to me,” Lady said slowly as she slipped up her sleeves to show the silver scarring on her arm. “Trust me, he’s not someone you should underestimate.”

 

Noctis faltered for a bit and looked at her with seriousness. “You knew who it was the whole time and you couldn’t tell me?” 

 

Lady frowned, “I came to Insomnia to warn King Regis, it wasn’t your burden to bear-”

 

“And what makes you think  _ you  _ have the right to decide that?!” Noctis snapped and she flinched. He never raised his voice at her like that and his eyes never looked so spiteful. “This is  _ my  _ city too and _ my  _ dad’s in trouble. Why does everyone always want to keep secrets like this from me,” he stepped closer to her and Lady couldn’t bear to look at him. “Did you not trust me?” He sounded so anguished. 

 

“It’s not that! I- Noct,” she was at a loss for words and tried to scramble for any that would salvage this situation. Unfortunately, it didn’t come to her.  _ I just didn’t want that prophecy to come true!! _ She wanted to scream those words out, but she knew she couldn’t, the Draconian had told her so. That would also just reveal more of just how much she’s lied to him and the hurt in his eyes right now was more than she could stand. 

 

Noctis straightened up, eyes looking at her with cold contempt. “You guys get out of here then, I’m going back to protect my family.” He passed her and she turned around to grab his hand and wrapped her fingers around his  in an attempt to stop him.  _ You can’t _ ,  _ you’re walking into your own death!  _ Her eyes pleaded him with unspoken words, but he was too caught up in his clouded haze of anger that he couldn’t see the sadness pictured on her face. 

 

Lady sniffed. “Noct, wait, I can-”

 

“You’ve done enough!” Noct grabbed his hand back from her and she flinched again, though not at the aggressive way he pulled his hand, but at the searing anger in his tone that felt like a hot whip across her face. With that, he ran back towards the direction of the Citadel; against the crowds that were running in the opposite direction that tried to leave the city. 

 

Her fingers were still outreached as if Noctis was just standing mere inches from her hand, yet the truth of how distant he was dawned on her and her fingers curled into a fist. Lady then felt something cool in her warm palm and she opened her hand to see the simple dark steel ring with a heart-shaped sapphire decorating it. She choked on her gasp, it was her gift to Noctis. She must’ve pulled it off of his hand in her attempts to stop him. 

Ignoring the pain in her heart, she turned around and marched towards Ignis while fighting back tears, “Tell everyone back home- Angeal, Seph, Gen, Roxas, Xion-  _ everyone! _ ” The tears were getting harder to fight and she could feel one escape from her right eye; ignoring them, she tucked the ring into Ignis’ hand. “If I don’t make it back- you tell them that I love them, please?” She took a step back, “And that.. I’m sorry.” 

 

With that, she turned heel and bolted after Noctis against the tides of people running in fear. She could hear them calling her name, but she didn’t stop running and moved her body amongst the citizens pushing past her and bumping her shoulders. But again, she ignored it and focused solely on the head of messy raven hair that went against the crowd as well. Instead of calling his name, she pushed on and followed him with intended fervor with anxiety and adrenaline pulsing through her body to keep it on its toes. She refused to let him submit to his fate. 

 

*******

 

Above them, Ignis saw the false Leviathan let out a deafening roar as balls of fire struck it’s scaly hide. 

 

“That thing won’t last much longer and it’s the only thing keeping Ifrit at bay,” Cor grimaced. Gladio looked to Prompto and Ignis and the two nodded back at him. Without spoken words, they knew what they wanted to do. 

 

“We’ll take care of the Astral,” Gladio said as he brung Iris in for another tight hug. “Do me a favor, marshal, and bring Iris somewhere safe.”

 

“But, Gladdy I was supposed to fight with you,” Iris’ face was downturned with worry. 

 

Gladio ruffled her hair, “Not this time.”

 

Nyx turned to see two wearing the Glaive’s armor and half-expected it to be Crowe and Libterus, but had to hide his disappointment when it was someone else entirely. He looked back to Cor and froze, fears beginning to manifest in his mind. “Marshal,” Nyx addressed Cor, “Have you seen Captain Drautos?”

 

“I have not actually,” Cor looked just as concerned as Nyx as the two Glaives approached them with a limp in their gait. Cor remembered Lady’s words to him:  _ just keep an eye on him _ .

 

“Sir,” One of the Glaives saluted him, “an Imperial soldier appeared amidst our ranks, we tried to hold him off but-”

 

“What armor was he wearing?” Cor interjected. 

 

“Uh, Magitek, sir, it was more decorated and elaborate than the others and he had a large sword with him and used magic,” the other one responded. 

 

Cor took a deep breath, “General Glauca has appeared again it seems. Where did you last see him?”

 

“Near the building that houses the statue of the Mystic-”

 

“That’s were Drautos is supposed to be!” Nyx interrupted them. “Shit, that’s also where Crowe and Libertus was headed to last. I’m going over there to make sure they’re okay!” Summoning his kukri, he took a couple steps forward before launching it up in the air and atop one of the buildings to disappear over the upper ledge to find his comrades. 

 

Cor turned to Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto. “Are you sure you three can take on the Infernian?”

 

“Even if we aren’t ready, we must push on nonetheless,” Ignis said and Cor gave an approving nod as he tucked the ring into his breast pocket. “We must help Noctis and Lady however way we can.”

 

“Yeah,” Prompto agreed, “they shouldn’t be the only ones fighting.”

 

Gladio looked at the sky where it darkened with fire blotting out the sun and hailing down below. “We’ll just have to trust those two.” Holding out his hand, he felt the grip of his greatsword materialize and balanced it on his shoulder. “I’m ready whenever you guys are!”

 

*******

 

“Noctis!!” Lady followed him across an overpass bridge with remains of rubble decorating the once clean streets. She could still see him, his pace never slowing down from a sprint as he dashed towards the Citadel. Her voice was almost hoarse from how much she had called his name and she didn’t know if he couldn’t hear her over the deafening volume of the destruction taking place or if he was ignoring her completely. If it was the latter, she would understand. He had the right to be mad. 

 

Pushing past fleeing bodies, she usually would stop and apologize for such brashness but this situation gave her tunnel vision and focused only on Noctis. Her breaths were coming out in labored pants and when she heard Leviathan give out a shriek, she looked back and held her hand out. More of her mana left her and powered up the slithering titan that rained on the fires that were forming. Holding her stomach, she felt dizzy and nauseous- her senses telling her that she wanted to throw up because of the fatigue that weighed down her body. She stopped momentarily to catch her breath and looked ahead of her to see Noctis getting further and further away. Swallowing the rising bile that crept up her throat, she pinched herself hard until she saw crimson droplets poke through. The sharp pain sent a jolt of adrenaline along her body and she clapped both of the cheeks on her face with her hands to shake herself out of her daze- she didn’t have time to rest. 

 

Straightening up, she continued to follow Noctis who was regrettably at more of a distance from her and she did her best to catch up. Lifting her heels, bending her knees up, landing on her toes- she repeated this set of actions again and again until it she pushed past her own pain and let it become automatic. 

 

They approached the Citadel quickly and from the top point of the tower she could see a flash of red light form and shoot out; watching as it began to coat the outer perimeter of the castle like a mold. With widened eyes, she saw the hexagonal shapes forming and quickly realized it was a barrier- as to who its caster was, she didn’t need to guess. 

 

Picking up her pace, she pushed herself to run faster. 

 

*******

 

“Nyx!” Libertus cried, delighted to see his friend again as he held a cloth to his shoulder that was soaked red. 

 

“By the Six, what happened to you?” Nyx kneeled by him. 

 

“Stop moving,” Crowe tutted and dug in her pocket for a potion, finding one and crushing its glass above Libertus’ shoulder. “We got attacked, this heavily armored Imperial caught us by surprise. Lib saved me and pushed me out of the way, but his shoulder paid the price for that.”

 

“Anything for you Crowe, you’re our little sis remem- ow!” Libertus yelped when Crowe padded the skin that was just now healing itself. 

 

“You two get to safety, I’ll handle this guy,” Nyx pulled his hood back and twirled his kukri in his hand. 

 

“Are you sure? We can fight too, just give me a second,” Libertus pushed himself up and fell back with a labored grunt. 

 

“No chance, Lib,” Nyx smiled and looked to Crowe, “make sure he doesn’t hurt himself again.”

 

“Be careful out there Nyx,” Crowe’s eyebrows knitted together with worry. Saluting her, Nyx ran back out into the streets to find the infamous soldier that wounded so many of his friends. Fortunately, he didn’t have to look far. 

 

Standing amidst a pile of destruction and some bodies of Glaive’s that Nyx fought alongside- was an imposing figure wearing armor that was a shining combination of knotted dark grey metal and dark purple crystals embedded into it. In his hand was a greatsword that looked large enough to take out multiple people if swung with enough force. Nyx felt his fingers tingle with anticipation and stepped forward after summoning all of his courage, he felt like this fight would be his hardest yet. 

 

“You’re General Glauca, right? Actually.. I don’t really care,” Nyx called out to the armored figure fitting the description he heard earlier. “You hurt my friends, and for that I can’t let you get off so easily.” 

 

Without a word, the Imperial picked up his sword and pointed it towards the Lucian. “That’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” Nyx said as his legs bent at the knees and he made ready to lunge forward as the Imperial did the same. “Fine,” Nyx uttered under his breath, “bring it.”

 

His kukri came up to catch a strike from the Imperial general’s sword; locking blades, Nyx could only see the blank void in the horned helmet where his opponent’s eyes were supposed to be. Every square inch of the Imperial’s body was covered in knurled metal, it cast a shadow of doubt to if his opponent was an actual human. Along with the overwhelming strength that his enemy exuded, Nyx struggled under the force of the blade that was close to crushing him so the Glaive sidestepped and launched a blast of lightning that only lit up the luster of the general’s armor.

 

“For hearth and home,” Nyx whispered to himself before launching his kukri back at the armored general.

 

*******

 

“Goodness me, and here I thought with age comes wisdom,” Ardyn sighed, looking at Regis with a disappointed pout. “You fare no better than we last sparred thirty years ago, I expected more.”

 

Regis stumbled up, leaning on his cane for support and looked visibly fatigued. A wound on his head formed blood and dripped down his face as he gritted his teeth and willed himself to stand up. At the sight of this, Ardyn brought his hands together and clapped slowly and loudly, the sound echoing in the evacuated lot in front of the Citadel. “Impressive display,” Ardyn smirked, “I have to admit, I do feel an ounce of regret for fighting a cripple like yourself. Why don’t you bring in another? The dashing young prince perhaps?”

 

“Will you not be appeased with my life alone?” Regis huffed, standing up straight. “Noctis need not die.”

 

“I’m afraid not,” Ardyn grinned. “Until the line of Lucis ends completely, only then will I find satisfaction.” Turning his hands up, crimson colored weapons that appeared ethereal appeared around him. “But I suppose I can start with you, daddy dearest,” he said as he grabbed one of the swords from his floating arsenal and launched it towards Regis.

 

The old king tossed aside his cane and held his hand up to summon his own armiger; blue in color and appearing just as ethereal, a shield formed in front of him to catch the projectile and he grabbed his sword to bring it up to strike. Just as Regis expected, in front of him appeared Ardyn with malicious intent written all over his face while he took his own sword and knocked the king’s weapon out of his hand. With an almost inaudible grunt, Regis took another of the swords from his arsenal and used it to lock blades with Ardyn. While their swords clashed, sparks of light erupted where it touched and their eyes met. 

 

Giving Regis a dreary look, Ardyn looked as if he was about to yawn. “This is getting rather dull, Your Majesty.” Bringing his leg up, Ardyn landed a kick to Regis’ stomach and sent the latter flying back and crashing onto the length of stairs leading up to the Citadel. Both of their armigers faded and Ardyn approached Regis slowly while his amber eyes regarded the large castle that served as the heart of Lucis. “My brother,” Ardyn spoke without taking his eyes off the Citadel, “my  _ dear _ brother created this as a haven, to house those that were blessed with the Crystal’s light.” He stopped when he was mere steps from Regis’ body. 

 

Kneeling down, he balanced his arm on his knee and cocked his head. “So tragic that those of that whom Somnus fostered grew only to be disappointments.” 

 

“You don’t know how long-” Ardyn held out his hand and a glowing red sword came to his grip; holding it above Regis wounded self, “-I’ve waited for this..” 

 

Ardyn Lucis Caelum’s sword was pointed downwards in means to puncture the one before him. “Long live the king,” with those final words, he brought the sword down and Regis closed his eyes- ready to accept his fate. 

 

“Dad!” 

 

Regis’ eyes opened and he gasped when a flash of soft light clashed with red as Ardyn spun around just in time to catch the sword that attacked him from the blue. 

 

“Noctis, get away!” Regis held his stomach, gritting his teeth and trying to force himself up. 

 

Noctis struggled against Ardyn as they stood there locking blades before Ardyn slid his sword down and twirled around the prince to kick him down. With unwavering courage, Noctis got back up and they clashed; metal ringing out in the empty arena as they attempted blows at each other. Ardyn quickly turned his sword down and used the butt of his handle to thrust it into Noctis’ stomach and send him back onto the ground. Sighing, Ardyn inspected his sword and its lack of tarnishes, “This is almost too easy, I was expecting more from the prophesized king.”

 

“‘Prophesized’?” Noctis staggered up, panting. “The hell you talking about?”

 

Ardyn smirked, looking to Regis then back at Noctis, “You mean you didn’t tell him? Tsk-tsk, isn’t that a bit cruel?”

 

“Noctis..” Regis sat up, ripe red blood dripping from a cut on his head. “Go.. now!”

 

Ardyn raised his sword again towards Regis, “Shall I show him his fate?” Propelling it forward, the sword was targeted right for the king’s heart. 

 

“No!” Noctis threw his sword and warped right where the sword was going to meet his father and just before the tip could graze him, translucent hexagons formed to catch it and make a protective dome around the two. Noctis looked behind him to see his father with his hand raised, soft light pulsing from the ring wrapped around his middle finger; his breaths were labored as he focused his energy on keeping the barrier up to protect them. 

 

Putting his hands on his hips, Ardyn sighed, “You won’t be able to keep yourself protected for long, you know. I can see your strength leaving you quickly.”

 

Noctis moved to his father’s side, putting a hand on his back to try and support him. Looking at his son, Regis spoke, “You.. shouldn’t have come.”

 

“We’re making it out of here,” Noctis muttered. “You should’ve told me- what’s this prophecy he’s talking about?”

 

“Come on then,” Ardyn chuckled, “I’d like to hear this bedtime story as well.”

 

“Noctis, this man,” Regis began slowly, inhaling deeply. It was now or never. “He is..”

 

“Ardyn!!!” 

 

The three men looked to where the voice came from and saw a lone figure walking towards them slowly. 

 

Ardyn raised an intrigued eyebrow. “Didn’t I tell you to be a good girl and wait for me?” 

 

Lady approached him, a sword of created green mako gripped in her hand and fire in her eyes. With its sharpened tip aiming for the man that did her harm, she had a hardened expression on her face. “It’s time we finish this,” Lady said coldly. 

 

“After all of the time we spent together? You’d want to end it so soon?” Ardyn raised his hands at her and bowed his head. When he looked up again, red light escaped his body and formed shapes of weapons that floated and surrounded him in a circle along with light chiming sounds that echoed. 

 

Noctis’ eyes widened. “The armiger?! But how?!” He exclaimed. 

 

Lady jumped forward before Ardyn could make his move, ducking under one of his blows as she twisted the sword in her hand and moved up to slice at him. His reaction was quick as he caught her blade and grabbed her by the wrist; gripping it so hard that she winced and almost let her weapon fall. The lower half of her body moved and she brought it up to kick him directly in the chest; this made him stagger back slightly and allowing her to regain control of her hand. Ardyn recovered quickly and swung his sword down at her, she blocked it with the flat edge of her sword and pushed him off. Before she could land another hit, she paused and held her stomach as she began to feel queasy. 

 

_ No.. not now! _ She could feel her summon weakening even at this distance and her body began to feel the worsening sensation of vertigo. 

 

Ardyn saw her looking mildly sick and used the opportunity to rush in; grabbing her by the throat and knocking her back towards the barrier protecting the royals; her body slammed against the protective sphere and she slid down as it cracked behind her and eventually fell down into shards of delicate glass that disappeared when it touched the ground. Holding her head, she looked up just as Ardyn kicked her again and her body fell back near where Regis and Noctis sat propped up against the flight of stairs. Coughing, she rolled onto her side and she felt her arms wobbling as she tried to push herself off the ground. 

 

Ardyn watched as Lady tried to stand up, only to fall back down. “Will no one today give me a challenge? Won’t you call for help from the very thing that possesses you?” Amber eyes turned to look at Noctis, “Or why don’t you call on help from your forebears?” Noctis looked at him with disdain before slowly looking down at the obsidian ring that decorated his father’s finger. 

 

“You can’t,” Regis said when he saw what Noctis was looking at. “You are not ready.” But Regis was too weak to stop Noctis as he took his father’s hand and slid the ring off of it. The king’s eyes looked ripe with tears, “My son, please. I never wanted this for you.”

 

Noctis was silent as he looked at the ring in his palm. If he put it on.. If he wielded it.. Surely it would be enough to take down Ardyn? 

 

He looked towards the magenta-haired man and gripped the ring between his right forefinger and thumb; the small object felt so cold and heavy in his hands. He swallowed to try and relieve the dryness in his throat and moved to slip it over his own finger until he felt a hand stop him. Looking beside him, he expected to see his father as the one who halted him but was surprised to see it was Lady instead. 

 

Her hand softly pushed his back down and tightened her grip over his palm. Her own eyes were filled with sadness yet she smiled gently as she stopped him from donning the Ring of the Lucii. 

 

“It’s okay, Noct, you don’t have to,” she whispered and he could hear her voice crack slightly at the end. “I’m sorry I lied to you and did these things without telling you. I just didn’t want you to get hurt,” she continued, “I wish I had more time.” 

 

“Lady..” He started and she shook her head to stop him. 

 

“I’m sorry again, Noct,” she said.

 

“For-?”

 

Her mouth then formed a tight line as she grabbed the ring from Noctis’ hand and rushed to get up; raising her own barrier around Noctis and Regis that excluded her as it formed a circle of safety around those two. Standing up straight, she held the ring between her fingers and heard Noctis banging on the barrier’s surface and calling her name. 

 

Ardyn had an amused smile on his face as he watched her regard the ring of power in her hands. “Is it your turn to fight again, princess? You do realize what happens when you put that on, don’t you?”

 

She held the ring between her finger and thumb and met Ardyn’s amber gaze. “There aren’t any princesses here,” she said through gritted teeth as she raised her other hand to meet the cold surface of the ring. “Only.. soldiers!” 

 

Lady then slipped it onto her finger and donned the Ring of the Lucii. 


	62. LXII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The soundtrack I wrote this chapter to if anyone was interested (like before, you definitely don't have to, but I HIGHLY recommend it.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qVZ8TZCngA&list=PLUq-rOnRFWQhurHGXMlIlNsZ7UAQUvWlW&index=125
> 
> There's no excuse for the delay other than the fact that I worked extra hard on this chapter specifically lmao.

The world around her slowed until her breaths seemed to stop midway into her lungs, the clouds in the sky halted in their movements, the winds became stale and even the sun’s rays lost their warmth. What was once an environment filled with color and brightness became dull and dark like the void as if someone cast a shade over the once sunlit sky. Lady blinked through the darkness and looked around her, her confusion only growing when she saw that she was alone in this shadowed realm. 

 

_ “You call upon the wards of this world’s future, mortal.”  _

 

Lady looked up as a corporeal being of immense stature began to form in front of her. Standing fast, she waited as the body finished materializing. 

 

_ “And if you come lusting for our power, you must first stand in our judgement.”  _

 

Eyes of blue fire glared at her from at least thirty feet off the ground; soon the one pair turned to two, then three, then four till she found herself surrounded in a circle of ghostly beings bearing extraordinary armor that wowed her as she regarded each one that appeared. 

 

“I want-,” she shook her head, looking all around her at each of them, “-I  _ need _ power to protect Insomnia and its citizens, please-”

 

_ “Who are you to command us? Yours is not even of royal blood.” _

 

Lady tried to pinpoint which one was speaking to her, but all of them wore an armored helmets that concealed their faces. The only thing visible to her were the sets of eyes that pierced through her bodily flesh to peer into the very depths of her soul. 

 

“Listen to me! Noctis and Regis will die if I don’t do anything, please, I know I’m not one of them but-”

 

_ “It is not up to us to guard the young king and his kin.”  _ The voices grew louder and sounded like a mix of men and women in a strong cacophony that reverberated within her bones.  _ “The future is theirs to define, thus we dare not interfere.”  _

 

She gritted her teeth, “Didn’t you hear me?! They will  _ die! _ ”

 

_ “Such insolence from that born of sin. Take care not to offend those that you ask for help from.”  _ A slightly transparent, large broadsword appeared in front of her and into the hands of its equally ghostly master.  _ “Your hands are soiled with blood spilled during two millenia of pain. What say you to this accusation?”  _

 

“If you’re referring to Jenova, whatever it did in the past was  _ not _ my fault! The future should be the main concern here, without Noctis or Regis- Insomnia won’t have anyone to guide them, don’t you care?!”

 

_ “Man is a fool creature, clinging onto false hopes and looking to others to take action for them in order to try and satisfy their evanescent lives.”  _ The voices grew louder and louder and Lady resisted the urge to cover her ears. Any sign of weakness will not be allowed.  _ “Our duty is to-“ _

 

“I never asked about your duty!” She snapped. “Are you too concerned with what’s coming that you can’t be concerned with what’s happening right now?! This present affects the future and I refuse to let my past- whatever you may think it be, to drag me down! I will protect Noctis and everyone here, so I ask you again!” She looked at them as they appraised her. “Kings and queens of Lucis, grant me your power so I can protect them myself!!”

 

Silence. 

It was not the expected response, in fact she half-expected them to smite her down with their spectral weapons... But..

 

_ “We will weigh your worth… But our boon does not come cheap.” _

 

“Nor would I expect it to be, name your price and I’ll pay it!” 

 

_ “The cost is a life.” _

 

Lady froze. She knew from Regis’ warning what wearing the ring entails- but hearing it directly from the proud rulers of old made her courage waiver only a moment. 

 

_ “It need not be yours.” _ One of the kings pointed behind her and she looked towards the direction, seeing Noctis and Regis’ bodies frozen in time where she last saw them. Posed upon the stairs leading to the Citadel, she could see Regis’ concerned expression and Noctis’; whom the latter caused her heart to ache when she saw how crestfallen his face was. To the side, a dim flash caught her eye and she saw Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio with their weapons drawn facing a shadowed giant surrounded with tall flames. A stone's throw away from the three was Nyx in a battle stance, throwing blows with an imposing, armored man.  _ “You may choose from them as well.”  _

 

She glanced back at the spectral rulers before looking back at Noctis and Regis. With bated breath, she closed her eyes and thought about the Alstroemeria. Her home, her apartments, her friends that she’s made, the laughs they shared, the tears they cried, and the memories- all of them. Good or bad. She wasn’t ready to lose any of that. 

 

Opening her eyes, she lifted her chin to the kings and queens of old and made her decision. 

 

*******

 

Fleeting fragments of time passed by as the passage returned back to normal; to Ardyn it had been mere slivers of seconds when he last saw her wear the ring- but to her, it seemed as if years passed by with the way her eyes shimmered with wisdom belonging to centuries of experience. 

 

From her hand that bore the ring spurted out a flame of brilliant magenta tinged with hues of deep violet. Her eyes took on the sheen of a thunderstorm amidst a sea and deep within her irises came a red glow tinged with dilations of purple. The gemstone on the ring pulsed with light and she let her hand fall to her side as she set her eyes on the Accursed. 

 

“So..” Ardyn had a look of appeasement on his face, yet his tone suggested otherwise. Stepping forward, he disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared within mere inches in front of her. Their faces were dangerously close as he spoke, “They’ve shown you their favor after all.”

 

Without warning, Ardyn summoned his weapon to his hand and brought it upwards; with a twitch of her finger, she summoned her own sword. One with a straight edge and veins of green light pulsed and promptly disappearing through its glowing, transparent purple body; hitting a successful blow, Ardyn was sent backwards and he looked up as he recovered his breath. His eyes widened slightly at the sight in front of him. Her body was surrounded with shards of crystals that erupted from the center of her chest- each one encircling her until they formed weapons with an equally ethereal nature to his. 

 

Three weapons surrounded her: the Masamune, the Rapier, and the Buster Sword.

 

Wrapping her hand around the Masamune first, it’s ghostly visage took shape and solidified in her hand as she pointed the tip upwards. A crown of spirited purple fire sat on her head as she lifted it up as long as the length of her arm allowed her; a beam of pure light shot from the blade’s tip as it reached the center of the red barrier that Ardyn created.. and promptly destroyed it. Shattering it into pieces and they both watched as it came falling down around them. 

 

“You think it that easy?” Ardyn made ready to warp towards her.

 

Her eyes returned to glare at him. “I’m not finished yet,” with those words she released the Masamune and it floated back into its place in her arsenal as she switched to the next weapon. Grappling the Rapier, it glowed red at her touch and she was reminded of the crimson-coated warrior that usually wielded this weapon. With her heels closed tightly together, her left foot moved so that her feet were positioned into an ‘L’; taking her left hand and holding it behind her close to her waist, she held the rapier out with her elbows bending slightly along with her knees. An image of Genesis came to mind and it filled her with bravery.

 

Balls of fire formed in front of her as they hurdled towards Ardyn and she watched as her magical missiles were blocked by him. Jumping forward, she locked blades with the man as the both of them struggled for dominance.

 

“A mere  _ landlady _ was chosen by the ring? My my, how it’s standards have fallen,” he tutted and smiled while pushing against her sword. “Give me a grand display, my girl.”

 

Her eyes narrowed as more fiery projectiles formed above her and dived down towards Ardyn. “With pleasure,” she seethed. 

 

*******

 

Leviathan gave a howl as its damaged body fell atop Ifrit in what appeared to be its final desperate attempt to try and put the true Astral down. Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio looked in awe as their surroundings filled with heavy steam that greatly obscured everything within sight. Even squinting, one wouldn’t be able to see their own hand if they were waving it in front of oneself. Through the murky fog came a brilliant light that dispersed the mist and the first thing they heard before they could see the sky again was a deafening roar. Rising from the puddles of water that melted onto the rubbled streets, they began to form shining scales that looked impenetrable and nearly blinded those present. One by one, they put themselves together and formed a beast of immense size, a legendary creature that usually resided within the depths of Altissia.. Leviathan, the Tide Mother. 

 

But this time her body wasn’t made of mere shimmering water, no- her scales, beak, fins, looked as real as the concrete that the three Lucians were standing on. 

 

“Is that really just a summon..?” Prompto said with awe, his finger itching to take a picture of the streams of water that rose up into a whirlpool around the Astral. 

 

“Looks like the real thing this time,” Gladio breathed, balancing his sword on his shoulder. “And here I thought we had to fight Ifrit alone.”

 

“We’ll show our gratitude to its summoner later,” Ignis said as he looked at the ring he held in his hand, a darkened steel band with a sapphire heart; sighing, he put it back in his breast pocket and summoned his daggers to hand. “Right now, we’ve an Astral to contain.”

 

“Right,” Prompto and Gladio said in unison as they both got ready alongside him. 

 

Ifrit stood up to meet his newly revived challenger with renewed hatred in his eyes; his ever watchful gaze looked upon how this beast in front of him coiled up in the sky and how it’s proud beak pointed upwards to gather a large number of clouds that began to darken when they clumped together. The Infernian dare not speak to his opponent, for knowing that this one was still a fake. But for a moment he did want to greet her in their ancient and dead tongue. With a thrust of her beak, Leviathan let out a mighty roar to announce to the city of her presence before training her eyes onto Ifrit.

 

Too caught up at the threat of possibly receiving a cutting blow from Leviathan, Ifrit narrowly missed a jab from a set of twin daggers, covered by a single shot from a rifle and followed up with a slice from a greatsword. Ifrit raised his arm to create a wall of fire that protected him from any further attacks and stopped his assaulters while the Astral collected himself. To his surprise, a ball of concentrated ice magic was thrown into the midst of his wall and dispersed the flames; immediately, three men jumped through and continued their assault. Ifrit had little time to react as he fended off their attacks as it was coming in through different sides of his peripheral. What he didn’t expect, but should have, was a spout of water that came from above and washed his body down till he collapsed onto the pavement. 

 

The pressure of the violent torrent kept his body down against his will and it was then he felt the full force of Lucian’s wrath. Their cutting blows and piercing shots caused the Astral to roar in pain as he tried to force himself back up to no avail. With Ifrit’s strength quickly leaving him, he focused till his breaths felt like hot embers that left his nostrils in steamy billows. Forcing himself up, the cement beneath his fingers began to blacken and form shards of coal that became alight with fire. Soon, the small flames erupted into huge columns of fire that met with Leviathan’s spouts and causing another cloud of steam to coat the streets in a heavy fog. 

 

Through the soupy fog, Ignis frantically looked around for Gladio and Prompto. “Regroup! To me!” Ignis commanded and immediately his two comrades found him, his voice being their guide. Once together, their backs were to each other in a triangular formation; weapons in their hands as their eyes scanned through the dissipating mist. Through the white steam, Ignis squinted at what looked like a bright light forming a few yards away. Even at his distance he began to feel the heat of it graze the tip of his nose and he took a step back. “Scatter!” Ignis shouted and the three of them jumped away as a fireball came hurtling towards them and breaking apart the gravel even more upon impact. 

 

The steam finally arose into the sky and just in time for the three of them to see another volley of fire aimed towards them. Bracing themselves, they watched as the fire began to come down until a barrier formed in front of them and took the brunt of the hit- effectively shielding them. With a relieved sigh, Prompto looked up at the water serpent that guarded them and breathed a quick thank you. 

 

“Don’t let your guard down, Prompto,” Gladio growled. “It’s not over yet.”

 

“I know,” Prompto panted, turning his attention back towards Ifrit. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

 

“Here he comes again!” Gladio cast his shield up as Ifrit came charging at them with sword in hand. 

 

*******

 

Nyx jumped to the side and threw his kukri at the Imperial, disappearing and reappearing again just as his kukri was caught and thrown to the side- making Nyx collide with the ground instead. Rolling over quickly, Nyx grabbed his weapon and staggered up. His breaths came out short and a heavy layer of sweat already coated his forehead. This fight was taking a lot out of him. 

 

“Stand down,” came a heavily distorted and deep voice from the armored general. 

 

“Screw that,” Nyx panted, glancing over quickly to the evacuated area and was thankful to see that most of the civilians had already been evacuated to safety. He hoped Libertus and Crowe found safety too and when he straightened up, he saw a glint from his blade and looked down to see his reflection upon his kukri’s dirtied edge. He saw a cut had found a home across the side of his left eyebrow and blood trailed down towards his jaw; his lip had been busted and when he tried moving his mouth it only responded to the stimuli with a sting. Still, he smiled even if it stung and he chuckled. Last night Libertus asked him to go another round with him at the usual spot where they get drinks, due to how tired Nyx was he ended up saying no. But damn did he want that drink now, specifically with his friends. 

 

Wiping the blood off from the side of his cheek with the back of his hand, Nyx tightened his grip on his weapon. “Come on then, is that the best you can do?” He was bluffing, there’s no way he could defeat this guy one on one. But he’d be damned if he ran away instead. Standing up, Nyx held his dagger in a defensive position as Glauca aimed to charge towards him with his sword and the Glaive made ready for the worse and closed his eyes, until-

 

_ Ching!  _ A metallic chime got his attention and Nyx’s eyes shot open to see Libertus standing in front of him with his kukris blocking the attack from Glauca. 

 

“Weren’t thinking of giving up, were you?” A voice behind him made Nyx look to see Crowe holding her hands behind his back. A green light being cast over him as his strength quickly returned to his body thanks to her curative magic. 

 

“Come on, brother, you’re not alone,” Libertus said through gritted teeth as he pushed back the Imperial.

 

 Nyx looked to his two friends and shook his head in disbelief, laughing. “Shoulda known you guys would disobey orders.” 

 

“Says you,” Crowe stood next to him, her fingers began to glow as she charged up her magic. “We weren’t just going to leave you behind.”

 

“Stop being such a stubborn ass and let’s just get this fight over with,” Libertus stood on the other side of Nyx with his weapon out and eyes trained on Glauca. “If we get out of this, first round’s on you!”

 

“Hell,” Nyx let out a genuine laugh, “if we do, I’ll buy everyone a round.

 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Libertus grinned. “Crowe, you got us?”

 

“Always,” Crowe smirked as she lifted up her hands and a protective shield was cast over the three of their bodies. “You done talking? Let’s go already!”

 

“Fools,” Glauca gripped his sword and bent his knees. “You’ll die fighting for your coward of a king.” Charging at them again, the three Glaives copied his movements and ran straight towards him. 

 

*******

 

Lady clashed with Ardyn, their blades locking for what seemed like the hundredth time as their faces neared through the interlocked swords- her rapier versus his broadsword. Grabbing at his arm that gripped his sword, he mimicked her and they both stepped around until their positions were reversed. Bringing her head back, she butted him in the head and this caught him by surprise as he stepped back just enough for her to riposte. When he saw his mistake, he quickly fled backwards and that’s when Lady stopped and raised her sword; a flurry of flames forming a halo around her and chasing him until he stopped and raised another red barrier around him. 

 

Letting go of the Rapier, she chose another of her arsenal more fitted to the event. Her hands wrapped around the handle of the Buster Sword and she raised it all the way up over her head as she leaped towards Ardyn and brought it down on his shield. Once it made contact, the barrier began to crack down beneath the weight of the sword and finally broke through. Blocking it, Ardyn pushed the sword off of himself and once again he was forced to flee the perimeter. 

 

Instead of chasing him, Lady stood fast and held the Buster Sword in front of her with both of her hands on the grip. One of her legs went forward and bent to support the weight of the weapon whilst the other was limbered, straight and supported her body with her feet planted firmly on the ground. There was no doubt about it, her position reflected that of the one who once mentored her. Conjuring an image of Angeal inside her head- a wellspring of courage built up inside her. It might be weird to say, but just having their weapons beside her- even if they were fabricated and far from the real thing, it made her feel not as lonely in this fight. 

 

When she saw Ardyn take a sword from his own armiger, she turned her sword onto its flat side and block the incoming attack. Catching the steel, she veered it off to the right and made him let go of his sword as she took a step back, raised her sword and slashed at him diagonally. The cut successfully hit him on his stomach and although there were no physical marks to show- she knew it hurt him by the way he was sent flying back and the way his face contorted with irritation. 

 

Getting up, Ardyn gathered his arsenal of weapons; linking together until they formed a chain of weapons that started to form a giant scythe that glowed a violent crimson. His eyes lit up as he gripped it with both hands and with one large swing, the scythe released a wave of energy that sent her back with a hit that knocked the breath out of her. Allowing herself a deep breath, she rolled her body back into a curled position and with her hands on the ground, she pushed herself up with a jump. Once on her feet, her personal armiger released with a flurry of crystals to form the three swords that floated around her in a circle.

 

This time, she chose the Masamune and as her fist tightened over its wrapped grip- a surge of power and will came to her. As Ardyn swung his scythe down again to release another wave of energy, Lady sliced downwards and cut it in half with the two halves destroying the rails behind her. With the silver-haired soldier in mind, she held the Masamune at eye level with both hands and its tip pointed towards Ardyn. Her stance was firm as she ran towards Ardyn with the sword being the only thing remaining completely still in her body and just as she saw Sephiroth do many times-she copied his movements as best as she could and released a flurry of slices that gave off wards of energy in its wake. 

 

Ardyn’s armiger caught some of her hits but some cut right through his defense and struck him. Their eyes locked and Lady became irritated when she saw that he didn’t appear to be tired at all. Their skirmish must be taken to new heights if she wanted to see him fall. 

 

As if they were thinking the same thing, Ardyn’s armiger dispersed until the weapons swirled around him until they linked up again to form a set of large wings that extended six feet away from his body. Grinning, the wings levitated him and as a provocation, he extended his hand towards her, “Come, my dear, and fly with me.”

 

Letting go of the Masamune, light extended from her shoulder-blades until they too formed a large set of wings that formed completely from purple fire. 

 

When he saw that she was ready to follow, he set up towards the sky and she gave chase. 

 

*******

 

“Iggy!” Prompto cried as he watched Ignis get hit with a stream of fire. The man held his arm as he appraised the damage, only to be swiped with another blow that knocked him onto his back. 

 

The blond darted after him only for Ignis to struggle to get up and held his hand out to stop Prompto. “Don’t!” Ignis yelled, watching as Ifrit spot Prompto running towards him. Ifrit picked up his sword that was stuck in the ground and prepared to swing at the blond. Not wanting his friend to get hurt, Ignis winced in pain from the burn as he willed himself to get up and run towards Prompto. Seeing that Ignis was closing in on his proximity, Ifrit promptly swung his sword back and hit Ignis instead. 

 

“Iggy!” Gladio held his arms out to catch his friend but the force of Ifrit’s swing caused them both to fly back and skid against the cement. Before Ignis landed back onto the ground, Prompto saw something shiny fly out of Ignis’ breast pocket but he couldn’t make it out. 

 

A minute, metallic clanging caught Prompto’s attention and saw what Ignis had accidentally dropped. Scrambling forward, Prompto caught the tiny object in his hand before it could roll away further. Cupping it with both hands, he released a gasp when he saw what it was: Lady’s gift to Noctis.  

 

It's dark metal was scuffed by the pavement it was dropped on, yet the sapphire heart remained completely unblemished. Prompto held it tightly to make sure it didn’t drop it again; even if he knew Noctis was furious earlier, he’d still want this back for sure. His heart swelled with sadness when he thought about his best friend and his crush.  _ At least _ \- he thought to himself - _ at least I got to tell her how I feel before all this went down.  _ He made a move to put the ring in his pocket beside his broken bracelet but Gladio’s voice made him freeze.

 

“Look out!” Prompto heard him yell and the blond looked at him and his worried face. Gladio’s amber eyes looked at something behind him and Prompto traced at what Gladio was concerned about until he saw at last. 

 

Spears of fire tipped with blackened steel were aimed towards him while others flew towards Gladio and Ignis. Leviathan couldn’t be there to protect them, Ifrit had the Astral pinned down with its sword and Prompto’s heart began racing too fast for him to properly form a thought. His fight-or-flight senses had failed him as his knees felt locked in place and he couldn’t force himself to move. Only watching as the spears headed right for him, Ignis and Gladio.

 

Taking a deep breath, he clutched the ring in his hand and braced himself with Ignis and Gladio doing the same. The last of their strength, leaving them, they could do naught but watch their doom come flying towards them.

 

And just before the spears pierced him, a bright light shot forth from Prompto’s hand and formed a barrier of pure white energy that shimmered around him that stopped the spears in its tracks. Prompto watched in awe as it disintegrated in front of him and exploded in a flurry of ash. The light soon died down and Prompto opened up his hands just in time to see the light swirl into a small ball deep into the gem’s depths and disappeared. Its luster seemed to dull and Prompto was at a loss for words, instead looking to Ignis and Gladio for answers but saw the same light die down. The warm light sinking back into Ignis’ necklace and for Gladio, it went back towards the leather band he had around his wrist. 

 

Both of them looked back at Prompto, just as confused and appalled as he was. The light that came from the ring felt like being enveloped in a bath of warm, spring air; it almost felt like a hug that filled him with hope that things would be okay. 

 

Pocketing the ring, Prompto got up and summoned his gun to his hand. Something told him he wouldn’t get so lucky the next time. 

 

“Guys come on!” The blond urged his friends and they ran to his side. Their strength and hope renewed. “Let’s finish this.”

 

*******

 

Nyx and Libertus both made a run for General Glauca whilst Crowe provided defensive and offensive magic. Raising his fist, Nyx lunged at Glauca but the latter caught his fist and twisted his arm making Nyx cry out in pain. Libertus brought his kukri down on the arm that held Nyx but was caught by his throat. Choking out, Libertus clawed at the armor on Glauca as he desperately tried to scramble out of his hold. 

 

Seeing her two friends in danger, Crowe switched her spells to full-on offensive and clapped her hands together to form a bolt of thunder that formed above Glauca. Looking up, the general watched as the lightning struck him and the bolt split to form a blazing net that forced him to let go of Nyx and Libertus. 

 

Crowe focused all of her energy into holding him back, but Glauca’s magitek armor slowly started seeping the magic and making her strength his own. Gritting her teeth, she felt blood drip from her nose as her legs started feeling weak. 

 

“Guys.. I can’t hold him back much longer..!” She cried out as she felt her grip on her magic loosening. 

 

Nyx nodded at Libertus as they both threw their kukris, warp-striking the general in unison as they crossed to the opposite side when they landed. 

 

“I think we got him!” Libertus hollered in victory and Nyx looked back to see that they did indeed make a dent in his armor. 

 

As they watched the metal mask of his helmet crack and break off, Nyx held his breath in and his fists tightened. “No..” he said, “it can’t be..”

 

The metal piece fell onto the ground and Nyx was facing the man he trusted not only his life to, but to the rest of his squadron. 

 

“Drautos,” Nyx’s mouth formed a tight line. “Why?” His head clouded with doubt that the person standing in front of him was the person he’s fought beside in countless battles. Someone he took orders from and even admired at how loyal he was to his cause-  _ their  _ cause. 

 

“Look around you, Nyx,” came Drautos’ normal voice, untainted by the magitek mask. “This is because your king was too worried about his precious city and nothing of the world outside it.  _ This _ is because he was too weak and he let the Empire walk into our country!” Getting up, Drautos glanced at Libertus and Crowe then focused back to Nyx. “My home country was destroyed long ago and I know yours was too,” he extended his hand to the Glaive. “Help me Nyx, and I’ll see to it that your homeland gets restored.”

 

“Don’t do it, Nyx!” Libertus shouted.

 

Nyx’s jaw locked with his eyes never looking away from Drautos. Moving his right foot back, he shook his head. “Yeah,” he said softly. “You’re right, Drautos. That may have been my home before..” he said as he summoned his kukri to his hand, “..but this is my home now.”

 

The captain had a mask of disappointment on his face that quickly changed back to indifference. “Is that your decision then?”

 

Nyx, Libertus, and Crowe got into their battle stances again. 

 

“Very well then,” Drautos picked up his sword again and decided on whom to attack first. 

 

*******

 

High atop the skyline of Insomnia were two figures: one surrounded by red light whilst the other was enveloped in gentle purple light. Their wings carried them loftily amongst the sky and they both made ready to come together again. 

 

Ardyn’s weaponized wings scattered into their individual parts once more and moved his hand forward as his armiger was hurled towards Lady. Before they could hit her, her three swords came to her aid and blocked the incoming attack. Unfurling her wings, she held her hand up towards the sky and Ardyn looked as it darkened; groups of dark gray clouds moved in where the sun once shone. Swirling together like a maelstrom amidst a storming ocean, crackling purple lightning shot through the curves of the clouds until they formed a large bolt in the middle that struck Ardyn down. 

 

Unable to keep himself afloat, Ardyn fell downwards as Lady’s wings fluttered and chased him down in his descent- all the while she kept her energy focused on powering up the storm above her. 

 

Ardyn’s body crashed through the upper layer of the concrete road, the rocks crumbling around him. But much to Lady’s surprise as well as her frustration, he got up almost completely unscathed; the only evidence that he crashed at all was the large indentation that now graced the once seamless street. 

 

“Impressive,” he mocked, dusting off the pebbles on his coat. “Have you mastered the ring’s power yet?” 

 

“You tell me,” Lady extended her hand towards him and made it as if she was about to grab something. A ball of light formed in her palm that extended outwards until it formed the teeth of a key and a handle of gold. Holding it close so that the body touched her forehead, she closed her eyes and was reminded of the first time she saw this Keyblade in Roxas’ hands. Opening her eyes, she exhaled slowly. “You were right before,” she called out to Ardyn. 

 

His face was beset with mild confusion as she pointed the Keyblade towards him. “My friends  _  are  _ always with me!” She yelled out as twelve spheres of light formed around Ardyn, each one taking shape until they manifested into the unique weapons of the Organization members that made their new homes at her apartments. The light surrounding their weapons symbolized their renewed hope for a life with a heart, one filled with the moments they’ve missed as humans and one that she promised to each and every one of them despite all they’ve done. 

 

Raising her Keyblade, she brought it down and the weapons fired their own attacks in respect of how their original owners handled them. Projectiles, magical incantations, wards of the arcane that wrought down deadly strikes on Ardyn- each one releasing a new wave of energy that cracked the pavement even more and filled the air with dust. Not relinquishing on her attack, she raised her Keyblade up into the sky once more as a glowing circle formed where it pointed. Geometric drawings of arcane symbols began to float around the circle as triangles and other shapes began to glow vividly as they hovered, circulating. Through the middle of the circle, a fissure of light formed until it gave way and hundreds of Keyblades burst through its seam when Lady commanded them to fall. 

 

What appeared to be old and new Keyblades, with different designs and different origins, came flying down at breakneck speeds towards Ardyn just as the attacks from the Organization’s weapons died down. Hitting him with a new wave of weapons that charged at him relentlessly from the sky. As the Keyblades struck the ground, they dispersed once more into light that flooded the streets and blinded her.

 

 Through the light, Lady saw a beam of darkness that erupted into shadow and zoomed past her in hurried motion. Turning around, she saw the cloud of darkness headed back towards the Citadel and she once again gave chase. 

 

Wings formed at her back and she left a trail of luminescent feathers as she followed, zooming up high into the sky to get a better view of where she last saw the trail before honing in on the oozing miasma that formed on the road leading up to the front of the Citadel- right where she left Noctis and Regis. A gust of powerful wind pushed her forward as she soared down to the spot that would block the shadow’s path. Her wings folded as she landed with a loud thud and a gusts of wind as she twirled back around to face her enemy. 

 

From the shadow of miasma came Ardyn’s body, yet this one seemed to be more monstrous than his regular appearance. Oozing black oil trailed down from his blackened eyes as well as the sides of his mouth that was now pale like that of a corpse. He was limping slightly and Lady felt some bits of encouragement that her fight had at least been slightly successful. But everything about this still unnerved her, especially since she looked upon this manifestation of daemons and disease standing before her. As a wave of shadow erupted from his body and towards her, she lifted her hand that contained the ring and a pulse of light came from the shard of crystal within its confines and just as before when she spoke to the Rulers of Old- time slowed still around her and the wave of darkness was at a complete standstill as was the man who sent it towards her. Everything, even motes of dust, remained frozen in time and she thought herself frozen too except when she began to flex her fingers and found herself fluid in motion. 

 

Blinking, she felt a presence at her side and saw a man with dark blue hair and equally shaded eyes appear beside her; his skin was a shade of slightly tanned olive and he looked upon Ardyn with concern. Her breath was lodged in her throat as she forced words out to speak. “Eli..?” She whispered and the man looked at her with a soft expression, in the very same way the barista did that she once knew.. or thought she did. “No, that’s not right. You’re..”

 

“Somnus,” he answered swiftly, looking towards Ardyn then back at her with an apologetic expression. “So, my brother used my face to get closer to you. How cruel of him.” Somnus took a step forward and from his foot came a wave of gold that started to form individual strands of wheat that spurted from the ground. The darkened sky was replaced by a canvas of bright orange mixed in with streaks of warm violet, a singular tree stood out in the field of reeds and Lady felt them scratch and sway at her legs. “I must apologize for having this burden being placed onto you. I never wanted this to happen.”

 

“What do you mean?” She stepped forward to follow him as he turned and the homely scenery changed. The field below her changed into pure white marble, around her were white, stone pillars forming a circle around a set of stairs leading up to the Crystal that she’s seen so much of. Behind her was a crowd of people in garbs of plain robes that were tattered and torn, she turned back around when she felt something warm puddle up at her feet. Looking down, she saw a stream of red and followed the trail up to its origin to see a woman with chin-length blonde hair; her white dress stained with her spilt life as a man held onto her.

 

 Upon closer inspection, she saw the man with raggedy white robes and unkempt hair was Ardyn. 

 

“Aera.. Aera, please!” Ardyn pleaded as the woman in his arms reached up to caress his face. 

 

Lady saw Somnus standing not too far from the two and she saw a sword held tightly in his hand, a sword coated with fresh blood. 

 

“Ardyn..” Aera smiled with a stream of blood down the side of her mouth. “I’m sorry..” Her pale blue eyes widened in surprise and with a small gasp, her eyes closed as her head lolled to the side. Ardyn’s mouth hung agape as he tried to shake her gently, urging her to open her eyes through tear-filled whispers. Murmurs and whispers sounded off behind her but she couldn’t bear to take her eyes off of the scene in front of her. Ardyn’s face was contorted with such pain and she watched his tears fall down his face and onto the woman’s cheeks and it looked like she was crying too. Then, the clear, liquid tears stopped and Lady saw one more drop onto Aera- save for the fact that this tear was pure black and quickly evaporated into black and purple smoke when it made contact with her pale skin. 

 

Stepping back, Ardyn whipped around with Aera still clutched in his arms as he revealed his face to everyone behind him. 

 

A face that Lady only saw moments earlier but with the way the crowd behind her gasped and screamed at this image told her that this was unseen or unheard of before. Even with the way Somnus looked unsettled told her everything she needed: this was the first time Ardyn truly let this monstrous form show in front of anyone. 

 

Guttural screams left Ardyn that horrified everyone in the temple but Lady only heard screams of pain being echoed back to her. She still saw fresh tears prick Ardyn’s eyes as he blocked Somnus’ sword with his hand. Even with Aera already gone, he still fought back to defend her lifeless body. Lady was rooted to her spot only an onlooker as Ardyn turned his back to his brother and climbed the stairs towards the Crystal- still carrying Aera. The attacks were relentless on Ardyn even as he ascended slowly, his arm outreached towards the Crystal, hoisted up with chains and sitting upon an ivory pedestal. 

 

“Gods.. please.. grant me the power to save her!” Ardyn yelled, his voice twisted with devastation and just as his fingers touched the rough surface of the Crystal. Lady watched in horror as a burst of light shot forth and knocked him back; the force of energy sent the two flying down the stairs and Aera’s body rolled beside Ardyn as he landed on his back. Ardyn looked up at the Crystal with widened eyes, his lip trembling. “But.. why?” He asked, his voice even more broken than before. 

 

The Light of the Crystal had deemed him unworthy. 

 

Lady was speechless as the bodies of Aera and Ardyn disappeared before her with only the bloodstains remaining. It was only her and Somnus who remained, his hand free of the sword that he used to cut down his brother and his beloved. 

 

“You killed Aera,” she muttered, walking towards Somnus. “Why was that necessary?!”

 

“That blow was not meant for her,” he admitted, looking at the crimson stain that littered the stairs towards the Crystal. “She moved in front of Ardyn just before I could hit him.”

 

“Why?” She asked again, none of this making sense to her. “What did you have against your brother?! Why did you need to kill him?!”

 

Somnus turned his face from her for a slight moment and when she followed where his face turned to, he looked at her blankly. For a second he was speechless, but he found his answer when he looked at the floor again. “Ardyn was tainted. I could not let him ascend the throne as what he is,” the both of them looked at the bloodstain where Ardyn once lay. “..A monster.”

 

She hated this, everything he was saying matched up with what Ardyn told her while she was captured. So was Ardyn really telling the truth? She decided to test the waters, “Then you locked him up in a prison for two-thousand years?” 

 

Her fists clenched when she saw Somnus flinch at her words, a reaction that she would have only gotten if the truth hurt them. “And you erased his name from history? So that people would remember  _ you _ as the wise and benevolent founder king?!” Her anger was building up, “Tell me, was it all worth it?”

 

Somnus looked up at her, his eyes shimmering with regret, “I.. am sorr-”

 

His sentence was cut off as Lady raised her hand and slapped him across the face. 

 

The impact of the hit making his head go the opposite direction, the skin of his cheek appeared red and even though she thought her actions would gain some sort of repercussion- she was surprised that she received nothing in return. 

 

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me,” she said through gritted teeth. “Apologize to Ardyn. None of this would have happened if you weren’t so fucking  _ selfish _ !”

 

Somnus looked hurt and this caused her anger to flare up even more.  _ Why was he hurt? This all happened because of him!  _ “I’m sorry,” he breathed out and Lady found herself staring at the present day Ardyn.

 

 With eyes filled with hate and heart clouded with darkness, no words or action would remedy the years of loathing that he garnered within his soul. That’s to say if Ardyn even had a soul left. 

 

What was she to do now? After everything she just learned?

 

The wave of darkness Ardyn sent towards her dispersed and Lady felt her body being imbued with power. Every inch of her body was coated in light that burst forth from the ring, covering her arms, legs, and head until it formed a suit of armor that was similar to one of the statues she saw earlier. The armor of the Mystic, of the famed Founder King of Lucis, of Somnus Lucis Caelum. 

 

With a great helmet pronged with two sets of horn that curved upwards, and an equally elaborate set of pauldrons with another set of horns rising as more than just an impressive steel display. Everything about it was intricate and extravagant, to the vambraces of engraved metal, down to the greaves with plated protection. This was truly the armor worthy of a king. 

 

Much to her surprise, her hand opened up without her realizing it and in it formed a sword that was similar in design to Ardyn’s. Except this one was a deep blue steel in comparison to the dark red that stained the other. With the new sword, light flashed from inside her and formed a new armiger, one that she has seen from Noctis and Regis. With weapons from the rulers of yore that floated around her, her body moved into a stance that she was unfamiliar with and despite her resistance- she found that she could not move her body to her own accord even if she willed it. 

 

_ “Forgive me, brother,” _ a familiar voice came from within her and she winced when it sounded like it came from inside her head.  _ “I must ask for your understanding.” _

 

She thought it was only in her head but with the way Ardyn’s face twisted with rage told her that everyone else could hear it too. “Somnus,” Ardyn spat out the name as more of the black fog spilled forth from his tainted body.

 

_ “You truly became a monster, brother.” _ Somnus voice sounded out from the armor that concealed her. 

 

“Don’t be facetious,” Ardyn sneered, “the only monster here is you!” 

 

_ “Forgive me, brother,”  _ Somnus repeated as Lady held the sword with both hands and made ready to strike.  _ No, wait! I don’t want to- _ her voice was completely drowned out by Somnus’ as the words she wanted to scream aloud were muffled and concealed by the heavy plated armor that covered her.  _ “But you must die.”  _ Lady was sent forward with the sword in her hand ready to swing. 

 

She was a mere puppet on strings, controlled by the ring and by Somnus. With each successful blow she landed on Ardyn, she could only conjure up the image of his face when he realized the light had left Aera’s eyes. 

 

_ “Daemons are unfit to live in this world of light!”  _ Somnus yelled and the sound rang painfully in her ears.  _ “As are you, unfit for ascension!” _

 

“Lies! You would do anything to fuel your self-proclaimed prophecy,” Ardyn growled out as a blockade of dark mist shielded him from another hit. 

 

Lady stood upright, taking the sword and burying it in the ground as pillars of light formed around her and shot up into the sky. Twelve corporeal beings appeared around her in a similar fashion to when she first put on the ring and Lady heard Somnus whisper.  _ “Take our strength, and finish him off.”  _

 

Her voice returned to her, “But-”

 

_ “You must,” _ came twelve distinct voices.  _ “For the Chosen King.” For Noctis,  _ she swallowed. She knew she had to.. but this didn’t seem right to her. Not at all.

 

Ardyn didn’t allow her a moment to negotiate what she wanted to do as she saw him coming at her. 

 

_ “Now! You must strike now!”  _ The voices urged her loudly and she raised the sword, her will faltering slightly. Swallowing, she saw how Ardyn was getting closer and closer and she finally raised her sword up and towards him. A flurry of illuminated weapons from her armiger flew towards Ardyn and he was stopped in his tracks as the continuous stream forced him to drop his sword. Ever so slightly, he inched forward with weapons constantly flying through him in endless impacts of light. He was getting closer and closer and Lady could now see his face and for a moment their eyes met before he stopped as his body swayed and dropped to his knees. 

 

The armiger and ghosts disappeared from her sight and as did the armor which left her body in sparkling radiance. She felt as if her breath was knocked out of her and she dropped to her knees as well, right in front of Ardyn. She saw him go forward and she held out her arms to catch him before he could fall any further. His body was limp against hers and she swallowed the lump in her throat as a tear left her eyes. “I’m sorry for what they did to you,” she whispered in a hoarse voice and on her shoulder, she swore he could feel his lips curl into a smile against her shoulder. 

 

Moving his head up, Ardyn looked up at the Citadel, up and up till he saw the floor that held the Crystal. Its radiance was too much for him to look at, even now. 

 

“I’m afraid..” he muttered in a gentle tone, and she thought this was the confession of a dying man with the way he sounded so sincere, “..you’ve wasted your time, dear girl.”

 

“..What?”  _ What did he mean? _

 

She wanted to ask him more of it but soon found herself clutching nothing as the body she held soon turned to dark motes that sank into the floor. Watching them disappear as she tried to stand up, she felt the overwhelming fatigue wash over her and she could only make it a few steps before her balance left her and she fell forward. 

 

“Lady!” Arms picked her up from the ground and she found herself looking up at Noctis. Through her fatigue, she could only smile and reach up to touch his face. Noctis took ahold of her hand and held it tightly against him as he cradled her body in her arms. His eyes were filled with worry and was focused on something on her arm, following his line of sight, her own eyes widened slightly at what she saw. 

 

From the hand that had the ring on it were veins of dying flames sitting on a layer of ash that covered her skin. Patches of her body had the same scarring, looking like the remains of a fire that died down and all that remained were ash and embers. Even the breaths that left her felt as if she was exhaling smoke and it became painful to breath- it seemed like her body was deteriorating from the inside. 

 

Her eyes felt heavy and the need for sleep came over her as she rolled her head to the side, feeling her eyelashes hit the tops of her cheeks as she shut her eyes.

 

 “No, no, no, hey stay with me!” Noctis urged her to awaken and she felt him shake her. “Don’t close your eyes, stay with me!!”

 

Footsteps came running towards them and Lady didn’t bother turning her head as even the most simplest of actions tired her out even more. 

 

“What the hell happened?!” She heard a gruff voice and immediately knew it was Gladio. 

 

Someone dropped to their knees beside her and she felt tender, cold hands pick her other hand up and held it. They gasped when they saw how her fingers almost looked like they could deteriorate into a pile of dust. “Noct.. what do we do?”  _ That’s.. Prompto’s voice.. _ “Noct- Ig- Iggy, what do we do?!” His voice cracked.

 

Ignis was silent but she knew his mind was racing. She wanted to comfort them, tell them she’d be alright. But as she was now, she didn’t know if she’d be telling the truth. 

 

She felt Noctis unfold her hand and slowly slip off the ring from her finger, he then placed it gently into her lap but still held onto her shoulders tightly as he placed the ring on himself. Balling his hand into a fist, he focused on the shard of crystal in its center and slowly, from the depths of his irises, seeped a glowing red. Looking to the right, he saw a bright light from the left tower of the Citadel and he raised his hand toward it. 

 

“Kings and Queens of Lucis, grant me the power to save her!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, and watched as the light began to glow brighter. “Don’t take her away from me!” 

 

Lady’s eyes had stayed open long enough now and she slowly closed them, letting the need for rest take over her. She missed the beam of light that shot down from where the Crystal was and headed directly for her. Her body jolted awake as adrenaline surged through her violently, the light completely enveloping her and Noctis. He held onto her tightly as she felt the searing pain across her body; her face and body had the sensation of being on fire and she let out a pained scream while the pain was only being exacerbated with the continuous stream of white heat. The sensation of it was being fired in all possible receptors so that it soon became mind-numbing agony. She prayed for it to be over soon and it seemed her wish was granted. 

 

The overwhelming amount of light died down and she saw blurred images of leaves overhead and instead of seeing Noctis’ face, she stared up at a blonde woman with pale blue eyes. 

 

_ Aera..? _ The blonde smiled at her and patted down her hair. “Ardyn,” she whispered and Lady was confused. “How long will you sleep? Your head is heavy, my love.” 

 

An arm extended from Lady and she quickly realized it did not belong to her along with a voice that was most certainly not hers. “The gods have granted me a great gift, Aera.” It was similar to watching a movie through someone’s eyes as Lady was sat up and faced Aera in what she surmised was Ardyn’s body as well as his memories. “I can heal the Scourge with these powers, I can help people,” he continued excitedly. 

 

“Ardyn,” Aera smiled but she had a shadow of concern on her fair face. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

 

Lady found herself looking down at her- Ardyn’s hand. “Yes,” he said, “I was granted these powers by Bahamut himself, surely I can’t let it go to waste. It’s a blessing from the divines.”

 

_ Don’t _ , Lady wanted to scream in his subconscious,  _ it’s far from it. You’ll turn into a monster!  _

 

Lady stopped her frantic thoughts when she went over what he just said. ‘I was granted these powers by Bahamut’... Just days earlier, Bahamut tasked her with destroying this so-called evil deity that plagued this world. So why would the Draconian ask her to kill Ardyn, if the latter got his powers from this ‘all-knowing god’? 

 

She wanted to reflect on her actions more until a deep and guttural voice got her attention. 

 

_ “Thy eyes hath seen too much.”  _

 

*******

 

The iron gates of the Alstroemeria creaked open and Lady waltzed in, inhaling the fresh scent of flowers that greeted her. Its aroma was pleasant and soothing as she walked past the beds that were surprisingly well-kept even after all this time. Walking towards the arch that lead to the central courtyard. Her next greeting was not so pleasant as she was immediately assaulted by a smaller body that latched onto her waist and refused to let go until Lady wrapped her arms around them as well. 

 

“You took too long!” Roxas looked up at her with a pouty face and she couldn’t help but to laugh at what was thought to be a serious expression. 

 

“Sorry,” she ruffled his hair and admired at how soft his spikes were despite their appearances. “I’m home now, that’s what counts right?”

 

“We were waiting forever, at least Larxene didn’t kill your flower beds,” Roxas sighed. 

 

Lady laughed, “She took care of them? Not a bad job, honestly.”

 

“Ladddyy!” A voice cried from above and she looked up just as Zack landed in front of her in perfect form. He stood upright to wrap his arms around her waist and spun her around with ease. “Aw man, it’s so good to see you back. You had us all worried sick!” 

 

“Let me go,” Lady wheezed and coughed when he did let her down. “Geez, I’m getting hurt so much today, why is that and have you always been that strong?” She asked as she rubbed the side of her ribs, feeling for any broken ones. 

 

Demyx stuck his head out of his door and squinted in the sunlight. “Ah- oh!” He exclaimed when his eyes landed on Lady. “Guys,” he yelled loudly, “she’s bac-” Poor Demyx didn’t even have a chance to finish his sentence when he was toppled over as Axel, Namine, and Xion came running out. Behind them followed Xigbar and Saix, whose pace was more leisurely than the others but their faces were no less excited to see her back. On the other side was Larxene who opened her door, her green eyes widening when she saw Lady standing in the courtyard and looking up at her with a smile and a wave. Rushing down, Larxene passed by other doors that opened by curiosity to see what the ruckus was about. Out peaked Zexion, whose eyes lit up when he saw her. Marluxia followed Larxene when he saw what was happening, as did Luxord, Lexaeus, Xaldin, and Vexen who followed Zexion close by. 

 

Sitting down in one of the chairs under the gazebo, she crossed one of her legs over the other and rested the side of her head on her fist. She did a headcount and looked at all of the ones present.  _ The only ones missing are.. _ She then heard a door open and saw five more bodies added to her roster.  _ Speak of the devil. _ Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth walked down to greet her like the rest of the tenants and Vincent appeared shortly behind with Terra in tow. 

 

“Kept us waiting,” Genesis pulled her up for a hug and she graciously accepted, wrapping her arms around his neck and appreciating the light cologne he usually wore. 

 

“Sorry,” she mumbled against his shoulder as he reluctantly let her go. Sephiroth and Angeal were next as Angeal’s wrapped his arm around her to hug her, then it was Sephiroth’s turn; his arms hugging her so tight and at this point she felt like all the bones in her body have been permanently re-adjusted; he gave the side of her head a chaste kiss before finally letting her go.

 

Sitting back down, she looked up at Vincent who stared back at her with his arms crossed. “So, you really did make it back safe,” he said.

 

“Of course,” Lady smirked up at him, “I told you, it’s gonna take a lot more than that to take me down.” Tapping her finger against the armrest, she looked up at him, “So.. how long has it been?”

 

“‘Bout a month,” Xigbar leaned on one of the beams holding up the gazebo’s roof. 

 

Her smile faded slightly, had it really been that long? When she saw their worried faces at her mood change, she forced herself to smile again. “So, I’m assuming everyone left rent for the past month, riiiight?”

 

It was comedic how all of their eyes were on her and now they found new subjects to interest themselves with. 

 

“Is that  _ really _ the first thing you want to talk about?” Axel was fishing for something in his pockets and pulled up a handful of air. “I mean, you just got back.”

 

“Well, you’re all already gathered here so I thought it’d be nice to take advantage of this opportunity,” she smiled. “You can always drop it off later, I’m kinda tired right now anyways.” Leaning back, she glanced around to measure the structural integrity of her land. “I half-expected this place to be burnt down already, but I’m glad it’s still standing.”

 

Demyx held up a finger in a matter-of-fact manner. “Actually, last week Axel almos-” He was stopped short as Axel reached over and clamped a hand over Demyx’s mouth and pulled him into a headlock. 

 

“Can you two stop?” Larxene snapped. 

 

“At least they’re back to normal,” Terra sighed and Larxene looked at the brunet.

 

“Now that she’s home safely, can you leave? Don’t you have Heartless to slay or some other crap that you Keybladers do?” Larxene tutted at him. “All you do is lounge around and it’s getting to be an eyesore.”

 

Zexion cleared his throat and spoke loudly for Lady to hear him clearly, “Larxene, you needn’t be so rude. You nearly destroyed the garden just a few days ago.”

 

Larxene’s face scrunched up into that of annoyance and Lady heard Genesis sigh loudly. “Here they go again,” he said as he raised a hand to his forehead. 

 

Xion looked up at Angeal, “Now that everyone’s home, we should put up that Yuletide tree, right?”

 

“I don’t see why not,” Angeal shrugged, then turned to Genesis and Sephiroth respectively, “you two will help, won’t you?”

 

“Ugh, why me?” Genesis made a face. “Why don’t you have Sephiroth use his masamune to put the star on top while you’re at it.”

 

“No good,” Sephiroth had a small smile on his face. “He’s as lazy as ever.” 

 

The tenants soon broke out into small banter over who did what and who should pay rent all the while Lady sat back and enjoyed the noise for she had missed it greatly. As she watched them, she felt her eyes feel itchy and raised her hand to rub them; stopping, she blinked a couple times and found her vision to be even blurrier than before. She rubbed her eyes again, put her hand down, and blinked. Nope. 

 

Her vision was getting worse and so was the itch. 

 

She then rubbed more vigorously and she felt the itch go away. Setting her hand back down slowly, she blinked until what she was looking at came into focus. 

 

It was then that her body became rigid. 

 

On her hand, where her fingers touched her eyes, was a heavy coating of fresh, glistening blood. 

 

Reaching up, she felt something warm drip from her eyes and frantically she looked up to see if anyone had noticed. Everyone’s faces were blurry but she saw that their heads were turned away from her, too busy with their own conversations and arguments to see the blood dripping from her eyes. Blinking, she tried to wipe the blood that was drowning out her vision with the back of her hand and when she looked upon the scenery again- she saw the edges of her peripherals begin to burn away. 

 

Like a photograph being lit with fire, the happy image in front of her was incinerated until all she could see was black. 

 

*******

 

A hand jolted Lady awake and she felt her body convulse slightly as she felt a light layer of cold sweat cover her body. Trying to sit up, she was quickly halted with a hand that gently pushed her back down onto her sheets. 

 

“Don’t get up so quickly, you need to rest,” Ignis’ voice spoke to her softly and she immediately relaxed in his presence. 

 

“Where am I?” She whispered in an equally soft tone.  _ I was just having a dream about being home.. _

 

Ignis was silent for a moment, then she heard him take a quick exhale before speaking. “You’re in the Citadel, Noct and His Majesty wanted-”

 

Lady’s anxiety flared. “How is Noct? King Regis? Are they okay?”

 

“Yes, Lady, they’re fine,” Ignis placed a hand over hers and she relished how warm his hand felt in contrast to the cold. “Thanks to you.” He was silent again, “You should rest now, the medics need to make sure you’re okay before sending you anywhere else.”

 

“Medics?” She tilted her head. “But I feel fine Iggy, I can go home now,” she insisted.

 

Silence again. She should’ve been worried at how silent this usually well-spoken man was.

 

“Ignis,” she breathed, “can you open the blinds? Or turn on a light? It’s a bit dark in here.”

 

Ignis was silent once more and she felt his hand tightening on hers. Now why was he doing that? She placed her other hand over his to reassure him and stopped halfway. Instead, she reached up to her face, and with her forefinger and middle-finger, she felt the spot just below her eyes. 

 

Her fingers stopped when she felt what seemed like a layer of bandages over her eyes. She then used her whole palm to feel just how much area the bandages covered; the more she realized that they circumferenced her entire head to conceal her eyes, the more she felt Ignis grip onto her hand. 

 

Swallowing, she felt the spots where her eyes were and she felt something wet seep through the bandages. 

 

It didn’t take long to realize that it was just her tears.

 

So, she had paid a price for the ring’s power after all. 

 

*******

 

“That was unspeakably cruel,” King Regis limped over to the Crystal with his cane and feet tapping against the polished floor sharply. “You should have told her the Accursed cannot be killed unless it be by the Chosen King’s hand.. or is that another of your false prophecies?”

 

_ “Be that as it may, the girl has served her purpose and bought the King of Kings time to accumulate his power. She carries an affliction of darkness within her, yet I did not choose to take her life. I have given her mercy.” _

 

“Mercy?” Regis repeated the word and he gripped his cane until his knuckles were white. “What you’ve wrought unto her is far from mercy.”

 

_ “She must repent, as must we all.”  _


	63. LXIII

Lady got up slowly, letting her feet fall off the edge of the bed first and waiting till she could feel the floor before getting up. Her toes almost numbed at the chill of the wood and she shivered slightly as she stood up; she shuffled slowly, trying to remember the way to the bathroom with her hand in front of her to make sure she didn’t bump into anything. She soon felt a solid surface and she slid her hand down till she could feel a handle. Opening the door, she stepped in and she shivered even more when her bare feet felt the tile of the bathroom floor. The loose dress she wore did little to assuage her need for warmth; she would throw on a jacket and pants if she could, but parts of her body felt tender to the touch and it was too painful for any constricting clothing.

 

Feeling for the sink, she stopped and started her morning routine like it was just a normal day. Her bandages were still wrapped around her eyes and she tried her best to avoid wetting them as she splashed her face. After freshening up, she heard the pressure of the water lightening up as she turned the faucet off. Running a hand through her hair, she tried to imagine that it wasn’t a complete mess and kept brushing through the knots with her fingers till she didn’t feel them anymore. Satisfied as can be, she patted down her dress- a garment that Ignis chose for her but she forgot to ask what color it was; he assured it would look lovely on her and she trusted his choice in aesthetic for her. It wasn’t like she had a choice anyways. 

 

The bottom hem brushed and swayed against her ankles, feeling so soft to the touch; she assumed it was silk or satin because of the way the fabric felt like a butterfly’s wings fluttering against her. If only Ignis had given her a similar lightweight coat to cover her shoulders with, as the thin straps of the dress were the only pieces holding it up over her body. Oh, how sensitive her skin had become. 

 

Her fingers ghosted over the scarred patches of skin on her arm and felt the think indentation of the cutting scars Ardyn had left behind, following their trails to form numbers along her flesh. Just above the number ‘VIII’, was a patch of skin that had the same texture as a log that had already been incinerated in a fire. Pushing down on it, she winced and was frightened that if she was to push any further- that part of her arm would merely disintegrate into a pile of dust. Forcing herself to stop picking at her wounds, she walked slowly towards the door to the room. Turning the handle slowly, she made sure to exit quietly. 

 

Every sound was amplified, every creak of the floorboards, every thud of her footsteps padding across, and even the way her fingertips brushed against the wall as she tried to navigate herself. 

 

She was thankful that the layout was familiar to her in a sense. It was Noctis’ apartment after all. 

 

When she was dropped off here, Ignis assured her that Noctis would watch over her despite her protests. Noctis needed to be with his dad and they both needed to rest, but her argument was dismissed and late last night did she hear the front door open and shut; hearing footsteps drudge in that walked right past where slept and towards the living room. She didn’t hear the front door open anymore after that so she assumed Noctis was still in the apartment with her and slept elsewhere. 

 

The wall ended, signaling that she was now in the living room. She immediately headed towards the kitchen, which if she remembered correctly, was towards the right and she walked softly for fear of waking up Noctis. The first point of contact was with the counter and felt a small victory at finding it so quickly. The next challenge would be making something to eat without a huge amount of noise, it was kind of a shame that the kitchen was so close to the living room as well as an easily accessible full view of either room. 

 

Lady sighed softly and attempted to start her day.

 

*******

 

Noctis sat quietly as he watched Lady feel her away around his kitchen. Despite its relatively small size, she still had trouble finding things and he saw her flinch when she made noise. He saw her place a pan down and heard the fire start slowly. While cracking an egg, he heard the yolk sizzle against the pan then heard her yelp as something splashed up.

 

Lady immediately stuck her finger in her mouth and Noctis instinctively moved to get up but froze when his phone clattered onto the ground loudly. 

 

She stopped and looked up in his direction. “..Noct?” She called softly and waited a few moments. “You want some breakfast?” After minutes of silence, she assumed he was still sleeping and resumed her work. 

 

Noctis felt his chest tighten around his heart painfully. Even after everything that’s happened, even after everything she’s gone through, she was still trying her best to care for him even when it was him that should’ve been taking care of her. He thought back to a brief argument he had with his father last night before coming here and he balled up his fists on his knees just by remembering it:

 

_ Noctis stood in front of Regis with eyes begging for a solution. “What about Luna? Can’t she fix this? As the Oracle, she could do something right?”  _

 

_ “As the Oracle, she can perform miracles.” Regis placed a hand on Noctis’ shoulder. “But you and I know this is beyond a miracle. It’s out of our hands, son.. I’m sorry.”  _

 

‘Out of their hands’. Noctis scoffed silently. The man that kidnapped Lady in the first place was someone that had relations to his family. When the founder king himself took over her body, he heard him call Ardyn ‘brother’. He rubbed his eyes, he had been thinking about it all night. Who really was that man? What was his story? 

 

Noctis assumed it didn’t matter anymore, the man named Ardyn was gone now. 

 

Looking back up at her, he watched her move about slowly at first but then gaining confidence. He wanted to go over to her, apologize for everything. She shouldn’t have been the one to wear the ring, it was supposed to be him. It was his responsibility, his city, his power.

 

But no. 

 

It was as if a hefty helping of guilt had formed lead in his feet and prevented him from getting up and rushing to her side. He opened his mouth to call her but his nerves got the best of him and he kept his mouth shut. He had no right to, not after everything that’s transpired. Before he could try again, the doorbell rang and Lady looked towards it’s direction. She tried her best to rush towards it, her hands feeling along the wall while she moved towards the noise. Before Noctis could intercept, the door already opened and he heard Lady ask who it was standing at the door. 

 

*******

 

Gladio looked down at Lady with surprise, he didn’t expect her to be out of bed so soon. He was taken out of his shock when she tentatively asked him, “Who is it?”

 

“Gladio,” he answered and he saw her lips turn up into a smile. 

 

“Good morning,” she whispered, tilting her head back to look up at him. “I’m making breakfast, well, trying anyways,” she laughed and he heard how she forced it. “Noct’s sleeping still, so don’t make too much noise, ‘kay?” 

 

When Lady tucked a hair behind her ear and that’s what when he saw her finger that had a red mark on it; a new burn on it thanks to her attempt to crack an egg over a hot pan. His eyes moved up over her shoulder to see Noctis standing at the end of the hall with his hands curled up into a ball at his sides. 

 

It was then that something bubbled up inside Gladio, he felt searing rage at the image he saw before him. Moving Lady gently to the side, he stormed right past her and towards Noctis. 

 

“The hell’s wrong with you?” Gladio growled, heat filling every part of his body. 

 

Noctis jaw locked in irritation. “What?” He asked in a biting tone despite knowing the accusation that was coming. 

 

“You were up this whole time weren’t you?” Gladio’s voice was a low growl that rumbled in his chest- a noise that would increase the more Noctis glared up at him. “You need to grow up and get over it.”

 

“I am over it,” Noctis gritted his teeth. “I’m here, aren’t I?” His voice raised gradually along with Gladio’s temper. 

 

He grabbed Noctis’ shirt, raising him up. “Maybe when you’re not too busy moping, you can look around and give a shit about someone worse off than you.”

 

Noctis’ eyes hardened. “Let go of me.”

 

Gladio shook Noctis, resisting the urge to shove him down with every passing minute. “We fought our damndest just so you could have a future and do your duty, not so you can sit around feeling sorry for yourself.” 

 

“You don’t think I know that?!” Noctis snapped, his voice matching Gladio’s volume. 

 

“You  _ don’t! _ ” Gladio roared. “Lady took one for you too, and for what!?”

 

Lady rushed over to them, putting her hands out until she touched Gladio’s broad shoulder. She then placed a hand on his arm and tried to pull it back but he remained steadfast. “Gladio,” she tugged on his shirt gently before stepping back, “stop it, I’m fine, really!” 

 

Gladio clicked his tongue in frustration, pulling up Noctis close to him to look him square in the eye. “You think you’ll be a king, but you’re just a coward.” 

 

“Shut up!” Noctis put a hand on Gladio’s chest and pushed him forward. Gripping onto Gladio’s shirt, Noctis let his rage come out unbridled and shoved him forward roughly, “I get it alright?! I get it!”

 

“Then get a grip!” Gladio’s brows remained furrowed as he seethed. “Pull your head outta your ass already!”

 

“Gladio!” Lady put a hand on his arm and stepped in front. “This isn’t necessary!” She turned to where she heard Noctis. “Noct.. it’s okay,” she reached out for him slowly. 

 

Still in the heat of rage, Noctis slapped her hand away as it got closer to him.

 

 “Stop pretending like everything’s okay!!” He yelled. Lady flinched at his stinging words and only when Noctis saw her bottom lip begin to tremble did he realize what he had done. 

 

“Lady, I-” He started towards her but Gladio stepped in front and shoved Noctis back against the wall. Wrapping an arm around Lady’s shoulder, he guided her to the front and Noctis quickly followed. “Where are you taking her?!”

 

“Somewhere she can be taken care of properly,” Gladio said as he stormed out, opening the door for Lady and pushing her out first before turning back to the prince. Blocking the doorway so that Noctis couldn’t get through, Gladio looked down at him one more time. “When are you gonna get over yourself?” He said before slamming the front door shut in Noctis’ face. 

 

Lady moved towards the door and Gladio pulled her back. “Leave him!” He growled, pulling her down the hall and towards the elevator. 

 

“Gladio,” she breathed, feeling how hard he gripped her wrist as she heard the elevator doors close behind them. “That hurts..” She felt him loosen his grip but refused to let go even as the elevator doors opened and he pulled her alongside him. The doors slid open and she felt a cold breeze greet her along with the smells of fresh leaves and the sounds of birds chirping. He pulled her along until she was stopped and she heard a car door opening. Understanding the situation, she felt the roof of the car and climbed in slowly. 

 

Once in the seat, she felt Gladio stretch the seat belt across her and fumbled to lock it in. “Gladio,” she said, feeling the belt tighten across her front as he attempted to place the tongue in the buckle. “Gladio! I know how to put on a seat belt!” 

 

She heard him exhale and let go of the belt and she heard it recede into the pillar loop loudly before hearing her car door slam shut. Taking the tongue of the belt, she quickly placed it in the buckle and waited till she heard the other door open and Gladio seat himself in the driver’s seat. 

 

She didn’t even hear him bother to put on his seat belt.

 

The car’s engine roared to life and the tires squeaked on the pavement as they drove forward. Lady put her hands in her lap and fumbled with her fingers. “Gladio?” She turned her head to the driver, “where are we going?

 

No answer. 

 

She sighed and chose to play with the soft fabric between her fingers, feeling his anger even buried under his silence. The car ride ended swiftly much to her relief and she heard Gladio stop the engine then opening and shutting his door quietly. A few seconds after, she heard her car door open and she unbuckled herself. Moving outwards, she stopped when she bumped into something solid and immediately felt for it with her hand. It was when she put her fingers over the object did she realize it was another hand that was reached out towards her. 

 

Grasping onto it, she felt the warmth that radiated from it and felt the other hand curl around hers gently. “I’m sorry,” Gladio muttered quietly as he guided her out and shut the door behind her. Once out, she slipped a hand around his arm as they walked in the direction he pulled her. “Watch your step,” he stopped her and she raised her foot as he guided her body to step over a small flight of stairs. Another door opened and he placed her hand on the small of her back to gently push her in first. 

 

Floral scents and wood polish were the first two things she smelled when she walked in whatever building they’ve arrived at. The air was at a pleasant temperature and she felt the space was big, she waited for Gladio to guide her again and when he put his arm close to her- she held onto it tightly and followed. 

 

“Welcome to my house,” he sighed, looking at the leather couches they passed by as he headed for the stairs. “It’s just me and you right now, my little sister and dad are off somewhere.” 

 

“I bet it’s lovely,” Lady smiled up at him and he only held onto her tighter. 

 

“Watch your step,” he instructed her again, “there’s stairs right in front of you.”

 

Nodding, she followed him and waited till she heard him take a step before making her own. Unfortunately, the step was higher than she anticipated and she tripped forward. Gladio reacted swiftly and caught her; with a pitied look he was glad she couldn’t see, he then proceeded to lift her up in his arms with ease and carried her up the rest of the way. 

 

Lady was too embarrassed to deny his help so she just wrapped her arms around his neck and waited for him to drop her off at her destination. She knew adjusting to this new life of hers would be hard, she just didn’t fully accept the challenge it would really bring. Another door opened and she was shortly placed down onto what felt like a soft bed. She heard him move away, opening another door, and then a sink running. It wasn’t till a few seconds later did she feel him stretch out her leg towards him; she jumped when she felt a wet rag brush against the soles of her bare feet. 

 

“Sorry,” Gladio patted the side of her ankle and continued wiping down her feet. “I was in such a hurry to get you out that I didn’t even notice you didn’t have shoes.” It tickled how he rubbed the underside of her toes and she tried to resist laughing by biting her lip. “There,” the tickling sensation stopped and she breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re good now.”

 

Gladio got up and regarded her, observing the way she picked at the bandages around her head. “Those bothering you?” He asked her.

 

Lady forced her hand down. “A little,” she admitted. “They’re itchy and tight around my head. My wounds healed but the medics said I should keep this on to protect my eyes,” she scoffed and added in another sentence under her breath. “As if I needed to protect them now anyways..”

 

Gladio pondered silently and thought of alternatives when at last it hit him. “Gimme a second,” he said as he walked out of his room. Lady scooted back onto the bed and tapped her hand on her thigh, waiting patiently for him to come back. After a few minutes, Gladio came back and she felt the bed sink under his weight beside her. She felt one of his hands placed gently on her shoulder and she felt the other one hover close to her head in waiting. “Can I?” He asked and she nodded. 

 

Slowly, he unwrapped the bandages and she felt them fall to her lap. The skin that was underneath the layers were hot and she felt relief to have them finally meet the open air after such a long period. Taking a deep breath, she blinked a few times but could only feel her eyelashes flutter against the tops of her cheeks; blinking more, a little part of her expected her vision to clear up like the sun piercing through a dark, cloudy day. She knew that didn’t happen, but even still, she felt tears build up in her eyes and run down her face when all she could see was utter darkness. 

 

She felt Gladio wipe her stray tears with his thumb and brought her in close for a hug. He felt her sob silently against his chest and all he could do was continue to wrap his arms around her and wait for her tears to dry. Holding her, he realized how much smaller her body was compared to his and in that moment he couldn’t fathom how she held herself together all this time. He always knew she was capable, strong, competent in almost every way; but right now she just seemed so fragile- afraid that if he hugged her any tighter, she would crack like glass. 

 

Sniffing, she put her hands on his chest and pushed herself away. Looking up at him, Gladio’s heart clenched painfully when he saw the skin around her eyes were puffy and red, contrasting greatly to the scarring of her skin around her eyes and lids.. and especially to her irises that were now just a stark, milky white. 

 

“I think I got something better than your bandages,” he placed his idea of an alternative in her hands and let her feel it. 

 

Her fingers rubbed the fabric and felt the soft, plush silk of the ribbon. It felt cool against her flesh and the way it glided under her thumb gave her some sense of comfort. “A ribbon?” She tilted her head.

 

“Yeah,” Gladio chuckled. “It’s just a black ribbon. It was Iris’, she used to wear ribbons a lot when she was younger. Now I guess she’s too old for them.” 

 

Lady grinned, still feeling the piece of fabric in her hands. “And here I thought it was a parting gift from one of your ‘conquests’. Or are you not into that sort of thing?”  

 

“Hey,” he said with a smirk. “I like women to look me in the eyes when we get into it.”

 

Shaking her head with a laugh and she shoved him gently. “You’re horrible, you know that?”

 

“The worst,” he agreed with a smile as he took the ribbon from her and straightened it out. “Want me to put it on now?”

 

When she nodded and closed her eyes, she felt the ribbon fold over her lids and encircle her head. Gladio tied it at the back with a knot that was secure but not too tight for which she was thankful for. Dropping his hands, it signaled to her that he was done and she immediately felt it. It was softer and much,  _ much _ more comfortable than the bandages she was given.

 

“Does it match my outfit?” She asked him jokingly. 

 

“It does actually,” he responded, looking down at her black dress. “You look beautiful.”

 

Lady found his hand and squeezed it. “Gladio.. Thank you.”

 

“Of course,” he grazed her hand with his thumb. 

 

“You’re not busy, are you? If you had something to do, you can just leave me here,” she said.

 

He sighed. “The king asked about your condition. I was supposed to come see you and report back on it.”

 

Lady shook her head. “He needs to worry about rebuilding the city, not some blind girl.”

 

“Come on, don’t say that,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “He also wanted to thank you in person.” 

 

She was silent then let her shoulders sag. “When should I go see him then?”

 

“Later, he’s busy right now.”

 

Lady twiddled with her fingers. “So I’ll just sit around and wait then?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Got any activities in mind?”

 

Gladio tapped his finger on his knee and leaned forward. “Up for a game of chess?”

 

Lady scoffed. “I can’t even see the board.”

 

“I saw you play with Xigbar once, you seemed pretty decent at it. The board’s pretty easy to memorize, right?” he mused.

 

She turned her head to him. “You can’t be serious.”

 

“Pawn to D4,” Gladio said smoothly.

 

“My gods, you are serious,” she cursed under her breath and rummaged around her brain to conjure up the image of a chess board. “Umm.. Knight to F6.”

 

“Hmph, bold,” he said. “Pawn to C4.”

 

Lady thought about her next move. “Pawn to G6.”

 

“Knight to C3.”

 

“Bishop to G7.”

 

Gladio drummed his fingers along the inside of his thigh and conjured up an image of what their imaginary board looked like. “Pawn to E4.”

 

“What’s the matter? Sending out all the henchmen first?” Lady smiled. “Pawn to D6.”

 

“Hypocrite,” he chuckled. “Pawn to H3.”

 

She took a deep breath. “Bishop castles to G7.”

 

“Did Xiggy teach you that?” He asked her and she nodded with a smug smile. “Bishop to E3.”

 

“Pawn to C5. I think need a moment to collect the board in my mind.”

 

“Take all the time in the world,” Gladio put his arms his head and laid backwards, plopping onto his bed. “We can always continue the game another time.”

 

“What if I forget?” She turned towards him. 

 

“I’ll just remind you,” he closed his eyes. 

 

Lady rolled her neck and tilted her head up.“You’ll just casually remind me where my pieces are, huh?” 

 

“No cheating, I promise,” he found her hand and wrapped his pinkie around hers. 

 

Crossing her legs, she interlocked her fingers together. “Gladio? How are Ignis and Prompto? And Nyx?”

 

“Iggy’s fine, so is blondie. Nyx was beat up pretty bad, but he’ll live. You’ll never guess who was helping out the Empire invade us,” Gladio massaged his closed eyes, not believing the truth himself. “It was Drautos.”

 

Lady dug her nails into her palm. “Ah, I see.”

 

“Nyx and two other Glaives took him down and now they have him locked up waiting for a trial. As if that traitor would need one. Still,” he exhaled. “One of the king’s advisors.. never woulda guessed.” He got up and looked at the leather band around his wrist, its jewel was slightly dull and had lost its previous luster. “Thanks by the way, your little trinkets really saved us from Ifrit. We sent him packing from wherever he came from.”

 

“Really? I’m glad,” she breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that her magic proved to be useful to them. “Um, do you by chance have my phone?”

 

“Nah, Prompto does. He’s fixing it up because it dropped again. Want me to tell him to drop it off?” Gladio took out his phone, ready to dial in Prompto’s number. Before he could thumb through his contacts, he heard the doorbell ring and immediately got up. “Hold on, I’ll go see who it is.” 

 

His footsteps receded from the room and down the hall. She soon heard the door open and an excitable voice echo in the empty house. 

 

“Is Lady here?” The voice was soon muffled and Lady got up to follow the voice. She stopped at the end of the hallway when she felt the rails of the stairs. Carefully she stepped down from it, gripping onto the rail with both hands as she descended. “Lady, no!” She heard footsteps bound up the stairs and towards her, an arm wrapped around her waist and the other around her shoulder. “You can’t, this is dangerous.”

 

Up close, she could smell the sun and recognized that upbeat voice. “Prompto?”

 

“Yeah,” he whispered, continuing to guide her down the stairs. 

 

“Lady,” Gladio shook his head but chose to not speak on it anymore. “How did you even know we were here, Prom?”

 

“I stopped by Noct’s place,” Prompto stated, making sure Lady walked in front of him so that he could keep an eye on her. “He said you probably took her here.”

 

Gladio clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Because the little shit isn’t doing anything to help her. He’s too busy stuck in his own world that-” He took Lady’s hand and showed Prompto her burn from this morning, “-he can’t even pay attention to her.”

 

“Did you guys.. get in a fight?” Prompto asked.

 

“I don’t know, what do you think?” Gladio said with a low growl. 

 

Before Prompto could say anything else, Lady put a hand on him and scooted towards Gladio. “I think I want to take a walk before seeing the king, before leaving.”

 

“Uh, you sure you up to that?” Prompto asked and received a glare from Gladio.

 

Gladio looked at the woman before him. “Is this what you want?”

 

“Yeah,” she nodded wearily, “I just want to go home already. I can have Prompto take me to the Citadel.”

 

“Alright,” Gladio nodded to the blond. “We’ll come say bye after your audience.”

 

*******

 

“So what does it look like?” Lady was grasping Prompto’s arm as they walked through the streets of Insomnia. “Is it bad?” 

 

“Uh, no,” Prompto guided her away from a path covered with rubble from a ruined building. Looking at a set of trees and glass panes that were broken, even melted, he cleared his throat. “It looks good, not much damage honestly.” 

 

She could smell the smelted panes and the incinerated wood of the trees.  _ Liar _ , she thought with a silent smile. 

 

Prompto looked down at his right hand, looking at the beaded bracelet he tried to piece together by himself. It was just stringed up, and tied with a triple knot to make it more secure so he couldn’t possibly lose it again. 

 

“Do you still have your bracelet, sunshine?” She asked him. 

 

“Yeah,” he brought her wrist over for her to feel it and she smiled when she felt the warm beads under her fingertips. “It’s always with me.” 

 

“Good,” she nodded, her hand wrapping around his bicep while she tried ignoring the smells of ruination that she wrought upon the city. Along the way she tried consoling herself that this was for a good cause, that what she did was to protect everyone. By the time she felt Prompto stop and she knew they were at the Citadel from the way hurried steps passed her- it was already too late and she couldn’t find a good reason to condone her actions towards Insomnia. 

 

Walking inside, she lifted her dress up from the front only for her feet to find their bearings easily on the stairs leading towards the elevators. She heard the slippers she borrowed from Gladio slap against the floor in the most non-elegant way, but she had little choice for footwear. It would have to do. 

 

The elevator doors opened with a light chime and Prompto guided her in, quickly pushing a button once situated inside with her. Taking a step back so that she could be in front of him, he looked down as she turned her head. “Prompto,” she said as she held her hand out. “Sorry, can I hold your hand? I’m a bit nervous.”

 

“O-of course,” he quickly grasped her hand and she moved to intertwine her fingers with his.

 

“Prompto?” She said again, this time more quietly.

 

“Yeah?” He looked at her.

 

“I’m sorry.. that your first kiss had to happen like that,” she whispered. 

 

Prompto dropped her hand and moved in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulder. “No, don’t say that! I liked it even if-” ‘ _ even if Insomnia was on the verge of being destroyed _ ’ almost came out of his mouth but he stopped himself. “I really enjoyed it. So thank you!” He wanted to slap himself. He sounded so gods’ awful and he couldn’t believed he just thanked her. 

 

Looking up at him, her lips parted to say something more but they remained that way as she became speechless. What more could she have to say? 

 

His eyes looked down until they landed on her lips; he gulped, he wanted to lean forward and kiss her again but would that be weird? The black blindfold guaranteed that she couldn’t see how red his face was and the way he was just staring at her. 

 

His heart started beating faster and he held his breath as he subconsciously moved his face towards her. His lips were inches away before he heard the elevator door chime to signal they were on their desired floor and he quickly pulled away. Turning his head around, he found himself looking at Ignis who looked just as surprised to see him. 

 

Ignis looked down to Prompto’s hands on her shoulders and he raised an eyebrow at him. Swallowing, Prompto dropped his arms and moved to the side to gently push Lady out of the elevator. Ignis held a box under his left arm and held out his other hand to ghost over the small of her back. 

 

“I can take it from here, Prompto. Thank you,” Ignis said and the blond nodded glumly, letting the elevator doors close in front of him. 

 

“You’re taking me to the king?” Lady turned to Ignis.

 

“Yes,” he said as he walked alongside her down the hall. “But first, let’s get you out of those slippers.” He soon sat her down on a chair near a balcony overlooking the city. With one glance, Ignis could still see embers dying down amongst the rocks outside and he quickly turned his attention back to her. Kneeling in front of her, he took the slippers off her feet- it was almost comedic how clear it was to anyone that they didn’t belong to her. 

 

Lady felt something cool slip over her feet and she tapped her toes on the floor once Ignis let go of her ankle.  _ Clack, clack _ . They sounded delightful on the marble. “Do they match?” She asked jokingly again. She wondered how she would coordinate her outfits from now on.

 

“Of course,” he replied after slipping on the other shoe. “Gladio was kind enough to warn me of your lack of footwear.”

 

“Thank you,” she said, following his voice and looking up at him. “Words can’t express how grateful I am for the four of you.” 

 

“As are we to you,” he smiled. “Come now, I’m sure the king would like to speak to you.” 

 

Nodding, she brought her hand up and he immediately placed his right under it. Together, they walked towards the throne room. 

 

*******

 

King Regis sat on his throne, looking down at the woman in black before him. “I’m sure we can find a way to compensate you for your services, you’ve done so much for us.” 

 

Lady shook her head, her hands were folded in front of her as she looked up. “That won’t be necessary.”

 

“You wouldn’t want to be recognized as Insomnia’s hero?” Cor raised an eyebrow. 

 

She shook her head again. “Let everyone know that it was the King and his Glaive’s that saved Insomnia from the Empire. The people need to have that type of hope if you wish to rebuild. Hope in their king that he saved them, and not some foreigner that landed here by mistake.” 

 

When they were silent, she knew they accepted her truth. 

 

“At least compensation for taking care of Noctis and the others?” Regis inquired. “I did promise a reward when I sent them to you in the first place.”

 

“No,” she denied his request. “There were times I put Noctis, Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis in danger,” she admitted. “That reward wouldn’t be rightly earned.”

 

“Isn’t there anything?” He asked.

 

Without skipping a beat, she answered with a sad smile. “I’d just like to go home, please.”

 

Leaning back in his throne, the king sighed. “Very well.” 

 

Bowing her head, she turned on her heels and walked towards the door; only stopping when she heard Regis call her real name. Looking back, she raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

 

“Walk tall,” King Regis told her. 

 

*******

 

Her footsteps echoed as she descended the stairs of the Citadel and out into the open air with Ignis at her side. Once he stopped, she stopped and she knew who else was gathered in front of her.

 

“Well,” she began with a heavy heart. “This is it.”

 

“With the Empire withdrawing their forces from Lucian borders, there’s no need for the prince and his retinue to go into hiding for safety,” Ignis added. “Our stay at the Alstroemeria has come to an end.”

 

Lady nodded, biting her lip. “It was a pleasure having you.” 

 

“Is this really goodbye?” Prompto looked up at her and Ignis. “I mean, we can always visit, right?”

 

She only smiled and nodded slowly. 

 

“Yeah, we can finish our game some other day, huh?” Gladio reached over to squeeze her arm and she grinned as she squeezed him back. 

 

“Of course,” she said. She expected to hear Noctis say something, but when he didn’t she couldn’t help her heart sinking the tiniest bit. She didn’t even have time to properly say goodbye to everyone when she heard that all too familiar sound of a corridor of darkness opening up and footsteps emerging from it. “Well,” she told them, “I guess it’s time for me to go.”

 

Turning towards the noise, she walked towards it and only stopped when she heard another set of footsteps walk towards her. 

 

“Lady,” Noctis said, his voice sounding regretful. She could only imagine what his face looked like. 

 

Facing Noctis, she reached forward for his hand and grasped it with both of hers. With a smile, she squeezed them, “I wish you a long and prosperous rule, my prince.” Bringing his hand towards her lips, she felt the steel ring she gifted him grace her mouth with its cold steel before letting go of him and stepping away. 

 

Walking towards the portal, she stopped a ways from it and she looked forward as she spoke. “Who did they send for pickup?” 

 

“It’s me, princess,” the person answered and she grinned. She could recognize Xigbar’s voice anywhere. Holding out her hand, he grabbed onto it and guided her towards the corridor. Looking back at the Lucians, he saluted them with two fingers as the four of them watched them disappear in the coils of darkness that sank into the ground. 

 

*******

 

The iron gates of the Alstroemeria opened with a loud creak and she made a mental note to have the hinges oiled. The familiar fragrances of floral beds filled her nostrils and she felt her stress being drained away, even if was only a portion of it. 

 

Stopping momentarily, she pinched herself to make sure this wasn’t a dream; and when she felt the sting on her skin, she continued walking. 

 

Xigbar glanced at her, the ends of her blindfold swaying along with her strands of hair and he held back a sigh. Glancing down at her arms and seeing the scars, he couldn’t help but tighten his fists. 

 

Walking towards the path leading to the central courtyard, she heard footsteps bounding towards her at a rapid pace and she braced herself for the impact. To her surprise, the footsteps stopped and she frowned.

 

“Lady...” she heard Roxas’ voice taper off. “That’s, why are you wearing that?” Sighing, she reached towards him and she felt him back away from her. “That’s just a joke, right? A really messed up one,” he said in utter confusion. 

 

“Roxas, it isn’t a joke,” she said sternly. 

 

“What happened to your arms?” He said and she felt him tentatively reached for her hand. “And why is there ash on your skin?” 

 

“Roxas,” she pulled her arm away from him. “I’m really tired, I’m going to sleep okay?” 

 

Roxas frowned, “-But.”

 

“Leave her alone, kiddo, she’s had a long day,” Xigbar brushed past him and helped Lady up the stairs towards her room. 

 

“Thank you,” she said under her breath and his reply was a short hum. “Was there anyone else there that saw you and me come in?”

 

Xigbar took a few moments to respond. “No.”

 

“Good,” she sighed, her shoulders slumping over. “I don’t think I can face anyone else today.”

 

Opening the door to her apartment, he let her walk in. “See ya tomorrow, princess,” he said before he shut the door after her and walked back down the stairs. 

 

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he faced the courtyard and saw all the people standing completely still in total shock. Their faces darkened at the sight of her, rather, the state that she was in- even the way she was completely oblivious that all of her tenants had gathered in the courtyard. It was a planned surprise to finally welcome her back home after all this time. 

 

But no one could’ve guessed that she would arrive the way she was now. Not in their worst nightmares. 


	64. LXIV

_“No, please-“_

 

Blankets slipped off the sides as a hand grasped onto the now barren bed, devoid of any coverings that would bring its sleeper any comfort.

 

_“Make it stop, that burns!”_

 

Nails scratched on the skin over the wrists, trying to pry off binding chains that weren’t there.

 

_“Stop, stop, STOP!!!”_

 

Lady sat up, her body covered in a heavy layer of sweat and her mind clouded with visions of darkened mists. Leaning forward, she brought her knees up to her chest and rocked herself on the bed. Cradling herself, she felt tears mix in with the sweat already present on her face. Exhaling and inhaling slowly, she caught her breath and placed a hand over her chest. Feeling her heart palpitate rapidly, she gulped. 

 

“What time is it?” She asked aloud. 

 

_“The time is 3:37.”_ A computerized voice replied to her and she groaned. Overslept. Again. 

 

Sliding off the side of her bed, she hopped off and found her way to her door. Counting the steps, she stopped when she reached the number thirty-nine and she raised her hands to feel for the cabinet. Stopping when she felt the star-shaped charms she hung around the handle to help identify it, she opened up the cabinet and reached in slowly for a glass. Taking it out, she shuffled towards her refrigerator and placed her glass into the dispenser and let the water run into her glass. She counted the seconds and let go when she reached six and a half. 

 

Bringing the glass to her lips, she gulped down it’s contents hungrily and felt for the counter to set it down on. Leaning against said counter, she put her head in her hands and massaged her temples. 

 

It had been days- a week maybe, since she came back home. She promised herself to get right to work and find ways to get things done with this new.. disadvantage. 

 

But it was harder than she could’ve anticipated. Much harder. 

 

This wasn’t the first time she woke up so late; but even if she knew she had things to do, all she ended up doing was sitting back in bed with the will to do anything leaving her like a morning mist that disappeared under the rising sun. She was pretty sure there was a deep indentation in her mattress where her body tossed and turned throughout the night; all she could do during her restless sleep was sink into her sheets as well as her welling despair.

 

“Gods, you’re so fucking pathetic,” she said aloud and when silence greeted her, she gritted her teeth. Bahamut might as well made her deaf too so she didn’t have to hear her annoying ass voice that recently always seemed like it was on the edge of breaking. “I said,” she repeated, even louder, “you’re so _fucking_ pathetic!!!”

 

Inhaling, she hiccuped and hated that the noise she made turned into an ugly sob. Sliding down the counter, she let herself plop down onto the kitchen floor and hugged her knees close to her chest again. Sighing, she stayed there and let the time fly past her slowly. When was the last time she left her apartment? 

 

Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she felt nauseous- feeling as if her intestines were about to collapse into itself. Now that she thought about it, when was the last time she ate?

 

The last unfortunate meal she had was a sorry excuse for fruit that she found in the fridge. Seconds after biting into it, she spit it out immediately. It’s flavor tasted highly suspect, with its already bruised skin and sickly sweet taste- she just went ahead and threw the whole batch away.

 

Getting up, she slowly made her way back to her room and after thirty-nine steps, she counted an additional seven steps towards her nightstand to find her blindfold. Feeling it’s silken material between her fingers, she lifted it to her eyes and tied it around her head in a taut but comfortable knot. Though it did her no other good of aiding her, she only wore it so that no one else saw her lack of vision. Her world was black, black as the ribbon she wore to conceal her eyes.

 

But even if all she saw was the darkness that enveloped her; if she turned to her side quick enough, she would see a pair of piercing purple eyes glaring at her from the void. Like right now, when she quickly turned her head towards the right and saw the vivid purple orbs disappear when it noticed that her attention was turned towards it.

 

“Jenova..” Lady muttered to herself. “You’re just waiting till I finally keel over, huh?” She laughed bitterly, “Don’t wait up, you’ll be disappointed I’m sure.” _It’s not gonna happen. It won’t happen. I may have lost my sight, but not my will._ Saying those words in her head, she wasn’t even sure if she was telling the truth. 

 

She then heard a knock at her front door and she went towards the noise as fast as she could. When her foot hit the wooden door, she opened it and waited for the person behind her threshold to speak. 

 

“Lady,” it was Axel’s voice. “Can we talk to you for a bit?”

 

Biting her lip, she nodded and she stepped towards him. 

 

*******

 

“What did you want to talk about?” She felt the arms of a chair and sat down, folding her hands in her lap.

 

“Your eyesight.. is it really gone forever?” Came Zexion’s voice. 

 

Not knowing how many people truly were standing under the gazebo’s roof with her, she naturally assumed there were more than who was currently speaking to her when she felt the presence of their gaze.

 

“My other wounds healed fine, and I know what you’re thinking- the mako in my body can’t heal every wound inflicted on me.” Leaning back into the chair, picking at the skin on her fingers. 

 

“What caused this?” He asked her. 

 

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, I’ve made my bed and now I’ll lay in it.” It wouldn’t help telling them the full story anyways, what could they do? Demand a living god to take back his decision? Yeah, right.

 

“Then how about-“

 

“Drop the subject, Zexion,” she cut him off. “There isn’t anything you or anyone else can do about my vision. Hurry up and accept that fact, I already have.” Reaching up to take off her blindfold, she blinked and looked towards where she heard him. Zexion knew what her eyes possibly looked like, but seeing them in person- it hurt him more than he could’ve expected.  

 

Eyes that stared blankly and unknowing in front of her, its color like the pale surface of Kingdom Hearts itself and although the most detrimental- it definitely wasn’t the worst looking wound she had on her. Veins that glowed across the ashen patches of her skin stood out against her flesh all around her body as if she suffered a house fire, only accentuating the lengthy scars that were carved into her arm that marked her with their ranks. Everyone who saw her come home asked the same question in their minds: just what happened in Insomnia? 

 

But she didn’t bother answering any of their inquiries. What’s done is done.

 

“Then I’ll skip to what we really wanted to talk about,” Zexion looked up at Axel and Xigbar nervously then to Vexen before turning back to her. “We think we may have a way to remove Jenova’s presence within you.”

 

“Really?” Her eyebrows raised and he saw her lips twitch into an excited smile that she reigned in for composure’s sake. 

 

Axel closed his eyes and turned away. He knew what Zexion was going to say and considering his own reaction to their plan- he would hate to see how she would react. 

 

Zexion took a deep breath. “You were a vessel, correct? If that’s the case, then another vessel would be needed to transfer Jenova from you.”

 

Lady’s expression changed from relief to one of immediate anger. “Are you insane?!” She said loudly. “That’s a stupid idea! You know that Jenova is capable of, who would be stupid enough to want to take it inside of them?”

 

Zexion clung onto his coat. Xigbar turned away. Axel’s eyes shut tightly. Vexen lowered his eyes. 

 

With a sharp inhale, Zexion began to tell her who would be the unfortunate person who wants to take up the burden. “Xion elected herself to-”

 

“No!” Lady got up quickly, her chair falling back behind her. Above them, the sky darkened when it was clear only moments ago. “Are you out of your gods’ damn mind?! I won’t allow it!” She yelled, irritation taking over her voice. “I can’t believe you even suggested this!!”

 

“Lady,” Zexion started towards her. “Please, you’re losing control, who knows when Jenova will try and take over while you’re so.. so..” He tried to find the proper adjective to use for her but all the ones that came to his mind sounded mildly offensive and with the way she gritted her teeth together- he dare not say anything else. 

 

“I’m _not_ losing control,” her nostrils flared when she exhaled and she tried to lower her voice. “I refuse to hear anymore of this!” Turning on her heels, she retraced her steps back to the way to her room but stopped when she felt a presence get too close to her then a blunt jab on the base of her neck. Her breathing slowed and her balance left her as her knees went weak and collapsed to the ground with the rest of her body soon following until a hand caught her by the waist and secured her. 

 

“Sorry,” she heard Axel whisper in her ear. “We knew you’d say no.” 

 

The redhead looked behind him at Xigbar who stared at Lady’s limp body in Axel’s arms before sighing heavily and taking out his phone. Holding it to his ear, he maintained his gaze on her at all times. “It’s done,” he said to the receiver. “Yeah, she’s out cold just like you asked.”

 

*******

 

“Are the chains really necessary?” Angeal glared at Lazard and the director shot back a look. 

 

“If the reports have any hint of truth in them, we really don’t want her flying off and not be able to find her again,” Lazard pushes his glasses up and sighed. “Of course, that’s the worst case scenario,” he muttered as he watched Zexion strap the chains around her, holding her down to the chair she was slumped against. Angeal looked to his right and saw Genesis only silently staring at the events unfolding in front of him. That was a bad sign. Usually Genesis wouldn’t shy from a conversation, his silence warranted that he was feeling immense fear within him. Who could blame him? The once welcoming home had a cast of darkness over it. It looked more like the prelude to a war rather than a sanctuary for the weary as Lady had intended.

 

“What’s the best case scenario?” Angeal asked, unable to take his eyes off of her. He felt like his heart was being cut slowly. Lazard glanced at him and then at Xion who was conversing with Vexen; no doubt about what she was to do once it started. 

 

“There is none.” The director muttered and it was true. Even if their plan worked accordingly, it only moved one problem to another. But desperate times called for desperate measures. “How is she?” He then asked.

 

Angeal crossed his arms, “She relies on sound and smell to find her bearings. But still, we all see her struggle.” Just the other day, she refused to have him help her and all he could do was watch. 

 

Nearby, Sora, Riku, and Terra stood in front of Sephiroth and professor Gast. “I normally wouldn’t condone this,” Gast said as he looked at the three keyblade wielders. “Magic is volatile, if we were to do this I would prefer it to be through scientific methods. You’re playing with an entity that feeds off of ethereal energy and an extremely unpredictable one at that.”

 

“This the fastest way,” Terra assured him. “We thought it would probably be best like this.” 

 

“It’s like ripping off a band-aid really fast,” Riku added. “It’s quick and it’ll sting, but at least it’s off.”

 

“Professor Gast, please,” Sephiroth turned to the man. “I just want her to stop suffering.”

 

Gast sighed. “I understand your motivation, I really do. But I still feel like there’s a better way.”

 

Terra looked behind his shoulder at Axel who was leaning against one of the columns holding up the Alstroemeria. His eyes were downturned as he was talking to Xigbar and Terra turned back to Sephiroth. “Was she okay with this?” He asked him and Sephiroth only gave a slow shake of his head while Gast sighed again. 

 

“Do you think she’ll ever forgive me for doing that to her?” Axel asked Xigbar. 

 

Xigbar leaned against another column that was next to Axel’s with his legs crossed at the ankles. “Probably not,” he replied casually. “Though if I were you, I would be happy just knowing she’s angry but alive.”

 

“Easy for you to say,” Axel scoffed. “You’re not the one who knocked her out.”

 

“Yeah, but at least you’re not the one chaining her down,” Xigbar’s ever watchful eye gazed upon the thick iron chains that Reno and Rude were hammering into the ground along with Lexaeus and Zack.  

 

A ways from Axel and Xigbar was Demyx standing by Saïx as he raised his hand to cast a barrier over the building. 

 

“What’s the barrier for? You think someone’s gonna come bother us while it’s going down?” Demyx asked Saïx and the blue-haired man only shot him a glare. 

 

“No,” he answered firmly. “It’s so that she won’t be able to get out.”

 

Demyx’s shoulders slumped over. He didn’t like this plan at all, but everyone else was already on board and what could he do to stop every single person that joined in. 

 

Saïx saw Demyx’s hesitation, his eyes scanning his face. “I don’t like this anymore than you do,” he said. “All we could do now is hope this really does help her.”

 

“Hah, guess you really do have a heart under that mean exterior, huh?” Demyx had an aloof smile on his face as Saïx turned from the blond.

 

“Silence,” Saïx muttered as he summoned the last of the barrier.

 

Vincent walked towards Vexen, Zexion, and Xaldin. “Has everyone been briefed?”

 

“Yes,” Vexen looked to the multiple chains that bound Lady. They looked sturdy enough, all he could do was hope that they _were_ enough. “Are you sure you want to be here for this?” Vexen asked Vincent. “Once Jenova comes out, who knows how it’ll act towards Chaos.”

 

“Chaos is under control,” Vincent frowned. “You don’t need to worry about him.”

 

“I’m sure we’ve heard that before,” Xaldin looked unimpressed by his show of bravado. “You musn’t put on an act of bravado on our account.”

 

“It’s not an act,” Vincent’s frown grew deeper. “I have something to keep Chaos at bay,” turning to Lady, he pointed at her. “She doesn’t.” After a moment of looking at her, he looked back at Vexen, “Why does she need to be unconscious again?”

 

“She wouldn’t cooperate otherwise,” Xaldin answered in Vexen’s stead. “And supposedly, she won’t feel a thing if she’s out of commission.”

 

“Seems our esteemed landlady’s willpower is shaken,” Vexen said with his hand under his chin, rubbing it as he muttered to himself. 

 

“Which is why we should hurry up and get this over with as soon as possible,” Zexion spoke with urgency. “Have you told Naminé of her role?” 

 

“Yes, but the girl seems nervous,” Vexen replied.

 

“She has every right to be,” Xaldin side-eyed Lady’s slumbering figure.

 

Naminé held her hands to her chest, fingers interlocked in prayer. Larxene watched as she paced back and forth and it made eye twitch in annoyance. 

 

“Hey,” Larxene whistled to Naminé and the girl turned to her. “Don’t mess this up.”

 

“I-” Naminé swallowed. “I don’t plan to!” Turning away, she walked off to pace elsewhere as Larxene receded back into the shadows where she hid. 

 

“You can’t blame her for being anxious,” Marluxia appeared beside Larxene. “You needn’t be so crass all the time,” he chided her gently and Larxene only shot him a glare. 

 

“I can’t shake this weird feeling off,” Larxene muttered, kicking a stray stone that had the misfortune of existing in front of her feet. “Something’s gonna go wrong.”

 

“I feel the same,” Luxord suddenly appeared next to Marluxia and Larxene jumped slightly, annoyed at how he came from thin air. “We’re playing with dangerous forces here.”

 

“Do you plan on running?” Marluxia’s eyes narrowed at Luxord.

 

“Of course not,” Luxord scoffed. “What kind of man would I be to run from a damsel in distress?”

 

“If we’re not careful, we’ll be the ones in distress,” Marluxia hummed. “Shall we get closer? It looks like they’re beginning.” He walked towards the front lines with Larxene and Luxord in tow. 

 

Roxas was knelt in front of Lady, his hands holding hers as his blue eyes shimmered with sadness. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, only being loud enough for their ears. “But we’re doing this for you. When you wake up, this will all be over, I promise.” Standing up, he felt guilt looking at her sleeping face. “Lady,” he whispered even quieter this time. “I love you.”

 

“Is everyone in position?” Zexion said aloud and he listened for affirmations and non-verbal agreements. After doing a head count for everyone doing their roles, he nodded. “Then,” he uttered under his breath, “this is it.” Looking at Terra, the brunet nodded and motioned for Riku and Sora to follow behind him. 

 

Standing at a semi-circle in front of Lady, they held out their hands as a keyblade appeared. In the middle, Terra’s keyblade of white and pale-green glowed softly in his hand as if to reassure its owner that everything would be alright. He wrapped his hand around the charm at the handle of his blade, letting the cool resin imbue him with strength before stretching it out in front of him with Sora and Riku mimicking his actions. Roxas stood beside Sora and summoned both of his keyblades, a harmony of black and white as he pointed it towards Lady. Behind him stood Xion, preparing herself for what was to come with every millisecond that passed; Naminé remained beside Xion, both of the girls holding hands as they waited. 

 

An orb of light appeared in all keyblades present and shot forth towards Lady’s chest. For a second, nothing happened and they feared the worst, until they saw her finger twitch suddenly. Powering up their light, it shone more brilliantly- pulsing more and more as another light erupted from her chest and a dazzling radiance nearly blinded everyone present in the courtyard. It was then that Lady’s eyes shot open and a scream ripped from her throat. 

 

The shining heart in front of her clouded until it dulled in luster and a swirl of darkness shot out, sending a shockwave of darkness that made everyone take a step back. The waves of black energy got stronger and stronger as the keyblade wielders braced themselves. 

 

“Wh-what’s happening?!” Sora yelled out. 

 

Gast adjusted his glasses, shocked at the spiral of darkness that rose from Lady’s body and flew in circles around her heart. “It’s Jenova, it knows what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to leave its host so easily!” He yelled loudly over the rushing winds. “You must force it out!”

 

“Try harder!!” Terra said through gritted teeth as all of them increased the stream of light that pierced her chest. As the light got stronger, Lady let out another howling scream that bordered on the edge of a sob.

 

“No, please-” She cried, struggling against her bonds as the waves of pure black energy rattled them and lifted them from their place in the ground. 

 

“The chains! Zack!” Angeal pushed Zack towards the bindings pinned to the ground just as they rattled violently and cracked the cobblestone in their wake. 

 

“Make it stop, that burns!” She continued to scream loudly, darkness flitting around her in oblivion colored shards as tears fled her eyes. 

 

“Terra.. is this a good idea?” Riku faltered in his stance at seeing her struggle, writhing in pain with fat tears streaming down her cheeks. 

 

Terra’s will was faltering too, he turned to the scientists with concerned eyes. “You said she wouldn’t feel anything!” 

 

Zexion was speechless, he swallowed to try and help the dryness in his throat. Her screams echoed in his ear and hurt him deep inside. “I didn’t know, I thought she wouldn’t,” his voice tapered off as another scream echoed up into the sky. The soundwaves taking form and sent a beam of darkness shooting upwards, separating the clouds to make way for the heavens. 

 

“Stop, stop, STOP!!!” She pleaded loudly, thrashing in her chair and trying to move out of the way from the beam of light hitting her. 

 

“Maybe we should stop.. It’s hurting her too much!” Sora said to his friends as he took another step back. 

 

“No!” Vexen pushed Sora back in line. “If you stop now, who knows what’ll happen to her heart?” Sora looked from him back to her and he raised his Keyblade higher as more light poured out. 

 

“Restrain her,” Angeal instructed Zack but his mentee looked at him with concern. “Zack, hurry up!” He yelled when he saw Zack hesitate. Reno and Rude picked up the other set of chains and tugged on them as they rattled even more. The swirls of darkness picked up more speed and it seemed like it would lift the foundations of the building right off the ground until it finally stopped and a gentle light washed away the dark as her screams were silenced- her eyes closing and her head drooping low. 

 

All that remained in front of her chest, hovering loftily, was a heart of pure crystalline white. Light, sea green sparkles appeared, floating to and fro from their origin. Lady’s face looked peaceful once again as the stream of light diffused from her and circled directly in front of her heart to form a protective circle.

 

Just as they thought the darkness had disappeared completely, the ground began to rumble as what seemed like black ooze seeped out of her heart and onto the floor. Filling up and forming an almost perfect shape of Lady’s figure; slowly, the ooze solidified and the shadow rose up. It’s body was a mass of pure darkness, no other shade colored its figure and the only source of light that came from it was from within its eyes which glowed a vivid purple. The purple taking up most of the scleras and leaving no room for the white- in fact, most of which was not purple was a deep, dark gray or black. 

 

It stared, unblinking, at the Keyblade wielders in front of it. Craning it’s head to look at everyone present within the courtyard. 

 

“Naminé, now!” Zexion whispered harshly to the girl and she nodded, snapping out of her daze. Raising her hand, a shield of light gathered around the dark entity, separating it from the rest of the group, including Lady. The creature looked at Naminé and tilted its head in curiosity. 

 

Then, it raised its hands up and brought it together in a slow clap. The sound bouncing off loudly in the silent courtyard and it was followed up with a low chuckle. 

 

**“Congratulations are in order, you have some nerve for forcing me out of my home.”** It spoke with a blend of many, many, voices. Each one sounding different than the last; as if a whole crowd consisting of men and women, young and old, were all speaking at the same time. The most prominent voice being that of Lady’s. 

 

“Jenova,” Zexion stepped forward. “How many forms have you taken in your 2000 years of existence?” 

 

It was then that the entity cackled, a sickening sound that was similar to dragging a glass shard along a chalkboard. **“2000? Don’t make me laugh. I am much, much older, boy.”** It looked to the sky. **“The forms I’ve assumed were many and the planets I’ve drained of life and light..”** it laughed again. **“It would be too much for your minds to comprehend.”**

 

“We don’t care about any of that!” Sora cried. “Let go of Lady or-“

 

**“Or what, boy?!”** Thunder cracked loudly overhead. **“You think you have any right to make demands of me? The gall.”** It’s eyes glanced down at the Keyblade in Sora’s hand. **“Tell me, do you know of the Ancient Keyblade War?”**

 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Terra stepped forward. 

 

**“Curiosity. I want to know if you understand the bloody history of the weapon you wield.”** An eerie fog shadowed the courtyard. **“I remember thousands of Keyblade Wielders, some too young to have passed their thirteenth winter, dying all in the name of the light.”** Purple eyes looked up at Gast. **“And your reports were wrong about the true reason why the worlds were destroyed. It was these very children that helped bring about the end of everything with their so-called necessity to hoard the light.”**

 

“You’re lying,” Terra said, his jaw tightening into a straight line. “This is what you do, lie and manipulate to try and find someone’s weakness.”

 

**“What was it that they used to say?”** Jenova put a finger on its chin in mock thoughtfulness. **“Yes, that’s right... ‘May my heart be my guiding key’,”** it laughed loudly. **“The last words on so many of those dead children’s lips, it was almost tragic.”** It’s eyes glanced over at Marluxia and the violet shimmered with intrigue.

 

  **“I almost possessed another girl during that time who had the misfortune of finding me,”** the black mass then changed into an image of a young girl with a fair complexion. She wore a white dress with black straps and her long pink-orange hair was tied into two pigtails held back with red ribbons. Then as soon as that vision appeared, it disappeared and was taken over by that black mass once more. **“I suppose it was a good thing that one of her friends saw the danger she was in and finished her off. A mercy killing if you will.”**

 

“Shut up!” Terra couldn’t stand how it laughed at a situation that was so dire. As if everything up till now was just a game. 

 

Jenova backed away from the barrier and towards Lady, its hand melting through the barrier and took the glowing white heart in it’s black palm. 

 

“Stop!!” Angeal let go of the chain and ran towards the barrier. Jenova saw him coming and raised a hand towards him then quickly moved it downward; this making him fall to his knees, his whole body becoming rigid as he struggled against the invisible force pushing him down. Jenova merely gave him a side-glance before returning its attention to the heart in its palm.   
  


“So,” Genesis laughed bitterly. “This is what Shinra injected into us, then?” Sephiroth tossed an empathetic glance towards the crimson soldier for Sephiroth’s own mind was filled with thoughts of what he could’ve become had this monster taken complete control of his mind. But after looking at how Lady struggled, maybe it should’ve been him to do this. Maybe that way she wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

 

**“All of you gathered here crave power as much as I do,”** it turned back towards Terra first. **“All of you wish deeply for power.”** It looked to the group who used to reside within Radiant Garden, **“Forbidden knowledge of the heart.”** Something that sounded similar to a sigh escaped from the entity. **“Humans. Feckless creatures, all of them. So dull, so utterly boring.”**

 

**“Though I must admit, this one has been the most resistant out of all of them. But that only makes me hunger for her soul more. After all, a hunt is hardly any fun without a chase,”** It then raised the heart and a gaping hole formed where the mouth was supposed to be; dislocating its jaw in its attempt to swallow the light whole. 

 

“No!!” Terra raised his Keyblade and chains of light shot forth from its tip and phased through the barrier to wrap around Jenova. “You’re not taking her heart, I won’t allow it!”

 

Roxas, Sora, and Riku followed suit as their Keyblades released a pulse of light that restrained Jenova and made it drop the heart back down for it to return to its original owner. They watched as the heart safely disappeared within her chest before moving on to the next phase of their plan. Xion made ready to move and just as Naminé gave her an affirmative nod while raising another barrier around Lady. Xion stepped through with ease, locking her inside with the dark entity. 

 

“Take my body instead, you don’t need to go back to her!” Xion put on a brave face but the prospect of being trapped in there with a foreign creature that exuded an aura so intimidating that she instinctively backed away. 

 

In a rush of darkness, Jenova appeared in front of Xion and the girl was lifted from the ground as it wrapped a hand around her throat. **“You think yourself a worthy vessel? You couldn’t even fulfill the duty you were originally created for.”** It shook Xion and squeezed tighter. **“You’re worthless. I wouldn’t even bother repairing your heart if it were not for that idiot girl’s influence.”**

 

“So it’s true then,” Vexen muttered. “Our hearts really were being repaired!”

 

Jenova looked at Vexen. **“I cannot truly possess one without a heart.”** It then looked at Sephiroth, **“Or with strengthened wills.”**

 

“Then why..” Xion choked out. “Why Lady?”

 

That disturbing lined smile appeared on its face again. **“Because, she’s slowly losing her will to live. Haven’t you noticed?”**

 

Larxene moved forward with anger written all over her petite face but Marluxia held her back. “There’s nothing you can do,” he told her sternly, his own voice sounding shaken at Jenova’s display. Larxene bit back her tongue and watched as Xion was held up, the life being squeezed from her throat. 

 

“Jenova-!” Vincent rushed from the back and went towards the entity. 

 

**“Chaos.”** Jenova greeted him like an old friend. **“Do you wish to battle again?”**

 

Vincent took out his gun and upon seeing it, Jenova raised her hand to the side and sent forth a wave of darkness that knocked everyone down. The Keyblade wielders dropped their weapons and it clattered to the ground loudly. Xion called out to her friends but was stopped mid-sentence as Jenova choked the sound from her throat. 

 

**“I’ll do you a favor and put you out of your meaningless existence.”** Jenova whispered to Xion. 

 

Getting back up, Larxene tugged on Marluxia and pointed at the Keyblades thrown onto the ground. 

 

“I thought we were sticking to the plan?” Marluxia yelled over the rushing winds coming from the center where Jenova stood. 

 

“Yeah, well the plan clearly isn’t working!” Larxene snapped. 

 

“What do you suggest we do?” Marluxia asked her. 

 

“Just follow my lead,” Larxene ran towards Sora and Marluxia followed suit. “Hey, brat,” she spoke to Sora. “Move over!” 

 

“What are you planning?” Sora made a face and Larxene’s eye rolled in annoyance before her bright green eyes rested on the Keyblade laying beside him. 

 

Quickly, she bent down to grab it; her hands faltering for a second before her fingers finally touched its surface. Immediately she felt a rush of warmth and Larxene felt as if it invited her to wield it. Grasping it completely, she took a moment to look at it before shoving it back into Sora’s hand. “Forget sealing it in another vessel, let’s just destroy that thing!” 

 

Behind her, Marluxia helped Terra get back up. “Come now,” Marluxia uttered to Terra. “Our Lady needs our help.” Marluxia’s hand brushed against the Keyblade and he felt a surge of warmth reach out to him and wrap around his hand. The same image of the girl with the white dress and pink-orange hair appeared in his mind again. This time she was smiling. Why was that girl in his mind?

 

Xigbar glanced down at the knocked down Keyblade a few feet away from him then back up at Larxene and Marluxia. His finger twitched with his whole body wanting to move toward it, but he stopped when he saw Riku scramble to pick up his fallen weapon. 

 

“If we do anything stupid, it’ll just end up killing Xion,” Roxas yelled. 

 

“She’s going to kill her anyways!” Larxene barked. “Hurry up, she won’t last long!”

 

As Xion felt her hands and feet go numb and multi-colored stars appeared in the peripherals of her vision- she glanced down at Jenova who looked back at her with empty purple eyes. The last of her air was quickly exiting her lungs. Her time was running out. 

 

*******

 

Behind them, Lady blinked, her environment still shrouded in endless darkness as her vision did not improve. Her whole body ached and her chest contained a dull, thumping ache that sent shivers down her body everytime she breathed. A noise that sounded like someone gasping for air made her look up and for a split-second she could see those purple eyes glance at her from the darkness then quickly disappear. 

 

“He..lp..” 

 

Lady looked towards the noise. That was definitely Xion’s voice..!

 

She struggled to get up but found herself unable to move freely. It felt like chains holding her down to her chair and she was bewildered as to why she would even be in that situation. Taking a moment, she recalled the events that lead up to now and she panicked. 

 

They really were trying that stupid plan!!

 

Gritting her teeth, she tried to struggle again and found it to be futile. She couldn’t move- she would have to call Jenova to her. 

 

“Jenova!!!” Lady yelled loudly and she saw the purple eyes in the darkness glance at her. “Let go of her!” 

 

She heard Jenova chuckle. **“Now why would I do that? This girl offers herself willingly, unlike you.”** Those purple eyes started to look away from her and Lady wanted to scream in frustration. 

 

Those eyes can’t look away from her- they can’t, they can’t, they can’t!!! 

 

If they do.. Xion will..!

 

Gritting her teeth, she dug her nails into the wooden arms of the chair. “Because you know it _has_ to be you and I!” The purple eyes turned back to her. “Because you know about the power I can give you and you know you’re close to taking over completely!” 

 

Tears ran down her face, she didn’t want to admit it out loud. As if sending the words out into the world solidified that fact. But she had to swallow her pride- besides, it wasn’t the truth, right? 

 

Right?

 

“You’re so close...” she muttered and she felt tears run over her lips and down her chin. “You’re so fucking close, I know you feel it!” Her voice rose along with her falsified sense of courage. “So hurry up- and finish me off!!!!!” 

 

A rush of wind came and sent her flying back, the wooden chair and iron chains breaking as the barrier cracked and she crashed through forcefully. Colliding with the stone ground, she felt hands wrap and claw at her throat. A wall of darkness rose from a perimeter around her and sending out gusts of blackened wind. Her body convulsed and thrashed on the ground, wave after wave of pain taking over her- bursting every cell, stinging every inch of her skin, crawling down her veins and spiking when it reached her organs. 

 

She was being reunited with Jenova. 

And it hurt like hell. 

 

Turning over, she felt like vomiting as something crawled under her skin on her backside, stopping when it reached right under her shoulder blade. Then, a ripping sensation reverberated within her as she felt her skin being torn open from the inside and something jut out. Holding her face, she tried to bite down a scream but it ripped from her restraint anyways- echoing loudly in the courtyard that went along with the howling winds and thunder claps. 

 

Torrents of darkness erupted anew from her as she held her face for it felt like it was about to burn into flames. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, like her blood turned into liquid magma and was about to sear off her inner linings. 

 

She wished for death. Anything to stop the agony she was currently feeling. 

 

But all she could do was scream, even if it didn’t help her and only made her throat raw from the sounds of anguish that scraped along her mouth. Blood that rose up onto her tongue tasted like acid and it made her gag amidst her cries of pain; even her own blood tasted foreign in her mouth. 

 

Slowly, the pain stopped and she caught herself with her hands on the floor. Instantly, she felt a feather beneath her fingertips and only then did she realize what burst forth from her back so violently. She then felt blood run from her nose and when the liquid dropped from her, she heard it plop onto the ground and sizzle shortly after contact. 

 

Surely, she must have done something to incur someone’s wrath. For no one should have to endure something so cruel. 

 

*******

 

There, amidst a spray of black feathers and torn up ground, was Lady. A great, black wing sticking out from her body and shielding her from what remained of the sunset’s rays that shone on her. Her face was downturned, a puddle of blood forming below her nose that sizzled into smoke when it sank between the crevices of the cobblestone. 

 

Gasping for air, she stayed in that disgraceful position as the darkness dissipated from her and the skies returned back to their original cloudless state. The heavy aura was dispelled and everyone got back up slowly, looking onto the landlady who was merely staying completely still. Like she was afraid to move. 

 

Then, she got up, still concealing her face from the group as she buried it in her hands and turned away; her wing still shielding almost her entire body. 

 

Roxas quickly helped up Xion and they both looked at their landlady with guilt. Walking over to her slowly, Roxas swallowed to relieve his mouth from the dryness. “Lady..” he started and she didn’t make an effort to turn around. “We’re sorry. We really thought we were doing something good.”

 

“It wasn’t his fault,” Xion stepped in front of him. “I really wanted to take the burden from you and I even pushed it.” Even after she spoke, Lady still didn’t turn around or move. 

 

The ones originally responsible for the plan: Zexion, Vexen, and Axel stepped forward. Zexion spoke first. 

 

“We..” he sighed, there was no graceful way to say it. “We should have been better prepared and I’m sorry for reacting so brashly. But when I saw you like that when you returned from Insomnia..”

 

“Lady,” Axel’s face was wrought with worry and he stepped further than any of the others did. “We just wanted to help, Jenova was really doing a number on you and on top of all that.. you constantly help others with their problems, we thought it’d be nice for you to get help for a change.”

 

“Even so..” Lady finally broke her silence. “Even so, that was **n’t** **your choice to make!!”**  

 

Her body turned and her hand waved behind her as black flames shot forth from her fingertips, forming a semi-circle of fire that separated her from the rest of the people gathered in the courtyard.

 

 Through the flames, they saw her eyes… filled with the deepest of hate and the purest of anger, they glowed a vivid, violent purple with her pupils dilated into thin slits. 

 

“Lady..! Your eyes!” Zexion cried.

 

“Shut.. up!!!” Lady screeched and pulsations of darkness erupted from her body and sent torrents of wind that pushed everyone back. She flinched and held a hand to her right ear, her face scrunched up in pain. Wisps of black mist floated from her skin and reached up, licking the sky before disappearing in soft exhales. Glancing back at Zexion, she bared her teeth and the canines at the front of her mouth seemed to grow down to small fangs. “You.. what you did.. you’re no better than the men who originally did this to me!! You had no right!!!”

 

She flinched again, this time covering both of her ears to try and stop the shrill noise that bounced around in her head. But it seemed she was the only one who heard this noise, for the rest of them only experienced silence. 

 

Dropping her hand, blood covered her palms and some dripped down her ears as she panted slowly. The roots of her hair slowly turned white and the dark wisps around her grew in size. Clenching her fists, she inhaled deeply and closed her eyes tightly. She tried to count but the anger inside of her boiled and she did her damndest to make it go down. Wringing her wrists, she looked at Roxas and for the first time in a long while- she saw his face. 

 

It was just him, nothing changed and for that she was grateful. Unfortunately, his face contained an emotion she would never hope she would see from him: fear. 

 

Fear towards her. 

 

Releasing a shaky breath, she turned to Axel and she was surprised to see a dim light emitting from him. Her newly restored vision had enhanced her senses.. but she knew that was only Jenova’s doing. Once that power goes to sleep, she would be rendered blind again. 

 

“You need to leave,” she told him. “ _Now.”_

 

“Where would we even go?” He shot back. 

 

“I don’t know!” Her fangs seemed to grow longer, but when she stepped back they appeared back to normal again. “Anywhere, but here. You all just need to leave!!”

 

“But why?” Roxas asked her, the fear still visible in his eyes. 

 

“Because I’ll just end up killing all of you,” she whispered. 

 

“You would never hurt us,” said Roxas. “Right?”

 

Lady bit her bottom lip. “I wouldn’t, but _it_ wants me to.” She sighed, “Though I suppose, we’re one and the same now.. a destructive monster.” Her eyes appraised the damage she wrought unto her own home and a feeling of regret overshadowed her. 

 

“You’re not a monster,” Roxas tried to move forward and grab her hand but she merely stepped back, taking her hand away from him. 

 

“Maybe we can get some help elsewhere,” Zexion offered, negotiating a way without forcing another botched operation on her. “Don’t lose hope just yet!”

 

Looking around at the destruction, the fear on everyone’s faces, the torn up ground and the remnants of dark whispers streaking the sky- as well as the black wing that decorated her back. She turned to Zexion with a defeated smile. 

 

“I don’t even have any more hope to lose.” 


	65. LXV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I was stuck on a cruise without WiFi and the faintest trace of tequila on my tongue.  
> Btw who would be interested in a NieR: Automata story (and if I told you that I had one ready to publish, who would wanna read it?)

“I thought I told you all to leave?” Lady clutched her door handle. One eye that was milky white turned bright purple in color, like a dark flame burning just below the thin surface of her irises. That eye glared at the man standing before her door and he only glared back with matched intensity. 

 

“We need to talk,” Vincent said in his usual gruff voice.

 

“No,” she rejected him and moved to shut the door, only to find that it wouldn’t close all the way. Looking down, she saw how he stuck his foot in between to catch it. She clicked her tongue loudly, opening the door back up. “Vincent, go away.”

 

Not to her surprise, he pushed his way in and in her sleep-deprived state, she did little to resist as she stumbled back and could only watch as he slammed the door behind him. 

 

“Vincent..” She warned. “Don’t.. antagonize me.” She raised her hand to push him back but he once again caught her hand with movements swifter than her own. Grabbing her, he pulled her close until she could see the deep red of his irises.

 

“Stop,” he growled. “Look at yourself, you’re not well.” 

 

“Ya think?” She scoffed, trying to pry back her hand but failed to under his iron grip. “Let go of me-!”

 

“No!” Vincent’s voice was ripe with frustration and she swore she saw his eyes begin to glow a vicious crimson. “Listen to what I have to say!”

 

Their eyes were in a deadlock, a graceful, poisonous violet versus an ever growing wave of deep crimson. Vincent broke contact for a mere second to look at her hair which was now turning a shade more silver as opposed to her regular hair color. Her appearance looking less like how she was and more like the alien that was fiending for control. He sighed and when he looked at her again, his gaze softened. 

 

“You need help,” was all he said. 

 

“No, _you_ need to get out of here before I black out and end up killing you all,” she growled, her one eye that she used to see had the black irises thin out like a feral feline’s. “I think Lucrecia would hate to see you end up dead.”

 

Vincent clenched his jaw at the mention of his former beloved. “Lucrecia died because I chose to keep my mouth shut even when I saw her make the wrong choices-“ his voice grew less in temperament, “-and I refuse to let the same happen to you!!” 

 

Lady swallowed and she stopped struggling to get his arm back. “What did you have to say then?”

 

Letting go of her, his tall height didn’t give him any other choice but to glower down at her. “Professor Gast wants to take your cells out by a diffusion process. He can explain it better, but essentially your cells will be spliced until he makes sure each Jenova cell is eradicated.”

 

She let out the breath she was holding. “What’s the catch?”

 

“The process might take months- years even. And the equipment he needs to use is in Midgar.”

 

Underneath her, the floor seemed to swirl and suck her into the hardwood. Vincent’s words echoed in her ears: _Months. Years. Midgar._ Frustration built up inside her, she wanted to scream, cry, beat against his chest like a child throwing a tantrum. 

 

Vincent saw how her lip quivered and how her breaths increased to try and control her rising anxiety. Letting go of her hand, he hesitated before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and embraced her. He could empathize, he wouldn’t want to spend even another day in a lab. “I know,” he muttered as she began to cry. “I know, I’m sorry.”

 

Holding him, Lady sobbed into his shoulder. “I don’t want to go…”

 

“You have to,” Vincent held her quivering body still. “If not for yourself… then for us.”

 

Her response was only to cry more, staining his shirt with her salted tears. She knew she had to, this was for the best.. right? Even when she let go of him, he still hung onto her whispering apologies to try and make her feel better. Although they weren’t actually going to do anything, she still felt better at his attempts. Putting her hands on his shoulder, she pushed him back so that he could see her directly. 

 

“Promise me something,” she murmured. 

 

“Anything.”

 

“If I ever lose control.. if I ever let Jenova take over- you need to end it.” Her eyes shimmered in the darkness. “Please.” Even if she didn’t plead with her words, he saw the desperation in her eyes. 

 

“I understand,” he nodded, though he hated the request- it wasn’t too far-fetched for him to comprehend.

 

Taking his hands in hers, she smiled at how warm they felt. Looking at the man, one would assume his whole body was devoid of heat. But as she held him, she enjoyed the warmth of the blood rushing under his pale skin. 

 

“One more thing, can you bring Naminé in here?”

 

*******

 

“You wanted to see me?” Namine’s soft blue eyes looked back at Lady. Nervously, she picked at the lace trim of her dress until the woman in front of her spoke. 

 

“This is a request I want you to keep secret, okay?” Lady started slowly. “You can’t tell the others no matter what, this is for your ears only.” 

 

Naminé was curious as to what would demand such secrecy and when Lady began telling her, the blonde girl understood why it was meant to be a secret. Her eyes widening ever more as Lady continued to speak. 

 

*******

 

Gathered in the courtyard below, Professor Gast waited for her in a comfortable silence. This moment she dreaded was coming soon and she could do nothing to stop it. The aged scientists’ eyes snapped up as he heard a door open and close. Descending from the stairs was Lady, wearing her 1st Class garments and carrying her sword in her back. Dressed for battle.

 

“Professor,” she greeted the scientist. 

 

Soft, gentle brown eyes looked at her over the rim of his thick glasses. “Your eyes, you’re using Jenova’s cells?”

 

Nodding, she blinked. Every single detail of the environment around her was heightened, colors seemed amplified and more vivid, veins along the stems and leaves of her gardens were made visible to her- a whole new world through the vision of an alien’s sight.

 

“Repairing the optic nerve, that’s bold of you,” he said. “But also very foolish. Using its power is a bad idea no matter the circumstance.”

 

“Yes but I prefer to keep both eyes on the road,” she said as both of her irises glowed in the shade of the gazebo. “And it’s a long way to Midgar, right?” 

 

Professor Gast sighed. “I know this much be very hard for you. But you won’t be alone, I have a daughter in Midgar- her name is Aerith and I think you two will get along nicely.”

 

Lady smiled weakly. Another person that would get dragged into her unfortunate life.

 

“And she has other friends apparently. From her letters, they seem a ragtag bunch but she insists theyre very nice,” he continued. “There’s Cloud and Barrett..”

 

 _Cloud?_ She looked up, her eyes opening in wonder. _What are the chances?_  

 

“They all gather at a bar owned by a girl named Tifa, even though it’s in the slums- I’m assured it’s a wonderful place,” he smiled, a kind twinkle in his eyes. “You can always visit with them after treatment.”

 

 _Tifa too? Maybe.._ she gulped. _Maybe it won’t be so bad being back in Midgar?_

 

“Let’s go,” Lady whispered. “Before anyone else gets up.”

 

“You don’t want to say goodbye to anyone?” 

 

She thought about it then ultimately shook her head. “No,” she said softly. “Let them rest.”  _They’ve already seen enough of me._

 

Gast got up, dusting off his heavy coat to ward off the morning chill. “If you’re sure, you’ll always see them again.”

 

“Right,” she smiled. 

 

“Well, let me get the car ready, I’ll send Reno over to notify you once we leave.” Gast adjusted his glasses and exited towards the gates, leaving Lady to wait her turn. She took this time to survey her property and the damage from the night prior; some of her flowerbeds were ripped up along with the stone paths leading to and fro the garden. Thankfully, the wooden pillars on the gazebo remained mostly unharmed. All in all it seemed repairable and not too bad, this gave her some comfort at least. 

 

“Lady..?”

 

She whipped around and saw Roxas standing behind her, his blue eyes unusually darker as well as bags covering his under eyes. Poor boy, it looked like he didn’t sleep either. But who could blame him? After everything he just saw yesterday. Hesitantly, she held out her arms for him and he ran into them. Holding him close to her chest, she embraced him tightly and let go. 

 

“Roxas, you should be sleeping,” she whispered. 

 

“You were going to leave without telling us?” The side of his mouth pulled down into a frown.

 

“I didn’t want you guys to see me like this,” she relented her answer. Being seen for what she really was yesterday shamed her to no end. And it hurt even more that her tenants saw- all of them and then some. “I wanted to leave with some dignity.”

 

“Lady,” he grabbed her hands. “I, uh..” 

 

“Roxas, spit it out.”

 

“Do you think I can come visit you? I’ll bring ice cream,” he offered and she couldn’t help but sputter out laughter. 

 

“You’re so cute,” she chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Of course you can, I would have to check with the professor first though, okay?”

 

Roxas groaned, shaking off her hand from his head. “I wish you’d stop treating me like a kid,” he muttered under his breath. 

 

“Maybe when you’re older,” she winked and nudged him. 

 

His face then became dead serious, his eyes hardening as he locked her gaze with his. “Would you be my girlfriend if I was?”

 

This caught her off guard. With the way he was looking at her, there was no way he would be kidding, right? Clearing her throat, she laughed again but more nervously this time. “I.. I suppose? What’s this all of a sudden, Rox?”

 

“When I’m older, I’ll be able to protect you better,” the blond boy continued. “And I can look after you like the other guys do.” His resolve was clear. “Would you wait for me?”

 

“Roxas..” Before her response could come out in its entirety, she heard her name being called and she looked behind her to see Reno wave from the entrance. Turning back to Roxas, her very first tenant, she gave him a reassuring smile. “I have to go,” she said. Leaning down, she planted a kiss on his forehead before straightening up. “Go back to sleep,” she told him. “I’ll let you know when I arrive at Midgar.”

 

Roxas waved to her even as she turned her back to him, leaving towards the gates of the Alstroemeria just as the sun’s morning rays struck the sky. 

 

Walking past Reno, she stopped and turned to him. Taking his hands, she smiled. “Thanks for the fun times, Reno,” she said. 

 

Reno’s face softened. “Hey, this ain’t the last we’re seeing of ya, so don’t say stuff like that okay?” He squeezed her hands back. “We got plenty of more fun to do when you get back.”

 

“I know,” she nodded, to her side was the van they were taking to Midgar. It was armored and was colored a simple black; a bit incognito at a far distance but up close it seemed imposing. “This is it, I’ll see you later okay?”

 

“See ya later,” Reno squeezed her upper arm. “And keep in touch.”

 

“Of course,” she adjusted her sword so that she held it in her hand. Then with one last look back at the Alstroemeria, she bid all of it’s sleeping tenants a silent goodbye before hopping in the van and watching the apartments shrink in the distance as they drove off. 

 

**Six days had passed, and on the seventh day...**

 

“I believe Aerith has a crush on Cloud,” the professor sighed, clearly going through the pains of a worried father. “And this Tifa person might have a crush on him as well. I don’t even know this man! What if he’s a promiscuous young lad?”

 

Lady snorted, fiddling with her coat in her hands before shrugging it off. It was much too hot to have it on. “Cloud? Promiscuous? Yeah, right. The boy is as shy as a flower.”

 

“Oh,” the professor sighed gratefully. “Perhaps he isn’t so bad.”

 

Beyond her car seat window was a vast desert spanning until the mountains reached a peak. The area around Midgar was devoid of all life, thanks to the endless pumping of its resources for years and years due to Shinra’s influence. They had been traveling about a week and if it wasn’t for the professor’s cautious driving, they would’ve arrived sooner. But he insisted they take longer routes just in case anyone from Shinra was following them.

 

“Why didn’t we ask them to take us through a corridor of darkness?” She turned to the professor, finding his rigid posture at the driver’s seat to be hilarious- with his stick-straight back and both hands gripping the wheel until his knuckles were white. 

 

“Because Jenova is an interdimensional being,” he repeated himself. “Those corridors they use provide doorways to multiple worlds and there was a possibility that Jenova could use those to hop somewhere else where we can’t find you.”

 

She adjusted in her seat. “You’re the boss,” kicking back, she leaned her head against the window. Purposely letting the bumpy road roll her head against the glass in an attempt to ease the boredom. Looking at the rear view, she saw nothing but sand and dirt getting kicked up by the van’s tires. Taking out her phone, she looked to see if Noctis was online on Final Kingdom and alas, he was not. Not like she had signal way out here anyways; all she could do was send him a weapon via his messenger box in-game before exiting out and resorting to plain, old waiting. 

 

Glancing at her rear-view mirror again, she squinted when she saw two figures in the distance closing in rather fast. Getting up, her hand immediately flew to her sword and she waited till they got closer to make her deduction. 

 

And when she saw the red and white logo of Shinra gracing the sides of the motorbikes, it was already too late. 

 

“Get down!” Lady moved Gast’s head down as the back of their van lifted from the ground and tossed into the air. 

 

Thinking fast, she removed his seatbelt and unlocked the driver seat door to push both of themselves out. Holding onto Gast, she landed on her feet as the van crashed onto the ground behind her. The professor looked shocked as he adjusted his glasses and looked around. 

 

“Who was that?!” He exclaimed.

 

“Who do you think?” She growled, unsheathing her sword. “Shinra.”

 

“Impossible! I was being cautious!” 

 

“That doesn’t matter now!” Lady raised her sword as the two motorists headed towards her. Cutting them down, she grabbed one bike by the handle and caught it before it can speed off any further. Holding her sword to her side, she hopped on the bike and bid the professor to get behind her. Without any further arguments, Professor Gast hopped on the back seat and held onto her for dear life. Revving up the engine, she had one hand on the handle and the other on her sword. 

 

They quickly made their get away as dust kicked up in swirls behind them, the engine roaring to life as it sped down towards the road to Midgar. 

 

Soon she could see the large metal reactors with the old Shinra building gracing the middle of the city like some self-proclaimed god. Kicking it up a notch, she sped up. 

 

“To the left- they brought reinforcements!” Gast cried. 

 

Biting her lip, Lady looked up as a large helicopter rose from behind the craggy rocks like a beast waiting for its prey. Without warning, it launched missiles towards her and she narrowly dodged it; counting the amount of missiles the helicopter had left, she felt hope when she saw it only had two more. She could dodge those. 

 

Her hope faltered whenever she saw another helicopter closing in on the distance, then another, and another.

 

“They really pulled out the cavalry on this one,” she groaned in frustration. There was no way they would get through without a fight- unless… the bike halted to a stop as her boots skidded against the dirt. 

 

“What are you doing?” The scientist was bewildered. 

 

“You need to get to Midgar,” she hopped off the bike, pointing her sword to the metal city. “I can take these guys on, just go!”

 

“But-“

 

“No offense, Professor, but you’ll just be a liability,” she adjusted him towards the front end of the bike. “I’m 1st Class, remember? These guys won’t be a match for me.” She gave him her best reassuring smile. “I’ll meet you inside!”

 

Gast hesitated but finally nodded. “My daughter has a church she hangs out in Sector 5, find me there!” With that, the motor’s engine roared to life again and Lady watched him speed off towards Midgar. Waiting till he was but a speck on the horizon, she turned back to her pursuers and closed her eyes. 

 

Opening her eyes, the purple glow became more vivid and her eyes took in every sensation that was available to her at that instant. Even now she could hear the blood pumping faster when her slitted pupils made eye-contact with the soldiers.

 

She counted five helicopters, at least twenty soldiers- mostly 2nd Class, and some infantry belonging to 3rd Class. 

 

She could do this.

 

Getting into a stance, she raised her sword and lifted her hand as a fireball formed in it. 

 

She didn’t let them start first as she launched spells of magic towards the helicopters first, watching them catch fire with the pilots jumping out while screaming in agony- their noises being silenced when they landed head first onto the ground with a sickening crunch. The remaining soldiers were caught off guard by this and some even took a step back.

 

“Come on then,” she pointed her sword at them. “Stop wasting my time.”

 

*******

 

Gast avoided any major roads, looking for signs pointing towards Sector 5. Some of the people that he passed by looked at him with curiosity, why was a man with a bewildered look in his eye was wandering the slums? Finally he saw the entrance towards the fifth sector which was nothing more than a glorified hole blasted in the wall. 

 

Hurrying through, Gast saw the pointed tower of the church. The only standing building in the sector. Whether it was a testament to the faithful or just a very structurally sound building, he didn’t know and he didn’t care. All he cared about was getting to his destination. 

 

“Got to get to Aerith..!” He kept repeating to himself, stopping to rest on a fallen rusted beam before resuming his trek. Only a few meters away was the door to the church and he was so close. 

 

Then a voice made him stop in his tracks. 

 

“Professor Gast, that’s quite enough.”

 

Gast turned around to see a figure step out of the shadows. A figure clad in a fitted black suit with slicked black hair. 

 

“Tseng,” the professor gasped. “You.. you’re not supposed to be here!”

 

Tseng fixed the cuffs on his sleeves, crossing his arms and looked behind him at the abandoned church standing alone amidst the wrecked metal rubble. “Aerith is probably there right now.”

 

Gast’s eyes moved from the church over Tseng’s shoulder to the man himself. His body wasn’t made for such fast movements and even if he tried to make a break for it, the Turk’s stamina would surely outmatch him in no time.  

 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tseng frowned, reading Gast’s body language. “You and I both know I would catch up to you very quickly.”

 

“What do you want, Tseng?”

 

“I want Aerith to be safe.” Tseng’s icy exterior melted slightly at the mention of the girl’s name and Gast remembered how he was the one responsible for surveilling her ever since his wife, Ifalna, gave birth to Aerith. Since then Tseng spent more and more time with Aerith, and he undoubtedly grew an attachment to her. To the point where Gast suspected it was love, but Tseng would never outrightly admit that. The professor also knew that ever since Project SIREN caused a huge stir in the science department, the spotlight was taken off of Aerith, Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis- instead, all of the scientists were so captivated at the prospect at bribing Jenova into a vessel that would serve as Shinra’s finest weapon.

 

Project SIREN was their crowning achievement. To make a living god a slave to their machinations. 

 

Tseng knew this, and so did Gast. As long as that SOLDIER 1st Class woman was in commission, everyone in the science department would want to keep her in chains until they needed her valuable powers. In truth, he was relieved at least his daughter would be left alone but that left Lady to fend off anyone who would use her power for their own desires.

 

“If you get that soldier in here, they’ll want Aerith too. Do her and yourself a favor and come with me quietly,” Tseng tapped his shiny black shoe against the dusty floor of the sector. “I’m sure the two of us don’t want anything to happen to Aerith, right?” 

 

Gast hesitated, licking his lips that suddenly became dry. Of course he didn’t want his only daughter to be in the line of danger again, ever since his wife died she was all he had. But he didn’t want to leave Lady to her own devices either. He promised those three back at the apartments that he would watch out for her.

 

Stepping back, Gast made a break for it in the other direction and Tseng sighed. Holding a hand to his ear, he muttered a few words and watched as the old scientist froze as a dart struck him in the leg. Falling to the ground, Gast was frozen still as his leg twitched. Kneeling down, Tseng took the dart from him and observed it- the fluid inside was drained, now flowing through the scientists’ body. 

 

“It’s only a temporary paralytic,” Tseng assured him. Gast struggled to form words as his lips felt stiff. “I’m sorry, but I’m doing this for Aerith,” the Turk’s eyes grew cold again. “I won’t let Shinra hurt her ever again.”

 

*******

 

Pants left Lady’s lips as she doubled over to catch her breath. All around her were signs of violent carnage- remains of the battle that just took place. Swallowing, she straightened up and looked around. Fire and smoke topped the grounds as well as the remains of the helicopters that pursued her. Sticking her sword into the ground, she used it to hold herself up- it was getting harder to breathe through all the smoke erupting from the destroyed machines.

 

Using Jenova’s power was inevitable for her sight; the battle along with the internal struggle of keeping that alien under control took a toll on her that only the adrenaline of battle could stave off momentarily. But now she was suffering the after effects.

 

Soon, the wind picked up and waved away the smoke. Taking her sword, she started making her way towards Midgar and only stopping when she heard a gunshot. 

 

Looking down, she saw blood blooming beneath the dark fabric of her armor. Right on her abdomen was a piercing pain that made her wince when she touched it. Spinning around to look for the person who hit her, she froze and her eyes widened at the sight before her. 

 

Standing a few meters away was Professor Hojo, the gun still held in his hand.

 

“Hojo,” Lady gritted her teeth. “You got horrible aim, old man.” Using her sword to hold herself up again, she let out a frail whine when she tried to move. 

 

“Actually,” Hojo walked over to her, tossing the gun aside as he knelt down in front of her. “I hit exactly where I wanted.” His smile grew wider when he saw the glowing purple of her irises. “Beautiful, these are the eyes I always wanted to see.”

 

Hawking back, she spit a mix of blood and saliva onto his face- staining his glasses. 

And much to her horror, she saw Hojo wipe off the spit and lick it off his fingers. 

 

“Your DNA is exquisite, my pet,” he sneered. “If only you weren’t so much trouble,” he grabbed her by her chin and turned her face, observing her like the specimen she was. “But then again, that’s half the reason why I admire you so.”

 

Nausea filled her stomach and she immediately slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me, you disgusting man!!” Getting up slowly, she held a hand to try and staunch the bleeding on her stomach. “This was all you and those other damned scientist’s fault!” 

 

Anger welled up inside her and burst forth like a fountain. “You made me into a monster!!” She screamed, feeling hot tears run down her face. 

 

To her added frustration, Hojo only laughed harder. “Me?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Don’t forget it was you that asked for this in the first place. So eager to partake in the new experiments,” his brown eyes seemed to suck her into his whirlpool of madness. “You weren’t the first, but you certainly were the last. I’ve never seen such fantastic results!” 

 

He circled her. “And to think, all this time you’ve been absorbing the power of those around you. Like a siphon. This is terrific, you truly are remarkable!” 

 

His words stung her. _A siphon. A glorified leech. Was I really made to just destroy..?_ “No,” she said aloud in response to her wavering consciousness. “I wanted power.. to protect the ones I love.”

 

“‘Love’? Don’t be foolish girl,” Hojo seemed irritated. “Who cares about that nonsense. As you said, my dear creation. You don’t need such a thing. You are a perfect monster.”

 

Something inside of her snapped and the next thing she knew- she had her sword plunged deep into his chest. 

 

Her face was close to his and she watched his face go pale as the blood drained from him. Then, much to her displeasure, he began laughing. An eruption of unsettling noises, akin to a deranged animal that had met its maker. 

 

How ironic. 

 

Sliding her sword from his flesh, the blood spilt into the ground like a vessel of liquid that was popped. Stepping back, she stared at Hojo- who laughed until they became wheezes and then slow gasps of air that finally died out. Swallowing the saliva that accumulated in her mouth, she swore she could taste iron. Like she was drinking the blood that was now splattered onto her chest and face. 

 

It was done. Hojo was dead. Finally. For a moment, she felt like she wanted to laugh too but ultimately she decided not to. For _his_ laughter was still fresh in her memory and she had a feeling she would never forget that horrible sound. 

 

Either way, it didn’t matter. Hojo. Was. Dead. It was over. 

 

Ripping her eyes from his body, she set her sights on Midgar and limped towards the metal city. As she forced her feet to move, she heard glass crunch beneath her boot and she looked down. Shards of broken glass was reflecting the bright sun and she saw green liquid oozing from some of its edges. Lifting her hand slowly, she noticed the same green liquid dripping from her open wound. 

 

Forcing herself to keep moving, she used her sword to help her along the long, stretching path to Midgar with Hojo’s laughter still ringing loudly in her ears. 


	66. LXVI

Terra parked his glider somewhere he couldn’t be seen easily, then hopped off and let the vehicle return to his hand as his Keybalde before it disappeared completely. Taking a moment to look around him, he surveyed the gloomy environment. 

 

Decrepit walls of rusting metal were made colorful with graffiti detailing obscenities that he dared not read aloud. Smells of gasoline burning along with ripe earth filled his nostrils; every area he looked at was always shadowed in some way and he could only squint to find his bearings. Slowly, he became adjusted in the darkness and looked around until he spotted a man in tattered clothing holding a lighter to the cigarette clenched in between his teeth. When Terra approached him, the man blew a cloud of smoke towards his face. 

 

Waving it away, Terra coughed a bit and the man looked amused. Even more so when he saw how strange the Keyblade wielder’s attire was compared to most he had seen that day. 

 

“Whaddaya want, little boy?” The older man said through another exhale of smoke then chuckled. “What am I sayin’, if you’re here then you’re only after one thing.”

 

“Where is ‘here’?” Terra was dumbfounded. 

 

“Tch,” the man shook his head. “You mean you really ain’t know? Where’s your momma, boy?” When Terra looked like he was about to leave, the old man chuckled and dropped his cigarette, stomping it out with his worn-out boot. “Relax, I’m just teasin’. Yer in the red light district.”

 

A blush crept up on Terra’s face. “Red light.. district. This place is..?”

 

Rolling his eyes, the man sighed loudly. “Where you get your pickle polished, your carrot waxed, your dick sucked n’ fuc-“

 

“Okay I get it, thank you!” Terra’s face felt uncontrollably hot. “I’m looking for someone here.”

 

“Heh, aren’t we all?”

 

“Not that,” Terra shook his head. “A girl. She told me to meet her here.” When Terra told the man of the description of who he was looking for, the old man stuck another cigarette into his grinning mouth. 

 

“Heh heh, that one? Pretty young thing but also pretty irritable. Came in here like a storm and when the boys, thinkin’ she was one of them Honey Bee service girls, came ‘round asking her how much she charges.. well let’s just say they definitely got more than they bargained for.” 

 

Terra’s frown deepened. “What happened to her?!”

 

“Settle down,” the man raised an eyebrow. “She fought ‘em off. Saw her limping off down that road,” he pointed with his lit cigarette. “Probably at the Honey Bee Inn.” 

 

“How will I know when I find it?” 

 

The man chuckled, “Oh, even you’ll know when you reached it. Good luck, little man.”

 

Terra thanked him, glancing down at the growing pile of used cigarette butts at his feet as well as the overwhelming fog of condensed tobacco. Following the street down, he soon saw flashing lights of different neon colors light up the surrounding metal fixtures. He heard cheerful music play and he smelled the scent of overpowering perfume; soon, he heard giggling followed with cheers from large groups at the end of the road.

 

Girls wearing fitted black and yellow leotards with small translucent wings stitched to the back of their corset were waving and calling men over with wide smiles on their lips. Their face was heavily done with makeup and some of them winked when Terra made eye contact with them. Gulping, he quickly looked away and let the guys behind him pass him up to get to the front of the large line that was forming in front of a tall building that was the source of all the neon lights. 

 

One of the girls in the bee-themed tights spotted Terra and whispered to the girl standing beside her. Nodding, the girl waltzed through the crowd- smiling at all the nearby guys but ultimately ignoring their advances as she approached Terra. 

 

“Hey, come with me,” the girl said, her strawberry blonde hair tied up in a plaited ponytail. Wrapping her hands around his bicep, Terra couldn’t help but be bewildered. 

 

“Uh, no I’m just looking for someone,” he tried to pull away but the girl wouldn’t let go. At the moment, he couldn’t comprehend how strong this girl actually was- her grip felt like an iron vise. 

 

“I know,” she said quietly and tugged him towards the building. Displayed proudly on the front of the building were small figures of cartoonish bees buzzing around a sign that spelled out ‘Honey Bee Inn’ with bright pink neon font. It made Terra dizzy with all of the flashing lights and heavy perfume in the air; he was so intoxicated that he could almost ignore the cries of jealousy from the other men who tried to enter the building. 

 

“Hey no fair! How come he gets to go in?” One said.

 

“Because!” A girl’s voice sounded sickly sweet as she pushed a man back. “He has a member’s pass!” 

 

“A member’s pass...? But I don’t actually have one.” Terra raised an eyebrow and was quickly hushed by the girl holding him. 

 

They soon entered and the air was cool on his skin, the flashing neon had disappeared and was replaced by the shine of a large brass chandelier overhead. Perfume still hovered heavily in the air and it only made his head hurt even more. The girl holding his hand lead him towards a room, and only then did he snap out of his daze. 

 

“Woah, wait, what are you doing?” He looked down as the girl took out a key from in between her breasts and stuck it in the lock. 

 

She looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Relax,” she rolled her eyes, “you’re not really my type.” Opening the door, she ushered for him to get in and when he took too long, she stepped behind him and pushed him in- closing the door shut when he stumbled into the room. 

 

Inside, Terra shivered at how cold it was. There were no bright lights in the room like it was outside, instead it was only a soft, deep red that washed over the furniture, floor, and walls. Instead of the heavy perfume he smelled outside, here it was only the faint scent of flowers; after moments of trying to discern which flower it was, he recognized it as roses. In the middle of the room was a circular bed with a canopy covering most of it, save for a sliver in the middle that revealed a woman’s frame laying down amidst a heavy layer of pillows. 

 

When he cleared his throat, the figure moved and he heard fabric rustling as the curtain over the bed drew back a little. His eyes lit up in recognition when he saw a head poke out from behind the sheets.

 

“Lady,” he walked over to her and she drew the curtain further back as he came closer. 

 

“Terra.. you got my message,” she smiled weakly, her voice slurred and heavy with exhaustion. 

 

“Are you okay?” He sat beside her and inspected her. Lady was only wearing a silken nightgown that was a tad bit tight on her and much too short. When she shifted on her heels, he saw a bit of her underwear and he tried to tear his eyes up and away.. but only having them witness how her chest rose and fell, with the top of her breasts pushing against the thin fabric. He forced himself to look further up but the sight of her face only made him even more rigid. If it wasn’t for the red lighting present in the room, he would’ve assumed she was blushing all over her body- but upon closer inspection, he saw only the apples of her cheeks had a darker hue than the red light. Her lips were parted as she let out soft sighs and gasps periodically, and she was looking up at him through a layer of lashes that kept fluttering down like feathers let loose in the wind. It looked like she was in heat, or was it something else? 

 

Terra pinched his thigh. He needed the pain to remind himself to keep his head straight. 

 

“Sorry,” she spoke in soft whispers, her hair cascading over her body and framed how delicate she looked in a layer of silk. “I’m running a bit of a fever,” she said. “Just.. trying to cool down. That’s why I’m wearing this, plus the girls didn’t want me soiling their beds with my dirty armor. One of them gave me this, but I don’t think it fits,” she tugged on the nightgown and Terra clenched his fists tighter when he saw the fabric pull back against her skin. It looked so soft. Soft enough to touch. 

 

“Why are you in a place like this?” He asked her and stopped when he heard a high-pitched moan come from another room. “You shouldn’t be here!”

 

“Because it’s safe.. you can’t get in without a membership. Plus the security is tight and Shinra would never think to search for me here..” Lady’s eyes widened and she moved closer towards him, so close that their noses almost touched. “That’s right, I almost forgot! I need your help!” 

 

“Y-yeah, what is it?” Terra didn’t back away.

 

“When I got here, they took Gast away, I’m not sure where exactly.. but I need to get him back! He’s my only hope, I need to find him,” she gasped and winced, holding a hand to her lower abdomen. Terra instinctively reached for her and at the touch of her skin, he drew his hand back- surprised at how hot she felt. Like touching a boiling kettle. 

 

“Your skin.. why are you so hot?” 

 

She chuckled slightly at how he worded that. “I told you I was running a fever..” her eyes shimmered in the darkness and he realized that they were a dim purple. “Silly..” her hand reached out to touch his cheek and he found himself enjoying the warmth. “I need you to do something for me, please?” 

 

Her voice was as soft as the sheets he was sitting on, as plush as her silk nightgown. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she leaned in close to his ear to whisper her desired task. 

 

Just as his head was clouded outside with the overwhelming smells and lights, he felt engulfed by the scent coming from her skin. A pleasant, sultry smell that made him feel like he was being submerged into an endless abyss of luscious sheets and pillows, with her scent surrounding every inch of his body. When she stroked the back of his head and continued whispering in his ear, he closed his eyes and absentmindedly ran his hand down her back and down towards her ass. A surprised gasp left her lips and he snapped out of his daze once more.

 

“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered. His head still feeling heavy as his senses overflowed. “I don’t know what came over me.” 

 

After a moment, Lady placed her hand on his shoulders and leaned her face close to his. Her breath smelled sweet and he found himself wondering what her lips tasted like- thoughts that he tried to shove from his mind but quickly returned when she pressed her lips against his. 

 

Like a fragile wall of glass made to hold back a thrashing river, something snapped inside of Terra and his confidence returned to his movements as one hand fondled her ass while another squeezed her thigh. Whispering her name against her lips, he held her securely by the waist and lifted her onto his lap. 

 

Lust now filled his head, making it heavy like rain from a storm. The only thing he could think of was how beautiful she was under the red shade, half of her body covered in darkness by the curtains concealing the bed; which only made him want to expose her to that piece of light even more so he could see her inch by inch. 

 

“Terra,” she kept murmuring his name and it only served to make him keen on letting loose even more. Sensations like these were so rare for him, he wanted to feel this to the extremes to see how _really_ _good_ it could feel. “Terra, I really need you to do this for me,” her hands grasped his face and she could see his eyes half-lidded with lust. “It can only be you.” 

 

He was completely entranced. “Me?” 

 

She nodded, her eyes like magical tethers that held him down. Not like he wanted to move from his position anyways. “Yes, will you do this for me?” When he nodded, she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “Good, now listen carefully this time, alright?” Taking a moment, she muttered something under her breath and Terra thought she was talking to him; but it was a conversation that she seemed to be having with herself only. 

 

Leaning in once more, she whispered her task and it became the only thing Terra heard. All other noises were canceled out and it was the only thought that formed in his head. When she leaned back, she had the sweetest smile on her face. “I hope you don’t mind, I really need your help.” 

 

“Of course not,” Terra built up his resolve. “I’ll get it, so don’t worry about a thing.”

 

“You’re the best!” She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Be careful okay? Then we can go rescue Gast together and then.. then maybe I can live a normal life.”

 

A normal life. He thought back to his proposal to her the other day, of coming back with him to the Land of Departure. 

 

Resting his hands on her hips, he looked her in the eyes. “Would you consider coming back with me after your treatment? Remember what I told you? I can protect you in my world, I promise.” 

 

Her smile grew sad. “I.. you would still want me around after all that’s happened? Are you sure?”

 

“I am, trust me.” His hand cradled the back of her head and he pushed her towards him so he could hug her tightly. “I’ll always be around to save you,” her promised her and she buried her nose into his neck, inhaling his natural musk. 

 

“Terra,” she breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

 

*******

 

Walls of ancient granite greeted Terra upon arrival; green roots twisted between the rocks to meld them together, a force of nature meeting another to ensure a compromise that would protect what was inside. Walking past them, a large wooden bridge swayed carelessly in the wind and looked less than sturdy. Stepping onto it, he waited till the rotten wood creaked thoroughly before putting his full weight on it; a couple more steps and he finally was sure that he wouldn’t just fall right through so he continued across the bridge carefully. 

 

Looking up, he admired how tall the structure he approached was. Layers of stone stacked upon each other until it formed a large pyramid that towered over the surrounding forest. Once at the end, he ascended a flight of stairs that seemed to tremble under his feet after ages of not receiving any type of contact from humans. This place seemed so old.. how did Lady know about it?

 

Inside reeked of dirt heavy with the scent of rainwater that leaked through the cracks in the walls. In between etched columns that formed a makeshift hall was a stone platform with spherical depressions. 

 

Lady’s voice echoed in his head: 

_“You’ll need to access the temple with your Keyblade.. usually the keystone would be required but I’m confident you can do it, right? Terra?”_

 

Holding out his hand, a Keyblade of white appeared in it and he pointed it towards the platform. A beam of light shot forth and a keyhole appeared above the table, glowing brightly before dying down. All around him, Terra felt the temple tremor and stones moving beneath his feet; when he looked down again he found himself in a labyrinth of sorts. His eyes couldn’t comprehend what he saw at first- stairs winding up towards the ceiling with some pathways dropping right off the ledge into the dark abyss below. A strange, multi-colored mist coated the stones and he sensed old magic hovering in the air. This place was curious and he hasn’t seen anything like it in his travels; when he walked down the stairs in front of him, he noticed the tips of his bangs levitating upwards and that’s when he realized he was actually staring up at the ground. 

 

“Hah,” Terra played with the tips of his hair. “Ven’s never gonna believe me.” Continuing to navigate his way through the ancient maze, his head felt like it was spinning with the way his paths seemed to twist and turn, upside and down, left and right. 

 

He was sure hours had already passed but at the same time it felt like only seconds, time was distorted here and would explain why some of the rocks seemed freshly paved while others were on the verge of crumbling altogether. And finally, it seemed that he found his way when he sensed an aura of great magic calling him. 

 

_“Be careful, please. I want you to come back safe.”_ He held his hand over his heart, he promised her that he would come back to her unscathed. 

 

Approaching a darkened tunnel, he heard something heavy barrel towards him and when his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, he immediately ducked as a hollowed out rock barreled over him. There was no time to catch his breath as more of the rocks kept following him and thus he maneuvered past them, ducking and rolling as the rocks nearly crushed him. When at last, he reached a safe area where the falling boulders no longer threatened to squash him flat, he took a second to breathe. 

 

This place really was dangerous, she wasn’t kidding. 

 

After another long trek of dark tunnels and narrow corridors, Terra came across a dimly lit room kept alight with the flicker of flames that should’ve died out long ago. He passed by murals depicting people using magic to coax crops into growing from the soil, and to heal the sick as well as providing light for rural villages. He wanted to stop and admire more of the work but he shook his head; reminding himself that someone was waiting for him. Continuing down the muraled wall, he found another stone platform waiting for him at the end. 

 

Atop of it, was a holographic projection of the very temple he was in. Cocking his head, he wondered what he would do now. There were no other paths leading away from this room, save for the one he just used to enter here. Raising his hand, he prodded the projection with a finger and halted when it shimmered under his touch. With a deep inhale, he stuck his whole hand in and was shocked at the pure magic energy that shot up his arm from where he made contact. 

 

Instinctively, he pulled his arm back as the projection disappeared and he felt something cool and round in his hand. 

 

Opening his palm, his eyes widened when he looked down at the item within his grasp. Huge amounts of magic surged from it and the aura it gave off was something he had never experienced. Before he could examine it further, the temple began to quake again- this time it felt like the very ground that it was built on was starting to be ripped apart. 

 

Turning around, the path he entered from became blocked with falling debris. He had to think fast or this temple would also serve as his graveyard. 

 

Summoning his Keyblade to his hand, he launched open a portal that lit up the entire hall and he didn’t even let it form completely before jumping through it. With a large gust of wind and dust, Terra landed face first into the ground and he quickly turned back around just in time to see the temple shrink until it left a gaping crater in the middle where it once stood. 

 

Panting, he looked at the item in his hand again and stood up to dust off the dirt that got on his pants. 

 

“This is what she wants?” He was confused as to why she needed it, he didn’t even know what the item was nor its purpose. All he knew was that Lady needed it and so he summoned his glider to return back to her as fast as possible. 

 

*******

 

Lady’s eyes lit up with delight when she saw Terra walk through the door, his face weary but a smile was on his lips nonetheless. She quickly got up to run to him and threw her arms around his neck. 

 

“You’re back!” She stood back and examined him. “And safe, well-“ she reached up to take a piece of dried slate from his hair, “-maybe a little dirty but that’s okay.” 

 

“I got what you wanted,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out the smooth sphere he kept there. Holding it up to her, he saw her eyes flash. She reached up to take it from him and she turned around, holding the object towards the ceiling. Red light bounced off the sphere’s smooth, black surface and both she and him were entranced at how beautiful it looked. Like a large black pearl fetched from the ocean’s deepest trenches from the farthest corners of the world. 

 

It looked completely harmless. 

 

Holding it close to her heart, she turned around with joy filling her purple eyes. “Thank you,” she smiled warmly. “This.. this will help me so much and it’s all thanks to you, Terra.”

 

Looking at her eyes, he was reminded of the question he wanted to ask earlier but never got the chance to. Right now was as good a time as any. 

 

“Lady,” he said. “Why are your eyes like that..?”

 

One of her hands reached up to cover her right eye. “Ah, this? I’m just using Jenova’s cells to repair my eyesight. I’m sure you can imagine, but it’s very inconvenient to be blind.”

 

“But that means you’re keeping that thing awake when you use its power, right?” Terra frowned. “Come back with me, you won’t have to use Jenova’s power.” He tried reaching for her and she backed away.

 

She looked hurt. “No, we have to save Gast, remember?” 

 

“I’ll worry about that, just tell me what to do with that thing and I’ll get it done. You needed that to save him right? What does it even supposed to do?” His eyes glanced down at the orb in her hand and she swiftly hid it behind her back. 

 

“No, I have to be the one to do it. Just trust me, please!” 

 

“Lady..” Terra sighed heavily. This was getting him nowhere. “Come on, why are you being so stubborn? Can’t _you_ trust _me_? I got it for you remember, so I’m sure I can handle any task you give me.” His brows furrowed together as she walked away to place the black orb down, nestling it in a box that she closed tightly. Following her, he got more confused and frustrated at her attitude, “I really don’t like the idea of you using Jenova. Just come back with me and my friend Aqua can help take care of you or we can tell the others what’s going on and-”

 

“Terra,” she turned around and looked up at him through her lashes. “I never got to thank you properly after all you’ve done, I just feel so guilty.” Placing a hand on his, she led him towards the bed. When her legs hit the edge, she let herself fall back and pulled him down with her. 

 

“Lady-” He was instantly hushed with a finger over his lips and he watched as she got up and rolled on top of him. Her hips positioned dangerously close over his crotch as she stretched her body to the side to fetch something. Pulling back, he saw a piece of black ribbon dangling from her hand. 

 

“You don’t like my eyes right now, right?” She brought the ribbon to her eyes and wrapped it around her head until it served as a blindfold. “Then.. how about this?” 

 

His mouth became dry and he felt that sensation from earlier, his head was spinning and everything was attacking his senses in the most sanguinal way. Swallowing, his hand reached up to feel her thighs; admiring the way the nightgown glided over her skin as he slid it up; his hands were continuously going up on their own accord, his lust from earlier came back to him with a vengeance. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to _fuck_ her. 

 

“You can-” His hand stopped when she spoke. “You can be as rough with me as you want.” Reaching up, she pulled down the thin straps of her nightgown until it slipped off her shoulders. She let it fall until she could slip her arms from them and the lace hem dropped to reveal her bare tits. “If it’s you,” she murmured and it made the blood rush through his ears. “I don’t mind.”

 

Terra sat up, bracing her against his lap as he fondled her left breast with one hand while sucking the nipple of the other. A small whine left her lips and from the other room, he could hear a loud, muffled moan along with sounds of skin slapping against skin. Never in a million years did he think he would end up at a place like this with a woman like her in his lap moaning his name so sweetly. 

 

Gripping her ass, he made her grind her hips against him and she held his shoulders to brace herself while she bit down on her bottom lip. Leaning down to his ear, she whispered with the tone of a hundred alluring sirens, “Let me touch you too, please?”

 

That ‘please’ was the last thing on his mind as he scrambled to take off the intersecting straps holding his armor piece on his arm; tossing it aside, it made a loud _clang_ when it reached the floor and the next thing to go was the tight fabric he wore as a shirt. Peeling it up, Lady turned her head down as more of his abdomen was revealed for her to touch and enjoy and right when it was off his head, she leaned in for a kiss to which he delightfully obliged. Their tongues swirled as she fumbled with the belt holding up his pants and when she felt the outline of his hardening shaft, she pulled it out and thumbed the head. Pre-cum coated her finger as she swirled it around the head and he twitched under her touch. 

 

Angling herself on his lap, she flicked the glans against her folds and giggled when she felt him tremble at the action. His hands found their way onto her thighs and he gripped them, holding them tighter when she repeated that action over and over again until he could see his knuckles go white. Gripping his dick with her fist, she swirled the head into her pussy- not fully entering but enough so that he could feel her and how warm and wet she was. Terra was struggling not to grab her by her wrists and fuck her against the bed and have her moans drown out the ones he heard next door. 

 

“I’m going to put it in now, alright?” She whispered, walking him through it as she lifted herself up then lowered herself down ever so slowly. A shaky whine left her throat as she tried to steady herself and navigate at the same time. The only gripe he had was that she was going. So. Fucking. _Slow_. 

 

Her words echoed in his head: _“You can be as rough with me as you want.”_

It was then that his hands gripped her waist tightly and slammed himself up to her with as much force as he could muster. 

 

Lady let out a surprised moan and she leaned into him, wrapping her fingers in his hair as he moved his hands to the underside of her thighs. Lifting her up, he bucked his hips up to thrust into her and she was caught off guard by how suddenly he progressed. Usually she would want to ease herself into it with a little more foreplay, but she was being led astray with his lust binding her to him like chains. 

 

All she could do was feel him but oh, how she wished to see him. What face was he making? What did his eyes look like? Were they darkened with lust? Was his face flushed? She wondered these in her head as she felt his arms and how they flexed everytime he brought her body down to sheathe his dick inside her, in and out- repeating this motion until she felt him stop. Her body was tossed onto her stomach and she listened to the sheets rustling; she didn’t know where he was but she quickly found out when she felt him grab her hips again to angle her ass up. Holding his palm flat against her back, he made sure her back was curved perfectly before he thrusted himself into her again.

 

Her moans were cut short by the pillow she bit down on but she felt that being torn away as Terra leaned down. “Let them hear, or do I need to remind you what type of place we’re in?”

 

Gulping, her response was cut short as he continued to fuck her from the back with his hands holding her securely in place which she was grateful for because otherwise she would be sliding up the sheets with the way he forcefully pushed himself against her. 

 

Terra was usually a reserved person, not wanting conflict or otherwise unless someone he cared about was threatened. But right now, in this dark room with their bodies painted in the color of wanton lust, in a district so obscure inside a corrupt city- he was allowing her to see another side of him. A side that was hidden from most, almost like he was scared to show how much he wanted to dominate, how much he craved power much like he craved the feeling of her wrapped around his cock. 

 

When all he heard was his skin pounding against her ass and it was loud enough to drown out the other noises, he felt his entire being overcome with adrenaline. This was euphoric. _This was bliss._  

 

All those lessons he was taught about self-control and will- right now he didn’t give a shit. He was enjoying the here and now. In fact, he was so caught up with how good he felt that he failed to notice how cold her body felt now prior to earlier when it felt like it was burning on the inside. 

 

Sweat formed above his brow as he reached over and pulled her up, holding her by her elbow with her body upright while his other hand fondled her breast. Her body arched away from him while her ass stayed where it was, feeling every part of her jolt as Terra fucked her continuously with such hunger that he withheld for so long. On her end, every nerve in her body screamed with pleasure, the skin under his fingers tingled under his touch and her body just wanted more of him. 

 

Setting her back down, he flipped her over and knelt down close enough so he could flick her nipple with his tongue before nibbling and then sucking down on it, leaving a loud popping noise when he released it. He stopped and he saw her croon her head in question. 

 

“Why did you stop?” She asked, her chest shone under the light and was rising and falling as much as his was. 

 

“If I go any further,” he panted, running his hands through his hair. “I’m gonna cum.”

 

A hand cradled his face and a smug smirk played on her ripe lips. “Isn’t that the point?”

 

Taking that invitation, he let himself sink back into her. Letting himself feel the walls of her pussy clamp up tightly around him as her nails scratched at his back while she moan his name in breathless whispers near his ear. Terra soon felt himself reach his climax and with the amount of fluid that came from her, he assumed she was at hers too. With one final push, he quickly pulled out and caught his breath as he felt his cum shoot out onto her. 

 

Rolling to the side, his arm covered his eyes as he gasped for air. This was normally how he felt after an intense sparring session: lungs devoid of oxygen and greatly needing it, body aching from all the erratic movement which he knew he would be sore from.. but this was definitely better than any sparring session he’s been through. 

 

Catching his breath, he turned his head to his left to look at her just as she took off her blindfold and a tear slid down her cheek. Terra rose and leaned close with alarm in his eyes; he saw that one of her eyes returned back to a milky color while the other remained a glowing purple. Peering at him, another tear ran down from the eye that was blind. 

 

“Terra...” she whispered with great strain, sound like she was being choked. “Help.. me...” 

 

“I’m right here,” he held her face, wiping her tears. “What’s wrong, talk to me!” 

 

Closing her eyes, she took a moment before opening them up again and he saw that both of her eyes were once again purple. “It’s nothing,” she caught his hand, smiling as she kissed the tips of his fingers that still had her tears on it. “Thank you again.” She raised her head to kiss him on the tip of his nose, then his forehead, and finally his lips. Leaning back down, she motioned for him to lay beside her on the plethora of pillows littering the oversized bed. 

 

“Lady,” Terra pulled the blanket over them, letting the chilled satin cool down his skin. “You can always rely on me, you know that? I’ll be there when you need me.”

 

Lady rested her arm against his bicep, looking up and watched his long eyelashes flutter then close slowly. “I know.” 

 

The Keyblade wielder soon shut his eyes completely and fell asleep with a content smile on his face. 

 

**...**

 

Terra jolted awake when he heard his phone blasting. Sitting up, he blinked a couple times and rubbed his eyes before squinting to look around for his cell. He leaned over the bed, following the noise and shook his pants until the phone slipped from the pockets. Snatching it, he swiped to answer and held it up to his ear.

 

“Hello-”

 

_“Where have you been?! I called you ten times already!”_ Riku’s voice greeted him urgently and Terra winced at how loud he was. 

 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry,” he grinned sheepishly, “I was, uh, busy.” Glancing behind him, he expected to see Lady still sound asleep but only found empty sheets with no body on or in it. He was confused. When did she leave? How long has it been?

 

_“Ugh, well you need to come back to the apartments and be quick about it. There’s an emergency.”_

 

“Why?” He was fully awake now. “What happened?”

 

_“Just hurry back, it’s better if you hear it in person.”_  

 

Getting up, Terra dressed quickly and grabbed anything that was his off the ground. Walking beside the table where Lady kept her box with the item she requested, he stopped and noticed the box was opened and the contents emptied. She had taken it, whatever it was. Paying it no more mind, he exited the room and hurried to get back to the Alstroemeria. 

 

*******

 

“Calm down, professor, you’re safe here.”

 

Angeal handed Gast a glass of water which the scientist gulped down eagerly. Setting it down, they noticed how much his hand shook even as he held it down flat on the table. 

 

Gast turned his attention to Sephiroth, “Thank you for saving me, my boy.”

 

“Of course,” Sephiroth replied. “Take deep breaths, Professor Gast.”

 

The scientist looked ragged, his breathing irregular as he kept pushing up his glasses even when it was already on the uppermost part of the bridge of his nose. His usually pristine lab coat was stained with dirt and spots of blood, and even his hair was a mess when it was known to be combed back in a neat fashion. 

 

“What’s going on here?” Terra approached the gazebo and was met with eyes of Riku, Angeal, and Sephiroth. 

 

“Where were you?” Riku frowned at him. 

 

“It doesn’t matter, you told me it was an emergency, remember?”

 

Riku shook his head and muttered something under his breath before gesturing at Gast. “He’s been pretty beat up. Sephiroth wrestled him back from some Shinra goons.”

 

“Are you okay?” Terra turned his attention to Gast.

 

Nodding, Gast gave him a weak smile. “Don’t worry about me, we need to worry about your landlady.”

 

“What? Why? What happened to her?” 

 

“It was my fault,” the scientists’ eyes shimmered with sadness. “Had I been more careful, Shinra might have never found us.” He buried his face in his hands, “Had I not pushed the Jenova project.. This all might have never happened.”

 

“Professor,” Sephiroth put a hand on his shoulder. “Tell us what happened.”

 

Looking up at the silver-haired soldier, Gast sniffed. “I heard it from the other scientists before they locked me up. Hojo set out to follow us the minute we left here with the intent to inject Lady with the last of Jenova’s cells.”

 

“Why?” 

 

Gast reached over to take another sip of water from his glass but saw that it was as empty as he left it before and set it down again. “Why else? To let Jenova take over her completely.”

 

Terra froze in place and a chill ran up his spine. “But I just saw her earlier.”

 

All of the men turned to look at him with apprehensiveness and Gast got up, approaching him slowly. “Are you sure that was still your Lady?”

 

The brunet met his eyes and now that it was brought into question, he wasn’t so sure. 

 

“What did she say?”

 

“She asked me to get something for her,” Terra said slowly.

 

“What was it?”

 

“A black orb, from some type of ancient temple,” when Terra said this, Gast’s eyes widened immensely and his hands began to shake uncontrollably. 

 

“You.. you gave her the black materia?” Even the scientist’s voice was trembling. “Do you know what you’ve done?!”

 

“What’s black materia?” Riku interjected. 

 

“There is only one of its kind,” Gast wrung his wrists. “It contains a power no one should possess, the most destructive of black magicks. Thus why the Ancients locked it away in a temple so no one could ever retrieve it. What else did she say?”

 

Terra’s heart began to cloud with doubt and he felt it sink. “She said she needed me to get it. She said it could only be me that could do it.”

 

“That wasn’t Lady who needed it,” Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed. “And she didn’t need you-” he pointed at his hand where he usually gripped his weapon, “-she needed your Keyblade.”

 

“No,” Terra shook his head, he didn’t want to believe it. “No, that can’t be.”

 

“Think about it,” Angeal added. “Out of all of us here, why did she decide to call you?” 

 

“That doesn’t matter now,” Gast’s body was turned from them and towards the ocean where he saw the sky darkening with the clouds swirling into massive formations. “We’re too late.”

 

Waves churned and thrashed against the beach; in the far distance they could all see a rift in the sky open up with green lights pulling it back forcefully and in the midst of the starry galaxy was a massive asteroid that was slowly getting larger and larger- collecting all of the debris close to it to add to its size. As far as their eyes could see, the heavy clouds blocked out any light coming from the sun and shrouded their world in perpetual darkness. 

 

“What do you suggest we do?” Angeal crossed his arms, his facial expression hardening. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

 

Gast looked up at him then to the other three. “Gather all of your able-bodied allies. You will need them.”

 

*******

 

A girl with chestnut brown hair looked up at the sky above her, confused as to why everything suddenly grew dark. Usually their town would be bathed in soft twilight, but to see it this dark was a surprise to her and everyone else around her. Her green eyes widened when it saw the gap that interrupted their usually orange sky. 

 

The girl reached back and snatched the phone from the boy who was sitting beside her.

 

“Olette, what’s the big idea?” The boy with spiky blond hair and golden-brown eyes frowned then followed to where his friend pointed. 

 

Olette then nudged the other friend sitting next to her, a boy with dark brown hair with a bandana wrapped around his forehead; his brown eyes looked up to the sky and he dropped the ice cream that he was holding. 

 

*******

 

Outside of Balamb Garden, a girl with long brown hair put her hands on her hips.

 

“Squall, are you even listening to me?” She pouted. 

 

A boy with chin-length brown hair sighed and finally looked up, the scar running diagonally down the bridge of his nose wrinkled when he furrowed his brows. “Rinoa, I-” 

 

He stopped talking when he saw the sky behind her and he immediately got up, putting his hands on her shoulders. 

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, following his gaze. 

 

“Get inside,” he wrapped an arm around her and pushed her towards the building. “Where’s Quistis?!” 

 

*******

 

Setting down a bottle into the retreating waves, a girl with shoulder-length brown hair stood up and wiped the sand from her long violet skirt. Inside was a message written on a piece of dainty parchment, a message that was meant for a friend she grew up with once long ago. A little girl who left in pursuit of  the strength she needed to protect the ones she loved. 

 

_“But where will you go?”_ She asked her. 

 

_“To Midgar! I want to be a hero! Just you wait, Yuna, one day I’ll come home and you’ll be amazed at how strong I am.”_ Her friend had replied. 

 

The girl in the violet skirt smiled at the memory and hoped her friend was doing alright. Her eyes, one blue and one green, watched the bottle be carried away by the waves but raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw the crystalline blue waters turn dark. 

 

“Yuna!” 

 

She turned around and saw a boy running down the beach towards her; his spiky blond hair bouncing in a haphazard fashion as he bounded over the sand. 

 

“Tidus? What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s not safe out here, you have to come back to the village,” he pulled her back, wrapping his hand around hers. “C’mon. Dad and Auron sent me here to get ya.”

 

“Alright,” Yuna nodded and followed Tidus back towards Besaid village as the bottle she left behind was swallowed by the increasing waves. 

 

*******

 

“Cloud, what’re you looking at?” A girl with long brown hair tied back into a swirled ponytail clasped her hands behind her back and leaned over to see what the spiky blond had on his mind. Her bright green eyes shimmered with curiosity. 

 

Through the hole in the Sector 5’s church’s roof, Cloud saw the sky blotted out when only moments ago it was shining down on the garden of yellow flowers he was currently sitting in. He didn’t know what could’ve caused it, but he was sure it was nothing good. 

 

“Clouuuddd,” the girl grabbed his arm and shook it. “Hellooo?”

 

“Aerith,” he sighed, “you could just wave your hand in front of my face, you know that right?”

 

“I can never break through that daze of yours if I did just that,” Aerith stuck her lips out in a pout then finished tucking her flowers into a basket she held on her left arm. “Come on, Tifa might get worried if we take too long.”

 

“Right,” Cloud got up and saw that she was already out of the garden.

 

“Make sure you don’t step on the flowers,” she scolded him as he tiptoed through the fragile blooms.

 

*******

 

DiZ looked down at the girl in front of him. Her eyes were blue and determined and her hair caught the last of lights rays that shone on her reddish-brown hair. 

 

“What are you not telling me?” She demanded an answer from him. “Is Sora fighting another battle? Why can’t I help?”

 

“Because you are not ready.” DiZ’s voice was stern and the girl flinched under his tone. “Kairi, you can’t and you know it.”

 

Without another word, Kairi withdrew herself from the conversation and fled the room. DiZ sighed, stepping towards the window and began to unwind the bandages that wrapped around his head. Letting them fall to the ground, his eyes both looked out of the window to see the dark sky with deep thunder rumbling between the crevices in the clouds. Long strands of blond hair unraveled beneath his shoulder and he held his head up high proudly. 

 

“Foolish girl,” he muttered, watching the purple lightning streak across the sky. 

 

*******

 

“So,” Ansem stepped out of the shadows and stood beside Xemnas, both of them looking down at the castle that once stood as a shining achievement of Radiant Garden- but it was that no longer since its denizens left. “Our mentor has shown himself,” he said with an emotionless smile as he looked down at the man who was the source of his namesake. Watching as the original Ansem the Wise step away from the tall arched window so he could no longer see the scenery. 

 

“So what now?” A boy stepped out from a corridor of darkness and looked up at the Heartless and the Nobody. He reached up to take off his helmet and Xemnas merely glanced at him, the boy who shared the exact likeness of a certain Keyblade wielder. 

 

“Vanitas,” Ansem seemed irritated. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

 

“What?” Vanitas smirked. “I’m just asking what it is we’re supposed to do now. Don’t have such a stick up your ass all the time.”

 

Before Ansem could retort, another corridor of darkness appeared and Vanitas rolled his eyes as a young man with silver hair stepped out. 

 

“How can we help you, ‘Nort?” Vanitas crossed his arms. 

 

“There’s been a change of plans,” the young Xehanort replied coldly. 

 

“You wish to give up the girl so easily?” Ansem raised an eyebrow, he turned to the Nobody. “Well? You’ve been silent thus far, Xemnas. Do you not care about her anymore?”

 

Xemnas leered at Ansem, a clear depiction of silent frustration was present on his face. A loud clap of thunder garnered their attention and Xemnas saw the skies toil and roll. In the far distance he could see the source of the storm, all around it was a canvas of murky violet that cast a shadow onto the planet and released a chill that even he found unsettling. Rain began to fall and he held out a hand to catch a drop that only slid off the sleek leather of his gloves. 

 

Even as the others discussed future plans behind him, his eyes remained transfixed on the storm and pondered the hollow feeling in his chest. 

 

*******

 

“Lunafreya, come back from the window,” a man with platinum blond hair that teetered on the edge of tempered silver voiced his command sternly. His white coat danced just on top of the polished floors and hugged his body tightly; black armored boots loudly announced how close he was to the young woman as he stopped a few feet away from her. His eyes, one blue and one purple, narrowed when Lunafreya didn’t respond right away. “Sister, please.”

 

Turning around, Lunafreya’s clear blue eyes were a reflection of her brothers and shone with kindness. Pale blonde hair framed her pale face and her face was besieged with worry. “What do you think that is Ravus?” She pointed at the skies. After moments of silence shared between them, she whispered another comment that made Ravus bristle. “Do you think Noctis is alright?”

 

He clenched his fists. “I’m sure the prince is fine behind his little walls.” Leaving her to her thoughts, Ravus turned around and exited the room. Following the hallways down towards the stairs that would lead outside. Once out of the Nox Fleuret manor, Ravus felt a raindrop grace his forehead and slide down the bridge of his nose. He let the raindrop fall to the floor and when he saw more raindrops come his way, he braced himself for the downpour- until a black umbrella appeared over his head. 

 

Without looking, Ravus scowled. “I thought you were announced missing on the battlefield. How is it that you’re still here?”

 

Stepping beside him, Ardyn tutted. “No congratulatory words for my safe return? Nor any inquisition about my well-being?”

 

Ravus met his eyes with vexation. “..How are you feeling, esteemed chancellor?”

 

Ardyn adjusted his black fedora to cover his eyes, only revealing his lips which curled into a coy smile. “As good as new.”

 

*******

 

“Should I issue an evacuation order?” Cor asked Regis and the king looked weary.

 

“Where could we even evacuate to?” Clarus looked up at the sky and the comet that only grew larger by the hour. “It will destroy everything on this planet.”

 

“Dad?” Noctis approached him with Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio right behind him. 

 

Regis hesitated. The size of that thing would render any means of precaution futile. To run would mean prolonging the inevitable. To hide would be meaningless. The only course of action he could think of was to face death as it hurled towards them at incredible speeds. 

 

It was then that his attention was brought in front of him, a corridor of darkness appeared and out stepped a hooded figure clad in black. Pulling back the hood, it revealed Xigbar who immediately made eye contact with Noctis. 

 

There were no jokes that came out of Xigbar’s mouth, no snide remarks, not even a smile. His face was dead serious and all he said was: “We need your help.”

 

*******

 

“So.. it actually happened, huh?” Prompto muttered under his breath, fiddling with the hem of his shirt and twisting it until it became thoroughly wrinkled. 

 

Ignis gave him a pat on the back, trying to find the words to reassure Prompto but he would first need to reassure himself. He failed at doing both. Although he was experiencing a major flux of anxiety, it gave him some comfort to find that he wasn’t the only one feeling completely hopeless. 

 

“It’s come to this,” Genesis muttered. “Why..?”

 

“What’s this plan of yours?” Zexion asked Gast. 

 

“You want us to go with another of his plans? When his last one didn’t go so great?” Larxene scoffed and smacked away Marluxia’s hand when he tried to restrain her foul mood. 

 

“She’s right,” Gast looked worn. “I’m not even confident that any of my ideas will work. But we must try, it’s not only her life on the line but all of ours as well.” He looked back towards the ocean, watching the giant meteor in the sky coming closer and closer. “If we don’t get to her in time, that meteor will destroy us all.” 

 

“First thing’s first, I’m guessing Jenova would be where that meteor is gonna land, right?” Xigbar asked the scientist and spoke up amidst all of the ones gathered in the Alstroemeria’s central courtyard. 

 

Gast nodded, “There’s only one place Jenova would go back to.”

 

“The Northern Crater,” Sephiroth muttered and Gast nodded again. 

 

“It’s where we dug up Jenova all those years ago, where its been resting for two millennia before we disturbed it.”

 

“Hah,” Axel laughed bitterly. “How poetic. When we find her, then what?”

 

Vincent walked past him and made eye contact with Xigbar and Prompto; reaching in his pocket, he took out a sleek black box and dialed in the numbers. Once he was allowed access, Vincent picked out a bullet and handed it to Prompto who looked up at him with wide eyes. Then he walked over to Xigbar and handed him the other bullet while pocketing the last one for himself. 

 

Prompto didn’t want to ask a question he already knew the answer to, but he did so anyways. “What’s this for..?” The bullet in his hand was black with a section of glass in the middle that contained green liquid glowed against his pale skin. 

 

Xigbar held the bullet in between his thumb and forefinger. “You want us to shoot her? How would that help?”

 

“That fluid you see inside is specially designed to halt the manipulation of Jenova’s cells. It’ll halt its powers, enough for Lady to fight back for her body.” Gast told them.

 

“I was told these are the same bullets that caused her to be almost comatose, she even lost her memory before,” Vincent’s crimson eyes pierced through the crowd. “How will we know it doesn’t happen again? What if she loses more of her memory?”

 

“Then she might as well be dead,” Prompto blurted out without thinking and several heads turned to him in shock. “She’ll lose her memory of all of us, she won’t remember us, it would be like meeting a complete stranger..!” 

 

“That’s a risk you will have to take,” Gast tried avoiding the bewildered and angry glares of those present. “But when you do.. take care not to shoot any of her vital organs, lest she’ll bleed out then and there.” 

 

“I know how to shoot,” both Xigbar and Vincent snapped then they both turned to look at Prompto who was fiddling with his shirt again. 

 

“Prompto,” Vincent growled. “Are you listening?”

 

The blond jumped. “Yeah! I am, it’s just-” he tried his best not to tear up. “-I really don’t like this.”

 

“Join the club, none of us do,” Xigbar muttered. 

 

Sitting in the back, Naminé held her sketchbook close to her chest. Peeking at it, she saw her latest drawing of the image that she saw so many times in her dreams. Of Lady standing on a sea of stars with pure white wings unfurled behind her; her mirrored image on the dark pool below her showed her reflection- save for the fact that her reflected self had black wings and was polluted with shadows. 

 

“This is all my fault.”

 

Naminé looked behind her to see who it was that spoke and saw Terra leaning against a column with his arms crossed. 

 

“No it’s not,” Naminé offered a smile. “You didn’t know, don’t blame yourself.”

 

Terra shook his head. “I was stupid.”

 

Naminé frowned, “I hope you know that Lady still believes in you like she does in the rest of them.” She gestured to the others in the courtyard. “She trusts each and every one of them, as well as me and you. So don’t lose hope just yet.” 

 

The girl remembered the task that Lady gave her: _“If I ever lose control, rewrite their memories and make them forget me.. Then put me to sleep so I can never wake up again. You’ll do this for me, right? Please, Naminé.”_

 

Gripping her sketchpad until the paper bent under her fingers, she let out a breathy sigh. She had to take her own advice and trust the others to get the job done. She didn’t want to do such a horrible thing to Lady. Not after all she’d been through.

 

“Should we all go..?” Xion asked and Angeal shook his head. 

 

“Angeal’s right,” Gast said. “Jenova knows all of you through Lady, your weaknesses, your strengths, Jenova will use that against you. It’s best to keep the fighting to a minimum and bring the best with you.” He looked at all of them, “This will be your toughest fight yet. Please prepare yourselves accordingly.”

 

*******

 

The Northern Crater was a large rock formation that reached up towards the sky, right under where the meteor was about to land if not meddled with. Looming over the ones gathered, a shadow was cast upon all of them along with a sense of dread that filled the pits of their stomachs. Those who elected to go, the ones who had the most skill in battle stood together at the base of the crater. They were either skilled at battle or some simply wanted to be there to see to her personally.. Or they were there for both reasons.

 

Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, and Zack had on their 1st Class armors with their weapons sheathed and ready to go; save for Vincent who only had his black fatigues and red cape fluttering in the wind behind him with his loaded gun in hand. Their worst fears had come to fruition and they were experiencing the sins of those they used to believe in so much. Shinra, with all their promises and boons had brought them together in the first place only to rip them apart once more. Dangling off of Zack’s belt was a keychain of a tiny plush bear that he received as a gift from her on their first date, he absentmindedly petted the ear of the tiny blue doll as he leaned his head back to see just how tall the mountain was.  

 

Roxas, Xion, Axel, Saïx, Xigbar, Demyx, Marluxia, and Larxene all had their black coats on. Looking like they did when they all served in the Organization before they all decided on another course for their destinies. Xion fiddled with the lavender ribbon she kept tied to a strand of her hair; when she felt like it was loose, she tied it with another knot, and then another. It was Lady’s gift to her and she didn’t want to lose it no matter what. 

 

Sora, Riku stood at the ready with their fingers ready to grip their Keyblade whenever needed. However, Terra held his Keyblade already; he was gripping the resin-coated flower in his other hand. White petals of the heather embedded in the trinket encouraged him with the way it glinted whenever he turned it; it symbolized a promise he made with her, a promise he wasn’t willing to let her down on. ' _I'll make this right' ._

 

Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto had their Crownsguard fatigues on with solemn expressions on their faces- they shared the same sentiment with everyone in that they didn’t want to be doing this. But they knew they had to. To the side, Prompto rubbed the smooth beads against his fingers. It was a new habit he formed whenever he had extreme anxiety and holding it against himself felt like Lady herself telling him to calm down. 

 

Together, all of them made their way into the Northern Crater. 


	67. LXVII

**A few days earlier…**

 

Desert sand kicked up onto Lady’s boots as she dragged her feet through the environment’s arid planes. Her tongue cried for hydration and she felt the dry earth swirl around her as she struggled to stand upright. Blood caked the cracks between her fingers and her arm ached from continuously applying pressure to her abdomen- on the spot where Hojo had shot her. 

 

It was strange. That wound should’ve healed up; but when she took her hand off her skin, she saw how the flesh around the hole was festering with more of the green liquid filling her up where her muscle used to be. 

 

Midgar was just a few more miles away. So close. She just had to hang in there a little longer. Then she would be safe, then she would go to Sector 5 to meet with this girl Aerith and Professor Gast. Then it would all be over.

 

Finally, her body gave way as her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the dirt. 

 

Even as she was laying down on the ground, she felt her head spinning around like she was on a capsizing ship that kept rocking over roaring waves. With the sun beating down on her back, she felt the delirium get to her. Her eyes felt heavy and she struggled to hold them up when at last she gave in. 

 

 _Just a few minutes of sleep,_ she told herself, _then I’ll wake up again.._  

 

When her consciousness fades, she heard a voice echo from the back of her mind. 

**“At last.”**

 

**Present day. Approximately 5.5 hours from meteor strike.**

 

Cold. That was the feeling that permeated through the crater they stood in. Traversing it was a menial task, withstanding it’s dreadful and eerie ambience was another. Whispers kept echoing off the craggy rocks that made the party turn their heads in confusion, seeing if it was someone talking to them but finding it was nothing. Freezing water dripped onto them from above, the pointy stalagmites trying to reach for their heads as best they could but could only send a convoy of diluted liquid to assault them. But even despite the quiet whispers, liquid dripping, and their footsteps landing softly on the rocks- the loud silence still pierced through them and made them feel on edge at every moment. 

 

Rocks scuttled from the wall and rolled in front of Larxene’s foot and she hastily kicked it away. Scowling, she looked up just as a drop of water hit the tip of her nose. “This place is worse than the Castle,” she growled under her breath. 

  
  


“I lost track of time,” Zack grumbled. 

 

“We’re never going to find out way through here,” Demyx panted. “It’s a freakin’ maze in here.”

 

“Hmph, yeah,” Gladio agreed, walking over to a wall of rock and pointed at it for everyone to see. “I left a mark here to let us know if we got lost, and so far we’ve passed it four times already.” His finger traced three shallow vertical marks etched onto the surface, anyway anyone looked at it, it was definitely manmade and not to be confused with a natural erosion of the mountain. 

 

“A natural labyrinth meant to throw us off,” Genesis put his fist to his chin while he thought. “I didn’t even sense any magic at play.”

 

“But the mako is strong here.” Sephiroth noted. 

 

“Split up maybe?” Prompto offered but was immediately shot down. 

 

Noctis scoffed. “No way, Jenova’s gonna pick us off one by one if we did that.”

 

“Then what do you propose, Highness?” Ignis looked at the both of them. 

 

“Wait,” Sora stopped to sniff the air. “I smell the sea.”

 

“That’s impossible, we’re standing on solid metamorphic rock,” Ignis looked back at the brunet with a weary look. 

 

“I smell it too,” Riku added, turning the same direction Sora was looking at. He began walking towards an opening leading to a long tunnel with the rest following closely behind; their surroundings were still the same damp and cold stone encasing as they chased after the scent of the ocean; then, in a flash, their environment changed and the party found themselves standing on soft, white sand that sat comfortably next to a large body of pure cerulean water. The edge of the ocean spread out farther than their eyes can see and the sky above had nary a cloud floating in it. 

 

“This.. can’t be real,” Saïx knelt down on the beach and scooped up a pile of sand. His eyes widened when the small grains slipped through his fingers and back to their home. The sound of a child’s laugh made him pick his head up as a small body rushed past him and zig-zagged through the party’s legs. 

 

Stopping, the small figure turned around and they were staring at the bright, wide eyes of a child. 

 

Angeal stepped forward, seeing the color of the child’s hair as well as recognizing her eyes. “Wait, are you-?” 

 

Dropping the moogle stuffed animal in her arms, the child ran away at the sight of them and in return they looked to each other on what to do. Picking up the doll and brushing the sand away from it’s stitched pom-pom, Angeal looked to Sephiroth and Genesis and nodded then they both gave chase with everyone following close behind. 

 

It didn’t take long for the girl to notice a barrage of footsteps behind her and looked back, her eyes widening in fear when she saw all of them gaining on her rather quickly. It also shouldn’t have been a surprise that her stubby legs, barely tall enough to grab something off a small desk, weren’t fast enough to keep her away from them that long. The stained cotton robe she wore had small rips and patches in them, and her chubby cheeks had flecks of dirt and scuff marks on them as if she took a tumble right before coming to this beach. Tears built up in her eyes when she saw them get closer, but ultimately she didn’t let that stop her and so she kept on running. Looking behind her to see if she did get farther away, her face broke out into a frustrated pout when she saw that she in fact did not. Trying to pick up her small legs more, she ended up falling face first into the sand. 

 

“Ow!” She let out a small whine and Angeal rushed over to help her up then handed her back her doll. The little girl wiped her eyes before more tears came out and took the doll back from him with a doubtful look. 

 

Angeal didn’t want to make the child talk when she was clearly under so much duress, but he had to know for sure. “Hey,” his voice was soft as to not frighten her anymore, “what’s your name?”

 

“My.. name?” The girl sniffed and clutched onto her doll. “My name is..” 

 

When she spoke her name out loud, everyone’s eyes widened and it confirmed the truth some had suspected when they first laid eyes on her. 

 

It was Lady. 

 

“Uh,” Noctis stepped forward, “how old are you, kid?” It felt weird calling her that, but he tried to follow Angeal’s lead on being gentle with her. 

 

Holding out five fingers, she struggled to tuck in her moogle with her other arm when she held up another finger. “Six!” She said, a triumphant smile on her face as if reaching that age was her greatest accomplishment. 

 

“Where’s your mom and dad?” Xigbar asked her. 

 

“Dunno,” Small Lady made a circle in the sand with her toe. “Mommy said daddy died a long time ago and mommy’s been gone for a while.” She looked up, “But the village takes care of me, so I think I’m okay!” 

 

A silence fell over them and with the way she didn’t seem bothered at the notion of her absent parents sent a wave of sadness over them. She was alone, and she seemed to be used to it. 

 

“What about your friends?” Roxas then asked her. 

 

“Don’t really have any,” the child shrugged again and made another circle in the sand. When she noticed the party went silent again, she looked up and tilted her head. “You’re all dressed so weird. It looks funny. You’re not from here, are you?” 

 

“How can you be so sure?” Larxene crossed her arms. 

 

“Because!” Small Lady raised her finger up in a knowing fashion. “No one I know would ever wear that to the beach!” She was pointing at the black coat that Larxene wore. 

 

When Larxene scowled, Axel put a hand over her and pulled her back. Kneeling down to small Lady’s height, he tried to put on a happy face. “Heya kiddo, you’re right about us being new here. Mind pointing out how to get away from here?”  

 

“The hell are you doing?” Larxene narrowed her eyes. Putting a finger to his lips, Axel just silenced her before turning back to small Lady with the same relaxed expression. 

 

“Yeah,” small Lady nodded then turned around to point down the beach towards an opening in a towering face of rock. “There’s a cave over there that leads to the other part of the island. From there you can leave here, that’s where I saw mommy off last time!” 

 

Ignis looked to Axel and caught on to what he was trying to accomplish. “Would you mind guiding us there, little miss?” Ignis said with an equally kind smile. 

 

A small blush formed on her face, on the account of never being treated with such authority by an adult. “Okay! Leave it to me!” A huge grin was present on her face. “No one knows these islands better than me!” 

 

Seeing how they already knew the location of where to go and with the beach moving in one direction, they immediately moved that way and small Lady struggled to keep up with their long strides as opposed to her tiny ones. 

 

“Umm,” she frowned. “Can you all slow down? I’m not that fast.” 

 

Gladio stopped and extended his hand towards her to which she tentatively grappled on, first admiring how big his hand was compared to hers. Picking her up, he placed her on his shoulders to where she can sit upright in a comfortable position; giving her the ability to walk at the same pace as everyone else and she was grateful. It was the same way he let Iris ride his shoulders when she was still small enough to carry. 

 

“So why are you all here anyways?” She wondered aloud. 

 

“We’re looking for someone, short stack,” Xigbar answered.

 

“A friend?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Boy or girl?”

 

“She sure asks a lot of questions,” Marluxia was amused. 

 

“Not that different from the one we’re looking for,” Genesis had a small smile on his face. 

 

“Girl,” Xigbar finally answered when small Lady poked him from her seat on Gladio’s broad shoulders. 

 

“Oh, I hope you find her soon!” Small Lady put her arms on Gladio’s head and placed her chin atop of them. 

 

“Thanks, short stack,” Xigbar gave the kid a knowing smile this time. “I do too.”

 

Her eyes wandered over to Terra and blinked at his foreign garments. “Hm you guys look like you’re from all around the world, I want to travel around one day too.”

 

Terra saw her looking and smiled. “Don’t worry, you will.”

 

“How can you be so sure?” 

 

“Call it a hunch.”

 

Small Lady looked to her left to the horizon that spanned the world’s edges. Her eyes carefully reviewed the sky and she blinked. “I think there’s going to be a storm soon,” she said aloud, her tone serious. Too serious to belong to a child. “You all should be careful.”

 

When they reached the cave, Gladio let her down and she ran to the front and pointed inside. “Once you’re outside the cave, it’ll take you to the pier. The ship is the only way in and out of these islands.” 

 

“Thank you,” Sephiroth was the closest to her and gave her a grateful nod. “You should get home now.”

 

“You sure?” She asked and when he nodded again she pouted. “Alright, but take this.” She held out her moogle doll towards him. “Mr. Mog always protects me when it’s really dark. I know he’ll do the same for you.”

 

Sephiroth inhaled, how was he supposed to reject her with that look on her face? “I can’t take this.”

 

Her pout increased. “I won’t take no for an answer!” She then shoved it into his hands and she hid her own hands behind her back so that he couldn’t put it back in hers. 

 

Vincent looked down the tunnel then looked to the child. “You sure this is the right path?”

 

“Yeahhh. Why?” She followed his gaze. 

 

“There should be a light at the end of that tunnel, right?” 

 

A smug smile then appeared on her face, akin to that of a cat who just stole a sack of fish from the market. “Aha, don’t tell me,” she pointed up at Vincent. “You’re scared of the dark, aren’t you?”

 

His eye twitched slightly. “...Sure.” 

 

“I knew it, it’s alright. I’ll go with you until the tunnel ends,” small Lady then turned to the cave entrance and her body became rigid at the sight of it. “Oh.. it’s darker than I remembered.” The tunnel stretched down far, it’s narrow walls seemed to close in with the shadows swallowing the remnants of light coming from the beach. She gulped, “I, uh, well..” 

 

Vincent stood beside her. “Scared?”

 

“A little,” she nodded. “There’s only one thing to do when it’s dark,” slapping her cheeks, she puffed up her lips. “Make a run for it!” Bolting off down the tunnel, Vincent immediately followed. 

 

“Wait!” Vincent called after her. “You’ll fall again!” 

 

Footsteps resounded within the tunnel as they all followed small Lady, her feet picking up the pace the more further away she got. The closer they got to the end of the tunnel, the more they saw light pour in where darkness once covered and the more they approached the exit, they also heard small Lady’s footsteps disappear. 

 

Light blinded them and enveloped them in warmth. 

 

_“See? The darkness isn’t that scary, right?”_

 

“Lady?” Sephiroth looked for the origin of the voice but only found himself standing amidst the rocky embrace of the Northern Crater. 

 

“Guys, look,” Zack peered over the edge of the cliff they all stood on. Looking at the long drop down with a frown. “We’re so high up now.” 

 

They were closer to the peak now. Above them was a dark storm that circled the top with the giant meteor catching fire as it approached the planet’s surface. Purple and black clouds overlapped each other as it gathered energy to spread it’s reach out further. 

 

“Do you think that was Lady helping us out?” Xion said quietly. 

 

“It had to be,” Roxas answered. “It was her light we felt just now.”

 

“The kid’s right,” Xigbar chimed in. “It felt weaker than usual though. We need to hurry.”

 

“Even if we made it this far up, the rest of the mountain is still going to be a maze,” Riku crossed his arms. 

 

Sephiroth looked down at the moogle doll still in his hand and raised his eyebrows when it started to crumble away until it formed a ball of light that hovered in his palm. 

 

_“This way.”_

 

Flying up, the light signaled for them to follow and so they did. It led them up into a series of tunnels that progressively felt colder than the last; at times they fell behind, the light slowed down and at times they stopped to catch their breath, it hovered beside them as if to cheer them on. 

 

_“You’re almost there.”_

 

The closer they got to the top, their lungs were starting to become devoid of air and their steps faltered from their usual speed.

 

_“I believe in you!”_

 

At last they reached the final threshold. A reflective barrier barred entry for anyone wanting to go inside and an ominous aura was emitted the more they approached it. The hovering light stopped just a few inches from the barrier before it touched the surface and exploded; leftover energy from the orb of light began to travel between the cracks of the barrier before completely disintegrating it’s surface. 

 

This was it.

Once they enter, it would either be Jenova or them walking out. 

 

“Be ready,” Vincent motioned for them to take out their weapons then turned back to look at Xigbar and Prompto. “Don’t waste your shot, we only have three.” 

 

Together, they walked in and nearly all of them shivered from the rapidly dropping temperatures. At the end of the tunnel, they were met with another light as they did before, but this time it was not the inviting and warm kind- it was malicious and devoid of any heat. 

 

A dark purple gleam filled their vision when they exited the tunnel that soon died down until the source could be traced to the center of the large cavern they just entered. In the middle was a large cloudy crystal with veins of mako rising from the ground and traveling through its translucent prison. And standing in front of the crystal was a figure that stood staring at the mako travel upwards- was Lady. Or more specifically..

 

“Jenova,” Roxas growled, pushing past Vincent towards the front. 

 

Jenova looked at the blond over her shoulder then turned around to face him completely. Light from the crystal shadowed her entire her body and only made her eyes visible; purple, slanted vertical slits, and filled with overflowing hatred. 

 

**“I expected the mountain to delay you longer.”**

 

Roxas clenched his fists. “You’re still in there, right, Lady? No way you’d let this alien freak beat you down, right?!” 

 

Jenova’s eyes widened slightly and held her head, looking like she was in pain as it took one step back. Panting, Jenova looked up them with a wide-eyed stare. 

 

“Roxas?” Lady’s voice came out and the blond gasped.

 

“Lady!” He made a dash towards her and Vincent immediately grabbed him by his shoulder. 

 

“Stop, you know that’s not her,” Vincent muttered under his breath, watching the woman stand up straight from her attempt to falsify excruciating pain. 

 

Roxas didn’t want to believe it. “Lady!!!”

 

Giggles exited Lady that turned to full blown laughter, her hand went to her pocket and a wide sadistic grin appeared on her face. **“Keep calling out her name, she won’t hear you no matter how loud you are.”**

 

Jenova’s shadow that was cast on the ground in front of her grew and extended until the head reached Roxas. **“I swallowed the last of her being the moment she helped you get through the barrier.”**

 

Terra summoned his Keyblade, “Where’s the black materia?”

 

Jenova’s eyes cast its dark influence to the brunet and Terra felt goosebumps travel up his arms. **“Ah that’s right. Terra. Thank you** **_so_ ** **much for retrieving this for me.”** Her hand came out of her pocket to reveal a black sphere in her palm. Eyes fell upon the party who chased after her and she gave them all a warm smile with her other hand extended towards them. **“I want to give you all a chance to accept what it is I have on offer.”** She held the black materia between her thumb and forefinger, **“You can have the honor of becoming my vessels.”**

 

The darkness of the cave became flooded with light and they all found themselves to be standing on the white sand beach in front of the Alstroemeria. Standing alone in the clear water was Lady with the water up to her knees and soaking the flowing white dress she wore. Her hair moved with the salted winds and her body was devoid of any scars- looking as she did before all of this happened. 

 

**“You’d all be able to live with your beloved landlady.”**

 

Lady looked back and when she saw them standing on the beach, a big grin appeared on her face. “What are you all doing over there? Come on!” She said as she beckoned them into the water with her. 

 

**“Doesn’t this lonely existence pain you? Don’t you want to spend your eternities here at your home? Undisturbed, not having a care in the world?**

 

Lady reached for them, unmoving. Extending an invitation to stand with her amidst the shallow depths. “What are you guys waiting for?” She still had that soft smile on her face and the light was still present in her eyes. A shadow then appeared behind her, imitating her movement with the darkened hand reaching towards them and behind them still was an encroaching wave that was slowly gaining momentum- promising to wash away anyone who was in its path. 

 

Larxene’s fist was shaking by her side and she pushed past Roxas to stand in front. “Stop messing around!! You’re really starting to get on my nerves- using cheap tricks like that. Come out and fight-” she raised her hand as electricity traveled around her knuckles “- _you fucking bitch!”_ Unleashing her attack, Larxene watched as the lightning bounced off the waves and headed for Lady just as the wave behind her reached far above her head and was about to come crashing down. 

 

In the hand that she had reaching out for them, the black materia appeared and the purple glow came back to Lady’s eyes. **“You’ve had your chance, but now you’ve sealed your fates.”**

 

Bringing the black materia up to her lips- the party watched as she tilted her head back, opened her mouth wide, and swallowed it whole just as the waves came crashing down onto her. 

 

An explosion then came from where the wave landed, making the ground tumble and the fabricated sky above them darken. The sun shattered and the broken parts split up, littering the sky with the shards that still glowed brightly despite not being held together anymore. Where the sun once was, there was an endless night sky devoid of light save for the shards that served as stars. Beneath them, the ground shook and cracked with such great force that they tried to hold each other steady. Glowing light erupted from the formed fissures and separated the group, tearing them apart until the piece of land that they stood on enlargened; with the sand falling off of it, it revealed a transparent arcane circle with glowing ancient symbols etched onto it and if they looked straight down, they could see the bottom of infinity with all of its stars lighting the way. 

 

There were four circles that floated only meters away from each other, forming the points of a rhombus that hovered in this small galaxy that Jenova formed. On each circle was the group that she separated:

One contained Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Zack, and Vincent. 

One contained Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio.

One contained Terra, Sora, and Riku. 

One contained Roxas, Xion, Axel, Saïx, Demyx, Xigbar, Larxene, and Marluxia. 

 

In all four circles was a shadow that heightened and elongated until it formed Lady’s figure. Stepping forward, the shadow fell from her to reveal Jenova who merely used Lady’s face- but to say that it was her face now would be a lie. Only her coat was missing from her outfit; whereas her remaining armor had minor scratches on it from previous scuffles as well as all of her collected scars that she’d accumulate throughout her journey. That was the only thing that reminded them of her; otherwise, everything else didn’t anymore as her hair was now a pure white and hung beneath her waist like a long coil of starlit silk; her eyes looked so cold and unkind that it couldn’t possibly belong to her. But unfortunately, it did now. 

 

 **“Show me the light you possess.”** All four of Jenova’s replicas held out their hand as a black handle formed in it that soon formed a sword that belonged to Lady. Raising her weapon, Jenova launched herself into those who would oppose her. 

 

*******

 

Genesis immediately raised his hand to form a barrier that Jenova couldn’t pierce through immediately, holding her back, he gritted his teeth and raised his blade but hesitated. Could he really hit her? 

 

Taking advantage of this momentary weakness, Jenova pierced the layer of his barrier and sent him flying back. 

 

“Genesis!” Angeal caught the auburn-haired soldier as Sephiroth stepped in front of them to catch Jenova’s swing before it could hurt his friends. 

 

Caught in a bladelock, Sephiroth and Jenova struggled against each other as the silver-haired man stared down at the demon that once manifested and haunted him. 

 

“Let go of her,” Sephiroth said in a tone so cold that it could surpass Jenova’s. “Give her back..!”

 

Jenova grinned. **“I’ve seen you grow into such a fine young man, too bad your mother was never there to see it in person.”** When she saw Sephiroth tense up, her grin widened. **“Poor little Sephiroth,  the beloved hero, now all alone. But don’t worry, I’ll let you see your precious mother.. when I send you to hell!”**

 

“He’s not alone!!” 

 

Jenova turned around just as Zack swung his sword down on her and she released a wave of energy upon Sephiroth with her sword, making him fall back and collide with Genesis and Angeal before Jenova locking blades with Zack. Angling her sword, Jenova slid the sword up the edge and swiped upwards to make Zack stumble back to try and maintain his grip on his weapon. Before he could attack her again, she unleashed a barrage of lightning spells that struck his shoulder and he let out a pained groan as he dropped his sword to nurse his wounded arm. 

 

From behind, she sensed someone moving and she immediately turned around just as the Buster Sword came an inch away from her face with only her blade being the one to stop this. Beyond the blade’s edge, she could see Angeal’s face and how it was twisted with pain. It was clear he didn’t want to do this. 

 

**“You realize every hit you inflict on me is one inflicted on her, you’re willing to maim and butcher her like some common rodent?”**

 

“If that’s the case, I’ll spend the rest of my life taking care of her and making up for it,” Angeal’s brows furrowed into a deep frown. Fueled by his anger and determination, he pushed forward against her sword. “I won’t let you take her away!” 

 

**“..She’s already gone, you fool.”**

 

The expression on Angeal’s face darkened. “We’ll see about that. Zack, now!” 

 

Arms wrapped tightly from under her armpits, up towards her shoulder and held them in place as Genesis’ Rapier and Sephiroth’s Masamune met right under her neck. Angeal ducked down and restrained her by anchoring her waist down with brute strength; her magic may be stronger than his, but physically she was still a tad weaker than him and so she struggled against his grip. Both Genesis and Sephiroth held her arms away from her body and forced her to drop her sword down as she tried to pry her limbs from the soldiers. Even with their combined strength, what they thought was her weakest attribute soon became her strongest as she started to absorb their mako and thus empowering herself more. 

 

Jenova laughed aloud as she felt their grips becoming loose. **“You five don’t realize how similar you are to me, how Shinra made us monsters yet you stand here denying your own true nature! None of you are even truly human!!”**

 

Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed. “What makes us human isn’t how we were born, it’s how we choose to live! We’ll finally be rid of you!”

 

“Your words won’t sway us,” Genesis’ grip was iron as he held her arm in place. “Your tricks won’t work, they’re far too weak to even reach us!”

 

Angeal held her waist with a low grunt and he chuckled despite his effort. “The more you talk, the more you encourage us to defeat you, Jenova-!!”

 

“Hurry up, Vincent!!” Zack yelled, his shoulder still having a piece of it sizzling from the magic attack she inflicted on him earlier. “We can’t hold her down for long!” 

 

From a few paces away, at a distance that he couldn’t possibly miss at, stood Vincent with his gun ready and loaded. Aiming it for a place where he wouldn’t inflict much internal damage, he ultimately decided on her left shoulder since Angeal was covering her legs. 

 

Jenova spotted him and she began to thrash against the four’s grip on her. And just as Vincent fired the shot, she inhaled quickly and focused her mana to the center of her body. Exhaling, she released a wave of energy that knocked them back as well as Vincent with the bullet he fired being disintegrated just before it could graze her skin. Genesis launched another barrage of fireballs towards her to divert her attention while Sephiroth rushed to Vincent’s side to help him up. 

 

“I failed,” Vincent muttered bitterly, gripping his gun tightly in his hands. 

 

“There’s still the others who have their shots left.” Sephiroth looked to the other marksmen in the other circles. “Let’s hope they have better luck than us.”

 

*******

 

Axel and Saïx combined their attacks to try and knock away Jenova’s weapon; strings of red and blue energy forming around her as the two constantly struck her to try and wear her down- but this only ended up making them worn down instead. Fatigue leads to mistakes and Axel’s mistake was taking a step back that was too late and caused him to fly into Demyx who’s water projectiles dropped on top of them when they crashed into each other. The water splashed up on Larxene who hissed in annoyance as her hair drooped down under the liquid weight; her bright green eyes observed how Saïx kept up the pace even with Axel gone, and how Roxas and Xion came charging at Jenova from behind. 

 

Roxas’ keyblades dragged onto the arcane circle with Xion holding hers near her head with both hands. The two Keyblade wielders slashed their blades across Jenova and it made her stumble back a little, with two lines of light marking where they struck her. Turning to face Roxas first, Jenova swiped her blade down at the blond and used the butt of the handle to knock down Xion next. 

 

“Xion!!” Roxas called for her as Jenova turned her attention back to him quickly. Her blade pointed towards him and dug straight into his shoulder. 

 

Picking the boy up with the blade, Jenova stared deep into Roxas’ eyes as he struggled to relieve the sharp pressure that was piercing his right shoulder. **“Is this the best you can do?”**

Gripping her sword tightly, Jenova tossed Roxas to the side with his blood trailing in front of him and leaking from his body when he fell down. 

 

 **“She died alone,”** Jenova leered at the remainder of Roxas’ blood that dripped down her blade. **“As will all of you!!”**

 

Axel’s face contorted in rage and he quickly got back up, summoning his chakrams to the side as he charged Jenova. “Damn you!!” He yelled in unfiltered anger as flames tipped the spikes of his weapons. Ice droplets formed in the air around Jenova and when they came into contact with Axel’s fire, it exploded within contact and sent both him and Saïx flying back. 

 

Larxene felt the lightning in her hands form into her knives that filled the spaces between her fingers. She looked at Marluxia, “Remember our first fight with her?”

 

As usual, he was quick to catch on to what she was thinking. “I’ll get right to it,” he had an alarmingly gentle smile on his face as his visage sinked into his own shadow, the only trace that he was there at all was the subtle smell of roses in the air. Larxene rushed to Demyx and picked him up by his arm. 

 

“Throw as much water as you can towards her,” Larxene whispered harshly in his ear and he looked at her in shock.

 

“I can’t, my water clones can’t even touch her without being disintegrated on the spot!” He pointed at the large puddle of water that formed around the proximity of Jenova. It was so much that even as Axel, Saïx, and Xion’s footsteps made it splash upwards whenever they came towards her to attack. 

 

“That’s the point,” the blonde said and Demyx seemed confused then looked down to her knives, one of them teeming with more electrical energy than the others. When he looked like he realized what she was up to, Larxene dropped him and he immediately began working on summoning more clones. 

 

Clones of water began to rise from the ground and dash towards Jenova just as she was left open and just as before, she cut them down without much thought- watching them fall to the ground in a disassembled state. Larxene’s knives phased through her fingers and gathered into the one tucked in between her forefinger and middle finger. She tossed Xigbar a quick sideways glance before throwing her hand back and hurling her knife to the puddle of water gathered at Jenova’s feet. The knife being faster than Jenova’s eyes, it was too late to move and she was forced to watch as the knife struck the surface and tremendous amounts of lightning coursed through the water. 

 

Jenova let out a pained hiss through gritted teeth, electricity flowing through and around her body as it forced her on her knees. Purple eyes glared up at Larxene with searing hatred. When the lightning dissipated, Jenova slowly got up just as Larxene had a smug sneer on her face. What struck Jenova as curious was how the blonde wasn’t smiling directly at her- rather attention something else on her body. Following her gaze, it was already too late again as she saw green thorns wrap around her ankles. 

 

From the depths, they crawled up her legs and entangled her in their intoxicating scent. Thorns left behind bleeding kisses all over her bare arms and through the thick fabric of her 1st Class armor. Soon they completely immobilized her and Marluxia appeared behind her in a flurry of petals. His face didn’t have a smile on it anymore as he held his scythe in front of her neck in a position where if he pulled it back, he would immediately decapitate her. But he wouldn’t dare. Long ago, he was in the same position as he was now, but that was a different time. 

 

Larxene looked for Xigbar and she already saw him aiming the extra handgun that Vincent gave him. Loaded with the bullet that would stop Jenova’s cells, he aimed for a spot where he wouldn’t hurt too much. In the end, he opted for her calf. It would stop her movements if he could hit the muscle properly- the casing of the bullet was sharp enough to where it would be a clean shot, but he had to play it safe nonetheless. Inhaling, he fired on the exhale and watched the bullet fly towards her leg. Xigbar’s eye widened when he saw her try to move out of the way and made the bullet’s aim for where her femoral artery ran. 

 

“Shit!” His arrow-gun appeared in his hand and released projectiles that shot out quickly to halt the bullet and destroy it. The green liquid within the casing splattered onto the floor and disappeared along with what was left of their improvised plan. 

 

“What are you doing?!” Marluxia looked up at Xigbar in astonishment. 

 

“Damn it, Xigbar, we almost had her!” Larxene stormed over to the man and he only gave her an uneasy look. 

 

“It was gonna hit her vein, she would’ve bled out on the spot,” Xigbar explained himself and the two looked back as the veins constricting Jenova burned from flames coming out of her body. Looking over to the other circle, he eyed Prompto. “It’s up to you kid, don’t fail us.” 

 

*******

 

A shield formed in front of Gladio as he blocked off Jenova’s sword. Noctis ran up behind Gladio as the latter ducked with the former swinging a sword down to try and dislodge it from her grip. Catching the blade, Jenova twisted Noctis’ sword from his hand and sliced it back at him- connecting the edge of his blade with his neck. 

 

“Noct!!” Gladio roared as he gripped Noctis’ jacket to pull him down just as the blade swiped in a horizontal motion- only taking off some of the ends on the top of Noctis’ head. 

 

Jenova smirked when she looked down upon Noctis and Gladio. **“If it isn’t the little prince. You are as hopeless as I remember. Had you been the one to bear the weight of responsibility, she would not have lost her vision.”**

 

“Don’t listen Noct,” Gladio looked to Noctis whose eyes were focused solely on her. Gladio had seen that look on his face before, it was the same look he always had when regret started to eat him up inside. The same one he had when King Regis canceled an important council meeting to look for Noctis when the prince ran away from home one night. Six years later and it still came with the same symptoms of him being immobilized with short breaths that sounded like they could burst into resentful shouts. 

 

 **“Once I kill you,”** Jenova lifted her sword. **“I’ll personally deliver your corpse to your father and destroy Insomnia as I wanted to once upon a time.”**

 

Emerging from the side, Ignis had a spear gripped in both hands which forced Jenova’s attention to be on him. Grabbing the pole by its shaft, Jenova and Ignis struggled for control as they both stared each other down; his gaze unwavering and unafraid as he held the pole still with alarming strength. 

 

“Come to your senses, Lady, please,” Ignis uttered, muscles taut and flexing continuously as they fought for dominance. “I beg of you, don’t make me do this.”

 

 **“Your words fall on deaf ears.”** Jenova’s hand crackled with electricity and purple lightning traveled down the rod towards Ignis’ hand- but before it could hit him, the spear disappeared in groups of blue light. 

 

Daggers appeared in both of his hands as his left hand crossed blades with her sword while his right hand flipped the dagger so that the handle was facing up; then with the swiftness of a shooting star, he brought the blunt edge upwards to her wrist. 

 

Jenova visibly winced when he hit the hand holding her sword and she let go of her blade, letting it clatter onto the floor. Ignis kicked it far away from her and her eyes flashed with infuriation. 

 

“Prompto!!” Gladio turned to the blond who was holding his gun with both hands to keep it steady. “Take the shot now!” 

 

Prompto aimed the gun at Jenova and his eyes urgently scanned her body for the part where it was the least lethal. “Hip? No. Arm? No.. Need someplace else-!” He muttered to himself as his nerves began to get the worst of him and was exacerbated even more when Gladio barked orders at him.

 

“Prompto, stop waiting! You’re the only one who has a bullet left!” Gladio yelled, recounting the previous two gunshots he heard earlier. 

 

This made Prompto freeze up. He was the only one? Really? Vincent and Xigbar missed? How could they? They were the better shots, right?  

 

While he hesitated, Jenova readied her fists and landed a punch to Ignis’ gut, making the man cough out violently and fall backwards; not stopping there, she took a step forward and landed a punch square across his face that knocked his glasses right off. Whatever skills Lady had possessed in real life, was now transferred to Jenova and one of those skills were Shinra’s deadly and precise martial arts. Without a sword, she would be alright for her mere fists counted as weapons. 

 

“Iggy!” Prompto cried and watched as Noctis ran over to restrain Jenova, grabbing her by her hands and holding them up. 

 

“Lady,” Noctis yelled, hoping his voice would reach out to her wherever she was. “C’mon, please, fight back!!!” 

 

Bringing her knee up, Jenova kicked Noctis down and prepared to twist his arm for a break but was grappled from the back by Gladio. Both of her arms reached behind her shoulders to take ahold of the short-sleeved leather coat he wore; then she took a step back while she balanced on the front of her knee with another. Her hands went from his shirt to take ahold of his shoulders and with one swift and fluid movement, she sent him overhead to crash onto the ground. 

 

“Prompto!!” Ignis urgently called his name from the ground, holding his stomach as he staggered up. 

 

“Prompto- uagh!” Gladio choked on his words as Jenova gave a punch to his stomach and turned around to catch Noctis’ hand that held his blade. 

 

It was only Noctis left standing with Jenova. His knees were getting pushed down and one of them was already touching the ground as Jenova tried to turn his own sword against him. “Lady,” Noctis struggled under her strength. “Come on.” 

 

**“That tactic is being worn thin, can’t you see it’s not working?”**

 

“Fine,” he muttered. “You leave me no choice.” From his body came a bright core of crystalline light that burst into pieces and danced around him; forming weapons of all those who came before him, his predecessors that ruled Lucis long past. 

 

 **“Very good! Show me the power of kings!”** She cackled as Noctis chose weapons from his armiger to attack her without damaging her too greatly. His swings were less forceful, his strikes less potent, his sole goal was to wear her out and leave an opening for Prompto. 

 

Noctis kept throwing Prompto looks to signal when he could shoot but the blond struggled to keep up with their movements that were only amplified with Jenova’s inhuman speed. The crosshairs of his gun kept moving about to the point where the image in front of him became a blur of black and blue along with the crystalline light of the armiger. Biting his lip, Prompto bided his time. 

 

He couldn’t afford to miss this shot. 

 

*******

 

Sora and Riku worked together, combining their skill in battle to try and overwhelm Jenova; but the longer she fought with them, the more she memorized their fighting patterns and waited for the right moment to strike. The most notable thing she’d observed is how often Riku would try to make up for any blind spots that Sora had and vice versa. A duo who worked closely in tandem and knew what move the other was about to make, evident of the childhood they spent together growing up on an island constantly doused in sunlight. 

 

At last, Jenova spotted the weak spot that would stop their well-oiled machine in its tracks..

 

Riku seemed to have a weaker swing on his left hand. Everytime he swung his keyblade, he would swing it in a way that exerted little pressure on his wrist and when Jenova spotted that- she smiled in anticipation. 

 

She waited until Riku swung at her again, hastily grabbing his wrist and applied large amounts of pressure. When he let out a pained yell, she knew she hit the mark. 

 

“Riku!!!!!” Sora let out a panicked scream as Jenova twisted his wrist more and held onto his arm with a vice-like grip while she kicked his stomach in; combined with the acceleration of his body going backwards from the force of her kick with her holding his bad wrist completely still- it only served to dislocate his wrist further and he let out another cry of pain when she finally let him fall to the ground. 

 

“Stop!!!” With tears in his eyes, Sora charged at Jenova with blind anger. His keyblade clashing with her blade as he looked up at her with tear-stained cheeks. “Why? Why did you have to hurt him?!” 

 

Jenova took a moment to carefully regard Sora. **“Because I wanted to. And as for your friend Kairi, I’ll break every bone in her arms and legs then continue to break her mind until she’s completely useless!”**

 

“Stop,” his voice cracked. “Lady would never allow that!!” 

 

 **“Lady’s dead!”** Jenova’s voice boomed as she reached over Sora’s keyblade to grab his face and slam him into the ground below her. The brunet let out a choked cough as Jenova stomped on his back. 

 

“Leave him alone!” Riku yelled as he struggled to push himself off the ground but ended up collapsing again onto his wrist. 

 

Jenova moved to the side, brought her leg back and landed a kick to Sora’s stomach that flung him towards Riku- the two of them making noises that indicated the pain they were feeling inside of their bodies. Before she could continue her assault on them, Terra fired a spell that made her stop and turn her attention towards him. **“Your friends, Aqua and Ventus was it? Once I finish you, I’ll make sure to send their souls to live with you in the darkness.”**

 

Looking down at Riku and Sora’s wounded bodies, Terra’s breath became shaky as he breathed slower and slower. Fine wisps of darkness appeared over his shoulders that soon enveloped his body like a shadow. Looking up at Jenova, he felt his hand tremble with anger. “I’ll set this right,” he muttered an obsessive chant as he locked eyes with the alien that possessed Lady. “I’ll set this _right!!”_  

 

Terra felt rage. Insurmountable rage that he’d never felt before. A rage that could consume him while. 

 

Slamming his fist on the circular dome on his shoulder armor, bright light blinded her and she brought her arm up to shield her eyes. When it died down, she looked at where Terra once stood and saw an armored knight take his place. From head-to-toe, he was now donning heavy armor that completely encompassed his body; armor that sported warm-colored metals, derived from the very ores that built the foundation of this planet and many others beyond it. 

 

Even still, she could see the dark whispers of darkness that hung around him like a veil and she couldn’t help but laugh. **“So much darkness from a Keyblade wielder, are you sure you don’t want to join me as my vessel?”** In a blink of an eye, she appeared in front of Terra faster than he could react. **“Just how much did you lust over Lady, you sinful child.”**

 

“Shut up!!” Terra brandished his keyblade and swung at her. Moving out of his way, Lady struck his armor and saw the metal flash against the edge of her blade. 

 

Moving in quick, she appeared behind him and leaned in close to her ear. **“Did you relish the moment when she offered her body to you? When you fucked her mercilessly against the sheets?? Do you touch yourself when you think of her writhing figure in the darkness?”** She purred quietly. 

 

He turned around and swung his arm only to find himself swinging at air. 

**“I bet you want to do it again.”**

That voice was to the left and so he looked but found no one there.

**“Is that what you were planning when you ‘rescue’ her? To have her lay on her back while you have your way with her as a reward?”**

It seemed like the voice surrounded him and he frantically searched for it. 

**“You do, don’t you? Hah! I could see where your Nobody gets his infatuation from then.”**

 

Terra froze. “My.. what?”

 

Next thing he knew, Jenova appeared in front of him again with her blade already aimed down in a diagonal angle. Bringing it down, he was knocked back and slid with his armor screeching against the ground . Above him, Jenova jumped up with her sword pointed downwards to pin him down and he rolled out of the way as she landed not too far beside him. Getting on his feet, he caught her blade with his pauldrons and waved it aside as he brought his weapon down against hers. Together they parried and side-stepped, matching each other’s footsteps as they also tried to outmatch each other at the same time. 

 

When Terra locked with her again, he found himself face to face between the edge of their blades- similar to the day when he first met Lady at the apartments and they fought for a little. Of course, the woman in front of him was not her, , no, just someone else who shared her face. 

 

“What do you mean.. My Nobody?!” Terra pushed forward, trying to force her on her knees. 

 

Jenova had a wide grin on her face and hunger flashed in her eyes like lights going off at a festival. **“You’ll know soon enough, ‘Master Terra’.”** Her foot stomped on his and she pushed him back.

 

  **“Hold onto that darkness in your heart.”**

 

*******

 

Noctis made a grab for another of his weapons from his armiger and just as it materialized in his hand, Jenova was there as well to grab the weapon at the same time. Laughing, she let it materialize before thrusting it at him and he narrowly dodged it. Reaching beside him to take another one, he realized his mistake too late as she grabbed that weapon before he could. Taking the long spear, she thrust it into his chest and narrowly missed his heart and only piercing the side. 

 

Stumbling back, Noctis felt at his wound and was relieved to find it was shallow. He had pulled back just in time but he still couldn’t be allowed to be so careless. He had to hold on. Gladio and Ignis got hurt too much to the point where they couldn’t move. 

 

This enraged the prince. Those two were like that because they took the hits for him. 

This had to end and it was all up to him. 

 

Quieting his doubtful thoughts, Noctis summoned his armiger again and prepared for the moment when Jenova would hijack another of his weapons. Watching her, he saw as she took a step and then rushed in another direction; following where she was going, he saw that she was headed straight for- rather, whom she was headed towards. 

 

Jenova raised her sword and made to cut Prompto as the blond put a hand up in an attempt to protect himself. 

 

 _Idiot!_ Noctis scolded his friend internally as he made a break for it. _She’ll cut your hand off!!!_

 

Prompto’s hand was just about to meet Jenova, with her blade reaching the amber-bead bracelet on his wrist. 

 

*******

 

Axel leaped up and flung his chakrams at Jenova, swirls of fire formed in their wake as they whizzed in the air towards her. When she blocked them and sent them flying back, he caught them one by one; gripping them, he fell to his knees and used one to hold himself up. He was losing stamina rather quickly and the fight had gone on long enough. The others felt the same and he saw that; most of them were struggling to continue on this fight any longer. Others were holding themselves together with simple curative spells that could only make some of the pain disappear. 

 

It was only him and Xion left. Everyone else couldn’t go on and even Roxas was suffering as he had the most hits on him. Axel saw the blond still trying to get up and collapsed onto the ground, using his keyblades to hold himself up the best they could. 

 

The moment of distraction was interrupted as Xion screamed his name. “Axel, watch out!”

 

Immediately he looked up just as a barrage of blue flames scorched his arm and he groaned in pain. Her fire was blue as his was red and this put him at a disadvantage- because everyone knew that blue flames burned hotter than the red ones. 

 

A wall of flames protected him just as another strike dispersed them and sent him backwards at the force of the explosion. Coughing through the smoke, Axel tried to force himself back up but found that he couldn’t move. His body finally gave in to exhaustion and he panicked. Now Xion was the last one standing. 

 

Jenova turned her attention to the black-haired girl and Axel yelled her name, watching helplessly as the alien made way for her with her blade raised high. 

 

Xion’s battle prowess was not as good as her opponent, and she was a little too slow at deflecting the sword- so she saw the blade coming down directly on her head. 

 

Right over where her silk ribbon was tied to her hair. 

 

*******

 

Sephiroth matched Jenova’s steps, stopping her sword before it could reach him any further. To his left, Angeal was holding Genesis up in an attempt to stabilize his bleeding although Angeal himself wasn’t doing too well either. As for Vincent.. Jenova saw what weapon he mainly used and went to break his fingers before he could do any more harm. Seeing as he had the Chaos gene, he assumed he would be fine- but right now they weren’t healing and all he could do was watch and wait for his dislocated bones to be put back in place. 

 

Zack was banged up and bruised too, his 1st Class tunic was all torn up and through the fabric one could see the cuts that lay just underneath. Sephiroth did his best to protect those who couldn’t fight, but he felt as if his energy was being drained as he fought with her. 

 

He parried her attack and pushed her back against the barrier surrounding the circle they fought on. Scowling, Jenova moved to the side and caught his blade; her hand had a cut on it as expected but he was surprised to see that it didn’t bleed right away; rather, the cut just stayed stagnant like the blood was waiting to pour out. 

 

Her sword found its way into his arm and he winced under the new sensation of pain. There were rare moments he was hit in battle, unfortunately this had to be one of them. Her sword shifted positions and sliced down to his wrist until blood spilled onto the blade he carried. The grip was made slippery and he switched to his non-dominant hand to fight. 

 

From the side of his vision, Sephiroth saw Zack charging in with his sword held high. 

 _Fool, that’s too obvious!_ He wanted to shout that but he would risk Jenova seeing Zack while she was preoccupied with him. Time slowed for him as he saw Zack’s sword come up from behind and Jenova disappeared from her spot. 

 

Sephiroth tried to find her but froze when he felt a foreboding presence behind him. A hand gripped his sword and forced it upwards to meet Zack. 

 

 _“Get out of the way!”_ He wanted to yell at the black-haired soldier. But those words would’ve been too slow as her blade was quicker. It was strange how he couldn’t move, like he was under her control and her mind became his. Sephiroth could only watch as the blade in his hand moved with Jenova guiding it. 

 

Standing in dread as the tip of his Masamune was about to pierce Zack’s hip where his little bear keychain was attached. 

 

*******

 

Terra’s helmet flew off as Jenova’s sword swung upwards, the tip of her blade leaving a cut on his lip as his protective gear left him. Her strength had overwhelmed him yet again and just like the others, the longer he fought the stronger she became. She learned from their blunders and their fighting styles, to the point where she could predict their next movements easily. It was difficult fighting an opponent who learned quickly. 

 

He looked to the others to see how they fared and saw all of the ones who couldn’t even stand up anymore. Only one or two remained fighting on each circle and even they weren’t going to last long themselves. 

 

It was clear they were losing. Badly. 

 

His breaths became heavy as rage filled him at the sight. “That is ENOUGH!” He roared as chains of light burst from the tip of his white keyblade and captured Jenova, wrapping around her body tightly. 

 

Light green light floated around his weapon and down on the resin-coated flower that dangled off its handle, a memento given to him by her. Raising his blade, lit orbs gathered at the end and he aimed it towards her. “I’m finishing this now!” 

 

A thick stream of light erupted from his weapon and went right for her. The little white flower on his keyblade began to shine with such intensity that it blinded Terra. Looking away, he could see three other similar shining lights at the other circle and all three of them connected with the one he had, eventually forming a rhombus shape. 

 

Bathed in that same light, Jenova let out a pained scream as the light filled the fake universe they were in and doused every dark corner with illumination. Soon, all everyone could see was pure white and none else. 

 

*******

 

Lady felt something warm touch her face and she slowly opened her eyes to see where the sensation could have come from. 

 

For a long time now all she felt was cold and nothing but. Floating in the abyss, she had no sense of which way was up or down, left or right. Had time even passed by? 

 

_“...-dy!!!”_

 

A noise? Here? Lady looked around her and saw no one. She was alone. 

 

_“La-!!!”_

 

Someone’s voice was calling to her. But who was it? 

 

_“Lady!!! Wake up!!!!”_

 

As if a heavy spell of drowsiness was broken, life returned to her eyes and she saw the light in the distance grow brighter. 

 

Her feet then touched solid ground and she immediately broke out into a sprint towards it, hearing the voices becoming more coherent the closer she got. Her hand was outreached, hoping the light was at least somewhat tangible enough to give her something to hold onto. 

 

As the voices got louder, the faster she ran to try and find them. 

 

*******

 

Jenova panted, holding one side of her face as she stuck her sword down into the ground with anger. The area around them changed; they were now all standing on what they assumed was the top of the crater with its shallow depression facing the sky where they saw the meteor. It was closer to the planet now and they held their breath in anticipation for when it would strike but saw it begin to crack. Giant fissures formed all around it and they watched in awe as it crumbled into smaller pieces and disperse into ash that scattered to the winds. 

 

Behind Jenova, her crystal of mako was no longer cloudy and dark- merely empty and devoid of any energy. Everyone, including the alien, wondered what just happened. How did they get out of that summoned dimension and stopped the meteor?

 

Xion’s hand flew up to her hair and felt for the ribbon, feeling a small cut on it from where Jenova meant to cut her and she realized. “Lady’s charms helped us!”

 

“Quick!” Vincent grimaced in pain as he barked out an order. “While we still have this chance!”

 

Those who remained standing readied their weapons as Jenova did the same- but they all stopped when they saw tears come down the alien’s unforgiving eyes. 

 

Jenova froze. Reaching up to feel her face when she felt this foreign sensation. At first she thought it to be blood but saw nothing but clear liquid on her fingertips. **“Tears..?”** The alien was confused. Why would she be crying in the first place? It was then that Jenova felt light fill up her chest and she clutched it in anger.

 

 This was merely evidence that her host was still resisting. 

 

 **“Damn you…”** Jenova spoke to the droplets of tears on her hand as if they were Lady herself. **“Impudent human, do you not know when to give up?!”** More tears ran down Jenova’s face and it only infuriated more. **“I’ll make you watch, as I drain the life from each and every person here!!”**

 

Suddenly, a light burst forth from her chest and Jenova felt her consciousness wane. 

 

*******

 

Moments passed by in seconds but stretched into years as Lady awoke and found herself standing at the epicenter of the destruction she wrought. Looking down at her hands, she noticed only one of her eyes were still working and she felt the mako in her body being coursed to work for that one in particular. Her mind raced. Jenova was still inside.. but she just got control of her body even if it was momentary! 

 

 _Make this count, make this count..!_  

 

Lady looked up at Prompto whose hands were trembling uncontrollably. She tried to conjure the words that would give her strength, but it quickly left her when she noticed the blood stains decorating the rocky ground of the raised crater. All around her they stood, with eyes so weary and afraid of her power that her bottom lip trembled. 

 

_This is all my fault._

Lady saw Roxas with blood overflowing from his shoulder. 

_I did this._

Ignis didn’t have his glasses and his face was bruised, Noctis had a cut on his eyebrow and forehead, Gladio’s chest had a diagonal slash on it and had dried blood oozing on it.

_I’m a monster. I’m a monster._

Zack had an x-marked cut on his lower left cheek and Genesis had his left arm littered with cuts. Sephiroth was lacerated on his sword arm. Vincent had the bones in his hand broken. Riku was nursing his wrist with Sora supporting him upwards. Terra’s armor was scuffed completely and his lip was cut and bleeding. 

 _Monstermonstermonstermonstermonstermonster!!!!!!_  

 

Her next exhale was shaky, and she gripped her stomach that was collapsing with the pain she was feeling right now. Pain for them. Pain that _she_ inflicted. 

 

“Prompto!!!!” She screamed out with tears forming in her eyes. “Take the shot now!!!” Through her screeches, the tears flowed endlessly and she couldn’t bother to stop them. 

 

“Please, while I still have control- agh!!” Her hands flew up to her face and threw her head back to the sky. Agony  filled up her being and she felt Jenova clawing back for control through her insides, her nails scratching against her organs and ripping tears within her like a wild animal fighting for survival. Pain traveled towards her back until something spewed forth and black feather came floated down around her. From her peripherals, she saw the tips of the wings form dark, scaly hands that reached for her neck and squeezed hard. Lady struggled with the blackened claws tearing at her throat and made her hunch over. Through choked sobs and strangled cries, she looked at Prompto through the flurry of feathers and claws. “Prompto… Please-!!!!”

 

The feathers soon stopped and through the veil, Prompto saw purple light glare at him from the shadow the wings cast over her. 

 

 **“Damn brat,”** Jenova’s voice returned as the wings retracted back with her white hair flowing behind her and the purple glow returned to both eyes. Taking the sword that was stuck in the ground, she then rushed towards Prompto with her wings accelerating her even faster than before. **“Just die!!!”**

 

“Prompto!!” Noctis screamed as Jenova closed in the distance more and more with each passing second. 

 

Prompto started to hyperventilate, almost hypnotized by the way her eyes illuminated the path towards him that would certainly kill him in a heartbeat. Finally, his breaths returned to normal and time around him sped up. Jenova was getting closer. Lifting his gun, he remembered Lady’s voice begging him to do it. He had to. _He had to!!!_

 

With the crosshairs aligning up with Jenova, Prompto’s finger ghosted over the trigger as her blade was angled up to have the tip pierce right through his head. The sound that came from Prompto was a noise born of anguish and despair. The first girl he ever worked up the courage to confess to had to be the same one he was deigned to shoot down like an animal.

 

By the time he had already committed, she was already so close to the point where he didn’t have to bother aiming.. 

 

..and so he fired. 

 

Despite the gunshot echoing in the crater and being the only sound they heard for miles- they couldn’t actually hear how truly loud it was as shock filled their systems. They could only watch as the black wings disappeared in darkened ash behind her in a similar fashion to the meteor; the sword then fell out of her hands and dropped onto the ground with a muffled _clang!_  

 

Stumbling backwards, she looked down at where Prompto shot her and saw the blood dripping out in a steady stream of crimson with light green streaking through it. Just as the Jenova cells had been eradicated from her, as did the mako that Jenova linked itself to and thus her body had lost its ability to regenerate. 

 

All of the wounds the others had inflicted on her as Jenova were just now being felt while she was herself, while she was Lady. Cuts and bruises and stabs that perforated her being and was being held together with the power of mako was now opening back up as fresh wounds. All together, she felt their pain as one ubiquitous strike along and it hurt more than she could bear.

 

But even still, it didn’t hurt as much as the wounds she’d inflicted on them. The people she once fought so hard to protect. 

 

Stepping back, she clung to her chest and looked up at Prompto who already had tears streaming down his face with some of her blood spotting his cheeks where his freckles were. Had she come that close to him? 

She supposed it didn’t matter now. 

 

A silent gasp for air left her lips as she felt fluid filling up her lungs and spilled from the sides of her lips and she collapsed back onto the ground. Blood formed a huge puddle of red around her as the hole in her chest continued to stay open. Although the entry wound of Prompto’s shot wasn’t huge, the same couldn’t be said for the exit.. and for that she suffered. 

 

Her silvery-white hair became stained with dark crimson as she struggled to breathe but she felt as if a stone had blocked her throat and so she lay there with strangled breaths. 

 

Prompto could only stare with his hand covering his mouth and constantly mumbling to himself with how that wasn’t supposed to be where he shot her- that it was a mistake. He sat there to marinate in his distress as the others ran to where Lady fell. 

 

Lady felt her body being lifted up into someone’s arms but by the time she tried to look to see who it was, Jenova’s cells had left her eyes and she was once again returned to her original blinded state. Warm tears ran down her cheeks when she thought about how she couldn’t see any of their faces while her breath left her in struggling wisps. Had she not deserved that kindness at least?

 

“Lady…” Roxas’ voice was next to her and she felt her hand being lifted against his face. She could still feel the dried blood staining his cheeks. “You can survive this, right? Please, please don’t leave me alone,” he whispered to her. “We were supposed to get ice cream together!”  

 

As a response, she squeezed his hand and tried to smile. She wanted to see him, she wanted to see all of them. At least one more time. When her body felt numb and she felt colder. She knew her time was growing short. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she rasped out and Roxas grasped her hand harder. “I just… wanted to spend more time.. with all of you.” More tears came from her eyes as she turned her head to face the sky. She made all those promises. And now she had to break them. “Please.. for..give me.”

 

Roxas held her hand to his forehead, his eyes were shut tight to try and stop the tears from coming but when he felt her hand slip from his and landed on the ground with a thud- he immediately looked up.

 

Just in time to see her body disappear and burst into light. 

 

Where her body originally was, her heart took its place, crystalline in nature and exuding a warm aura- but that too did not last long when fissures formed and cracked loudly. From the small pond of blood where she once laid, a white flower burst forth from the ground. Its petals soft and forming into a shape of a small star, glowing like a sliver taken from a great moon. When Roxas reached forward to touch it, light filled the crater and everyone watched as more of the ethereal blooms appeared and multiplied. Lining the once empty and dull ground with an array of the same vibrant star-shaped flowers. Like a garden found in the deepest parts of space. 

 

A gentle wind caressed them and some of the petals flew up into the air, flying towards the group and nuzzling the parts of their bodies that had wounds on them. Immediately, their wounds closed up and the petals left fleeting silken kisses as they passed. Some of them, exclusively the Nobodies, had the petals linger on them longer. Mixed together with the stream of light that came from her heart- it pulsed in front of their chests before the light sank and disappeared within them. 

 

Roxas was the first to feel what that light had done. His chest felt heavier, as if something was weighing it down from the inside and when the full realization of what he lost came to him, he felt an overwhelming surge of emotion that felt like being washed away by a tide. An entirely new sensation that made large droplets fall from his eyes. 'It' had finally came back to him and it only amplified the intensity of the anguish he was feeling. 

 

As one final chasm formed down the middle of the heart, with a deafening crack it then broke into miniscule pieces that dispersed throughout the crater in a wide radius. The pieces becoming smaller and smaller until it would become impossible to try and put them back together. 

 

In the end, she had kept at least one of her promises. She gave the Nobodies what she thought they wanted most: a heart. 

 

**A few weeks later...**

 

Standing in the midst of a shallow crater that faced the heavens; fixed in a sanctuary of glowing whiter flowers that bloomed only in that specific area, a hallowed ground where blood was spilt, was a stone marking sitting in front of a large crystal. 

 

Around that stone were an array of items ranging from bouquets of differently colored flowers, a stuffed moogle doll, a star-shaped charm that twinkled every time the sun hits it, a fresh paopu fruit, a paper lantern, and three swords that were stuck in the ground behind it- one of them long and powerful, one of them large and heavy, and one short and crimson with an elegant design.

 

On the stone were etched words that were carefully carved by someone. Words that spelled out:

 

_‘In memory_

_of_

_our lovely landlady.’_


	68. LXVIII

**Xemnas**

 

On that fateful hour of Lady’s passing, Xemnas happened to be walking down the lonely hallways that traversed the Castle That Never Was. At the moment her heart finally stopped beating, he too halted in his steps. It was said that hearts that have connected with others, whether it be through overwhelming love or anger, can feel when the other heart dies. And just now, Xemnas felt a piece of himself leave this plane of existence. 

 

It wasn’t Ansem, nor his progenitor. It was someone far more precious. 

 

In the coldness of the World That Never Was, he shivered for the first time until he felt warmth embrace him. Holding his arms out, he saw shimmers of light form between them until a transparent visage of Lady stood right in front of him. She had a small smile on her face with her hands positioned on his chest where his heart should’ve been. Without thinking, he leaned down to hug her tightly as she got on her tiptoes to meet his face halfway. Both of their lips just barely contacting each other as Xemnas greatly anticipated the warmth of hers on his.

 

But alas, just before their lips could meet and his arms finished embracing her, he watched in anguish as her body of light disappeared and dispersed. Spreading around his chest, he felt the next inhale of air become more vibrant with vitality. Something filled in his lungs and every breath he took felt more lively than the last- like something returned to him and his insides felt fresh and revived with each inhale. 

 

He put a hand on his chest and his eyes widened when he felt something thump slightly under his fingers. 

 

_A heart-! But.. how?_  

 

Remembering that vision of Lady just now that he waved away as a minor delusion, he felt his heartbeat slow. Remembering the loss he felt earlier, he felt something hot form at his eyes. 

 

A heart was what he had once desired most. Despite preparing for the moment a heart was granted to him, he didn’t expect his first true emotion to be heartbreak-

 

-then, for the first time ever, Xemnas fell to his knees and shed his very first set of tears. 

 

*******

 

Everyone who visited Lady’s grave always saw a fresh bouquet being left in front of it. A bouquet of pure white roses with black stems. It never got a chance to decay or have its leaves fall off as it was always replaced before it even got a chance to and everyone always wondered: 

Who kept leaving those flowers there?

 

**Ienzo**

 

Radiant Garden was enveloped in softening twilight and cast a golden shadow on the spiraling castle. Ienzo opened the door to his old room and immediately coughed when a shower of dust greeted him and entered his lungs uninvited. He blinked a couple times to adjust to the darkness and strode across the room to where he last remembered his lamp was and he turned it on. Looking around him, he saw everything almost in perfect order save for the cobwebs and spiders that scuttled about- thriving in his inevitable absence. 

 

“I’m home,” he said softly to himself but his words felt about as empty as the room. 

 

It’s been two weeks since the meteor calamity and Even, Dilan, Aeleus, as well as himself of course and even Naminé, moved back to their old place of dwelling. But it wasn’t by their choice. They were invited back. 

 

“How are you feeling?” A deep voice greeted him from his doorway and Ienzo quickly turned around. 

 

“Master Ansem, I-” Ienzo cleared his throat and brushed the hair away from his face. “Everything’s fine.. I just have to clean all of this up. It certainly is a mess in here. I know Lady would hate this-” He covered his mouth to stop himself. 

 

Ansem’s eyes grew empathetic for him. Walking over, he placed a hand on his shoulder. “I apologize,” he whispered. “I wished I could’ve done more for you.” 

 

“It wasn’t your fault.” 

 

His mentor’s eyes shifted to the ground quickly and without another word, he turned around and exited the room; but before he could leave, he looked at Ienzo again. 

 

“I’m relieved she helped you find your light,” was all he said before going back towards the hallways where he came from. 

 

Ienzo swallowed the words he wanted to say and walked over to the window. Opening it up, he welcomed the fresh breeze that blew away the smell of antiquity in the room. The sun was just setting below the distant green hills and twilight was replaced by an ivory blanket. Speaking of twilight, he insisted Roxas to come with them but the blond only rejected them- on many occasions. Lea, Isa, and Xion were to keep an eye on him and so they followed Roxas to Twilight Town. 

 

Closing his eyes, he massaged the lids and felt how they ached from how long he’s stayed up. His newly developed heart was least favorable than he imagined and the emotions that came with them were more negative than positive. But that was to be expected. 

 

Since Lady was dead. 

 

Setting aside his thoughts for the day, he shrugged off his coat and kicked off his shoes then slid into bed when a knock at his door got his attention again. Even stuck his head in and Ienzo noticed how calmer his eyes appeared now, a welcome sign. 

 

Ienzo slid his sheets down. “Can I help you?” 

 

“I forgot to give this to you. A gift,” he opened the door a crack to walk in and retrieved something from his pocket. Setting it on his nightstand, he gave Ienzo a small smile before walking out. “Pleasant dreams.”

 

Ienzo picked up the item he left behind and held it in his hands. It was a tiny box covered in star patterned gift wrap, a silver turn-key was sticking out on one of the sides and so he carefully unwrapped it starting from there. Setting the pretty wrapping paper aside, he beheld a tiny music box. 

 

_How odd. Surely this wouldn’t be a gift from Even, right?_ He turned the box over and squinted at the finely engraved words on the bottom that spelled out: 

 

_‘For when you have trouble sleeping._

_-Lady’_

 

It took great strength for him not to spill his tears on the dainty wooden music box and it became harder still when he twisted the turn-key and the first melodic notes of the music box played aloud for him. A melody of a memory from a woman that stayed beside him when he had trouble sleeping. 

 

Turning the key even more, he set it down on his night stand, rested his head on his pillow and let the music notes carry him off to what he hoped would be a restful sleep. 

 

**Meanwhile, in Twilight Town…**

 

On the edge of clocktower that stood tall over all other buildings within its vicinity, four figures sat on the granite precipice of the imposing timepiece. In each of their hands was a single popsicle that was light-blue in color but appeared darker thanks to the intensity of the sun’s rays hitting it. 

 

“So,” Lea was the first to speak, always the first to break the ice. “Just gonna try and live normal lives now, huh?” 

 

Isa gave him a side-eye. “No matter how we look at it, we’re not ‘normal’.” 

 

“We’re human now,” Lea scowled. “We have hearts, don’t we?” 

 

Xion looked to her left, worried blue eyes scanned between Isa and Lea. She opened her mouth to speak until she heard Roxas shift in his position to her left. 

 

“Yeah, sure, we have hearts. But was the cost even worth it?” Roxas scoffed loudly and the other three immediately turned their eyes to him. It was the first full sentence he said ever since Lady’s death. Most of the time he made gestures or unintelligible grunts to notify others what he was going to do, and if it didn’t communicate properly- he didn’t care. “What’s the point of having a heart, if all you feel is _this_?” 

 

Droplets of the sea-salt ice cream fell from the tip of his popsicle and Xion tried to pick it up to angle it but Roxas moved his hand away so she couldn’t reach. 

 

“We might as well just be Nobodies again,” he grumbled under his breath and at this Xion frowned. 

 

“Roxas!” She turned her body to him completely. “Don’t say that, I know you’re hurting but so are we. But we have to do our best to move on,” she looked to Isa and Lea. “All four of us have to.”

 

Roxas looked up at Xion then handed her his popsicle. “You three go ahead and do that.” 

 

Getting up, he walked past her, Lea, and Isa then descended the clock tower. Leaving the other three behind, they sat in awkward silence and watched the sky darken with a group of clouds that cast a shadow over them. Slowly, one by one, they all left the clock tower and went their separate ways; eager to avoid each other until it was time to go to their shared home and sleep. 

 

**Xion**

 

“Unbelievable,” Xion muttered under her breath before biting off the pieces of her popsicle as well as Roxas which he didn’t even touch at all. Not before long, she began to regret her decision to bite the popsicles as her teeth started feeling numb. Licking them, she finished the rest of the sea-salt ice creams before discarding the sticks in a nearby trash can. 

 

Walking down the street, she avoided groups of people that crowded the path to the trolley and ducked into an empty alleyway. Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, she fished it out and answered. 

 

“Hello?” Xion heard a relieved sigh on the other line. 

 

_“Xion, how is everyone over there?”_ It was Naminé. As Xion was adjusting to Twilight Town, the other girl was adjusting in Radiant Garden. 

 

“They’re..” She tried to search for the words but ultimately failed. “They’re trying to adjust.”

 

_“And Roxas?”_

 

“What do you think? But hey, at least he said a full sentence today.”

 

_“...I feel terrible. Please just keep an eye on him. Do you think a visit from Sora would help?”_

 

“Pfft, no way.”

 

_“You’re probably right. Well, take care okay? Keep in touch.”_

 

“Right, seeya later Naminé.”

 

Xion put her phone back in her pocket and she leaned against the wall. Reaching up to touch her hair, her fingers brushed against the silk ribbon that she tied to her hair and she flinched. Sliding down the wall, a single tear came from her eye. She tried to hold it in and be strong for her friends so she wouldn’t be a burden but she only bottled up her feelings. She missed Lady just as much as everyone else.

 

 Lady was the closest thing she had to an older sister. 

 

**Isa**

 

Isa walked down the empty path from the clocktower with his steps echoing between the buildings. When he passed a shop with a reflective window he stopped and peered at the reflection that stared back at him. Everything about him stayed the same when he received his heart back; his hair, his face, even his scar.. It was only his eyes that changed. 

 

Instead of the golden-orange that they used to be, they were only a light green that reminded him of the seaweed he would see swaying beneath the ocean waters at the Alstroemeria. Everytime he looked at a mirror, he was reminded that he was now human- and was still getting used to that notion. 

 

Digging his hands into the pockets of his black jacket and stepped back, he continued down the inclined road to reach the apartment that the four of them pitched in to buy despite his protestations. He wanted his own place but was now forced to share a room with Lea. 

 

In front of him, Isa saw a group of three guys walking up the road to reach the train station. They were being loud and pushing each other around which made them take up more space than necessary on their way up so Isa kept his head down to try and walk past them as quickly as possible. But with his luck, of course it didn’t happen that way. 

 

As soon as Isa passed them by, one of the guys bumped into his shoulder and he immediately went sitff. Releasing a steady stream of air from his nostrils, he kept on walking but the guy he bumped into grabbed him by the shoulder. 

 

“Hey!” He said and Isa gave him a side-eye. _Young. Maybe around his early twenties. Cropped brown hair and blue eyes with clothes that seemed to be on par with what everyone else thought was trendy._ Isa wanted to smirk, but his own thoughts and body craved provocation. 

 

“Excuse me,” Isa kept his tone steady then tried to keep walking but the brunet didn’t let go of his shoulder. 

 

“Don’t you know it’s rude to bump into someone?” The brunet’s friends walked closer to see what was going on. “You need to apologize.”

 

Isa felt heat rise from the back of his neck towards his face. “It was you that bumped me actually.” 

 

“Not the way I saw it,” one of the other friends said. 

 

“Yeah, you should apologize,” the third one said. 

 

Isa stared at the brunet’s blue eyes. “I’ll pass.”

 

Gritting his teeth, the brunet balled his hand into a fist and immediately made a right hook aimed for his face. Ducking, Isa caught his fist and twisted his arm with such alarming ease that it made the other guys step back. 

 

“The hell? This guy’s a freak!” 

 

Isa felt rage fill him up the more he looked at the struggling brunet in his grip; and when he looked up to see his reflection on another window on a store across from him- he let go. 

 

“Next time you see me, you best stay out of my way,” Isa growled and the brunet swore he saw protrusions of a fang pop out from the blue-haired man’s canines. The three men ran the opposite direction and Isa tucked his hands into his pockets again. 

 

_“You’re more than the rage that controls you, Saïx.”_

 

A smile appeared on his face when he remembered _her_ words. Inhaling, he looked to the sky. “Would you be proud of the restraint I just showed?” He asked as if she was listening and when the wind rushed through the roof of the buildings, he swore he could’ve heard a subtle and soft ‘yes’. 

 

**Lea**

 

Lea was the last to leave the clocktower and he stayed there until he saw the sky darken just a smidgen from its original hue. Standing up, he stretched his arms above his head and walked home at a leisurely pace. Emerging from the train station were three guys; one of them, a brunet with blue eyes, was holding his arm and massaging his wrist. 

 

“That blue-haired guy is a total monster, fuck, this hurts!” He howled in pain while he tried to cradle his wrist. 

 

Lea shook his head. _Geez, you sure know how to make friends, don’t you Isa._ Walking past them, he followed the road back home until he reached the new apartment building they rented out. Taking a key from his pocket, he opened the door and stepped inside. Immediately, he saw Xion sitting on the couch with the tv on the lowest volume setting possible as bright colors flashed on the screen. She looked at him and gave him a small smile in acknowledgment. Walking past the living room, he stepped into his room and saw Isa at his desk busily writing something.

 

After seeing that Isa was there, Lea moved to check on Xion and Roxas’ room when Isa’s voice stopped him. 

 

“He isn’t there,” he said. 

 

“It’s already getting late,” Lea frowned. “I should go look for him.”

 

Isa put his pen down and stared at his friend. “He needs his time to heal, let him be.”

 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Lea let out a small grunt. “Yeah, I guess.” Walking over to his bed, he collapsed on it and crossed his arms below his head. “Isa?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“What do we do now?” He said quietly enough so that Xion couldn’t hear.

 

Lea heard the pen stop and set down again. With a sigh, Isa looked at Lea over his shoulder. “What would she say?”

 

“To live,” it was a simple answer but it would be a complicated path to the solution. “Even if it hurts.”

 

Isa was silent and Lea’s thoughts started to cloud him with doubt again. 

 

Lea turned to his side so he could see the blue-haired man. “Isa-“

 

“I miss her too.”

 

“Yeah,” Lea smiled softly. “I know."

 

**Roxas**

 

The iron gates of the Alstroemeria creaked loudly when Roxas entered. An aroma of flowers was the first to greet him and he could see the blooms haven’t withered even when no one was around to care for them anymore. Walking towards the central courtyard, Roxas looked around at everything. At how everything was untouched and untainted, a veil of serenity was present in the place yet the silence wasn’t the least bit eerie. It was welcoming, like greeting an old friend.

 

Everything in the Alstroemeria was petrified in time. A spell had been cast before the previous tenants had left that would isolate the Alstroemeria from weathering and other things that could disturb it.

 

Roxas walked near the gazebo and saw marks on the cobblestone where they tried to chain Lady down to extract Jenova. How wrong they had been. Ripping himself away from the scene that brought back painful memories, he made his way up to Lady’s old apartment and reached under the mat to fetch the key she would hide there. Unlocking the door, Roxas stepped in and immediately shivered at how cold it was inside. Had it always been this temperature?

 

Slipping off his shoes like she would always do, he walked to her room and reached for the door handle only to hesitate before grasping it completely to turn it. Opening the door slowly, he saw her bed; it was still made up nearly from the last time she’s been here and the smell of her perfume still hung in the air. He was hesitant to pull the sheets back and ruin any aspect of the perfect preservation of her apartment- but he was so entangled in his despair that he would do anything to get a sense of her presence.

 

Rolling the sheets back, Roxas hopped in and pulled it back up over his shoulder and up to his nose. Inhaling deeply, he could even smell her perfume lingering in the sheets and pillows. But it just made him even more homesick.

 

He slowed his breathing for fear that if he inhaled too rapidly, the scent would dissipate and he could no longer be able to smell it. 

 

Moonlight poured into her room through the blinds and Roxas tucked a pillow under his head as well as one right beside him that he hugged tightly. It was like the night that he slept in her bed for the first time with her. She would pat down his hair and kiss him on the forehead good night; all simple gestures and common amongst people that care for each other, but it was a first for him. A first to be touched so lovingly and with such tenderness. Closing his eyes, he let himself relax and he soon fell asleep. His last conscious thoughts being those of the memories he spent with her. 

 

Moments that he took for granted because he thought it would last forever. 

 

**Emyd**

 

Emyd ran a hand through his blond hair, his eyes were down turned as he let the wind run through his jacket. On a hilltop, not too far from Radiant Garden was a patch of soft green grass with a lone tree sitting on top of it. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms far above his head then got up and held out his hand to summon a corridor of darkness. At first, he was surprised he could still summon those, but he assumed all of the other guys could just as easily.

 

 Stepping through it, he found himself staring up at a small house that could only contain one- maybe two at most. Emyd immediately saw a tall man with spiky pink hair sitting in the front garden along with another man with shortly cropped platinum blond hair and finally a slender woman with bright blonde hair. 

 

“Marly!” Emyd stopped himself and cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s Lauriam now, right?” _Equally flamboyant name for this guy._

 

Then he turned to Luxord- _no, that’s not right._ “Rould!”

 

He then turned to Larxene- _No, that’s not right, either. Oh gods, she’s giving me that mean stare again._ “Elrena..? Did I get that right?”

 

“What do you want?” Elrena grimaced. 

 

Emyd walked towards her. “You know, you used to be waaay nicer before, Elrena. What turned you so sour?” 

 

Elrena’s eyes flashed with anger. “Two people I cared for died because of Jenova,” she snapped. “Stop trying to act so happy-go-lucky and stop pretending that it doesn’t bother you-“ she got up and walked past him, stopping by his shoulder to hiss more insults, “-so stop fucking doing that, it pisses me off.” 

 

Emyd closed his fists and his face became still. Without looking, he responded to her in a quiet voice. “You don’t think I’m sad too? Lady was the first person who ever cared about anything I did, you don’t think I’m suffering too?”

 

He then felt a rush of cold wind and he turned around just in time to see Elrena disappear in a corridor of darkness. Turning around, he faced Rould and Lauriam. 

 

“You think she’s gonna be mad forever?” He asked the two. 

 

“Her sour attitude hasn’t changed when she’s gained a heart,” Rould sighed, leaning back in his seat. 

 

“Give her time to cool off,” Lauriam muttered. “Although, I understand her anguish. That other girl she talked about, happened to be my sister. I happened to remember when I regained my heart.” His eyes became hazy while reminiscing over his own memories and Emyd understood that much. “I’m disgusted with myself that I could’ve ever forget Strelitzia.”

 

All the hidden memories that rushed back to him when his heart came back- it was almost too much to process all at once. 

 

“That’s right,” Emyd muttered, looking at his hand. “We were all once-“

 

“-Keyblade wielders,” the three of them said in unison. 

 

_Right.. I used to wield a Keyblade. Just like Roxas._ Emyd looked up at the sky. _In a place called.._ he racked his brain for the answer until he found it. 

 

_That’s right, it was called Daybreak Town._

 

**Elrena**

 

Walking along the beach, Elrena felt irritated at the feeling of the grains kicking up on her feet as she tried to float over the movable dunes with minimal effort. She stopped when she felt the ocean lap up at her legs and she shivered at how cold it felt compared to the sand that still contained vestiges of warmth. Turning towards the sea, she closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh salt that came off the frothy waves that looked bright even under the night sky. It was peaceful. 

 

“Larxene?” 

 

Her eyes opened wide and she turned to her left to see a face she thought she hadn’t seen in a while. 

 

“Mana,” Elrena breathed and she turned to the elderly woman. “That’s not my name anymore by the way.”

 

“Oh?” Mana raised an eyebrow. “What is it then?”

 

“It’s.. Elrena.”

 

“What a pretty name for a pretty girl like yourself,” Mana smiled. “Tell me, are you here with Lady? How nice of you two to visit me!”

 

Elrena swallowed hard. “Lady isn’t here, and she’s not coming back.” _Best to just be up front. There’s no point in dragging this out._ The more Elrena tried to force the words out, the more tangled her tongue felt. _Just say it, just say it dammit!_

 

“She’s dead, isn’t she?” Mana said softly.

 

“How did you-?”

 

Mana’s copper eyes shimmered then dulled in color. “That child promised to visit me every year, for the festival of the autumnal moon. If she ever broke her promise, that must mean something dire has happened to her.” 

 

Elrena was surprised to see how lackluster her reaction was. “You don’t seem that sad.”

 

The old woman smiled. “When you get to this age, you tend to see a lot of people you care about die. I’m just sad to see her gone and at such a young age, she had her whole life ahead of her.” Mana reached into the pocket of her robe to fetch something then placed the item in Elrena’s hand. “And besides, people mourn in different ways. My silence doesn’t mean an absence of suffering.”

 

Mana’s words made her think of Emyd, and a part of her felt guilty for saying those things to him prior. Maybe she would apologize, who knows? 

 

“Here,” Mana said. “I came out to light this up for my late husband, but I think my little sparrow needs it more. Won’t you light it up for her?”

 

Elrena looked at the miniature lantern that had flowers stitched into the sides, it was dainty and only needed a tiny spark to have it lit up. Cupping it in her hands, she looked to her. “Thank you,” she whispered.

 

“If you’re staying here tonight, you can have any room you like, alright?” The elderly woman took her hand and squeezed it. “Take care of yourself, Elrena and may your heart be your guiding key.”

 

Before the blonde could properly process what the old woman said, she took a step back and by the time she finally realized where she heard those words before- she looked up to see Mana had disappeared. 

 

_She moves so fast for an old woman._

 

Elrena shook away her thoughts and turned back to the ocean. Holding her finger out, she saw a tiny spark form on the tip to which she used it to light up the lantern. Lifting her palm, she watched the lantern float up into the sky as a feeling of content took over her. 

 

“This is a joke, right?” Elrena chuckled bitterly to herself. “I can’t believe you’re gone too.” _You and your stupid smile and your stupid way of doing things and your stupid determination.. That’s all gone but I’m still here_. Before the tear could leave her eye, she quickly reached up to wipe it away. 

 

Mana’s words echoed in her mind and she looked down at her hand in disgust. _Even with a heart, I still couldn’t protect anyone I cared about!_ Closing her fists, she immediately felt her hand being forced open as light formed in her palm. 

 

“What..?” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing as the light extended until it formed the shape of a key and she felt a solid grip in her hand. A yellow and green keyblade had appeared in her hand with bolts of electricity running up the shaft to the teeth of her key which looked suspiciously like the knives she used to wield as a Nobody.

 

After a moment of looking back at it, she remembered more of her past. Of other keyblade wielders. Of the Keyblade War. Of Daybreak Town. 

 

Letting the weapon vanish, she put a hand on her hip with the other rubbing her eyes. Turning around, she decided to think more on this in the morning- but as of now, she would spend the night where she and Lady first truly became friends. 

 

**Xigbar(?)**

 

Gravel crunched under Xigbar’s feet as he walked the battlefield. Where he and the others once stood, there were now a plethora of flowers that grew where blood had stained the dirt. Approaching the crystal in the middle of the shallow crater, he placed a hand on it and felt the warmth emanating from its depths. His expression softened and he knelt down to place a bouquet of pink tulips at the base of the crystal, right next to a bouquet of peculiar looking roses with white petals and black thorns. 

 

Standing straight up, he saw his reflection on the surface of the opalescent quartz and sighed heavily with his finger tracing where he was scarred. 

 

Taking a few steps back, he stared at the crystal for a few moments and pondered. Then after a few moments, he looked up at the sky with his one good eye with a defeated smile. 

 

From behind him stood a large, rectangular black box at about thirty-four inches long and twenty-three inches wide. To anyone it looked suspicious. Hell, even to him it looked suspicious. The thing looked like it could store a body. Dusting it off, he waved his hand and watched the black box sink into the ground with a glowing seal appearing on top of it before completely disappearing. He decided that this would be its next hiding spot. 

 

Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck. He got sidetracked from he originally set out to do- but who could blame him?

She had a smile that could halt the sun during its rotation. 

 

For a while, he could act relatively normal. Like his life was like any other normal human.. and he liked it- no, even _loved_ it. It was fun and she made it even better, after all, she was about one of the most interesting people he’s met in his long life. 

 

_“Xigbar.”_

“No,” he shook his head, answering to the internal voice that’s been ingrained in his memory. “That’s not really my name.”

 

But he supposed it didn’t matter anymore.

 

The woman’s voice didn’t ask him another question and he felt his chest tighten up. Above him, the sky was clear and free of clouds, just as it had been the moment her last breath left her.

 

He chuckled to himself. “So, is this what you saw in your little book of prophecies, huh?” 

 

**Terra**

 

“I’ve have deliberated and reached a decision. Terra, Aqua, you both performed comendably.” 

 

Master Eraqus looked to both of his pupils and then to Ventus who was nervously looking between both of his older friends. With a smile, Eraqus looked at the two budding Keyblade wielders. 

 

“You both have shown the Mark of Mastery,” he then said and watched their shoulders relax from their tensed position. “I’m so proud of you both.” 

 

Aqua had an excited grin on her face but tried to keep it to a minimal smile. “Thank you, Master Eraqus!” She bowed her head and Terra mimicked. 

 

“Thank you, Master,” he repeated after her and Aqua turned to her friend. He didn’t sound like himself. Even when he got back a couple days ago, Terra didn’t really behave normally and was quiet up until the Mark of Mastery exam. She never got the chance to ask him what was bothering him- or rather, he avoided both her and Ventus. 

 

“Terra,” Eraqus looked at the brown-haired disciple. “You seem troubled. 

 

“It’s nothing to worry yourself about, Master,” Terra responded quickly. 

 

A frown creased the lines between Eraqus’ brow. “Your Keyblade.. I’ve never seen it before. I thought you would want to go with your old one.” 

 

Holding out his hand, Terra brandished his white Keyblade and grasped the resin charm dangling off the end. Aqua saw him graze it with his thumb and his blue eyes filling with despair as he did so. “I just wanted to use it,” Terra muttered. “I made a promise to someone to use this during my exam.”

 

“Is this the same friend Aqua told me about? The one you went to go and save?”

 

Terra’s body went rigid and he let the Keyblade disappear from his hands. Bowing his head, he hid his face from his Master. “With all due respect, am I dismissed Master Eraqus?”

 

Eraqus’ face shifted into sympathy. “You may, Master Terra.”

 

As soon as those words left his lips, Terra straightened up and quickly turned around to make his way downstairs. Ventus looked at Aqua and they both nodded before chasing after him; the brunett was fast, as he had already walked down the long hallway before reaching the doors to the exit; Aqua and Ventus both moved to follow him outside but Aqua grabbed onto Ventus’ shoulder to stop.

 

“What’s the big idea?” He frowned up at her.

 

Her expression grew somber and she released her grip on him. “Maybe we should leave him be. You know how he is when he’s upset, he’ll come to us when he’s ready.”

 

“But we’ve _never_ seen him this upset before, we should be there. That’s what friends do, don’t they?” 

 

“Yeah,” Aqua sighed. “Maybe you’re right. Let’s go.”

 

“Of course I’m right, I know Terra,” Ventus opened the door and stopped when he saw the forecourt. “Wait, what’s that?” 

 

Aqua stood over his shoulder to see what he was talking about and saw what made him stop in his tracks.

 

Terra was standing near stone rail that fenced off the forecourt from the long drop down. His shoulders were slightly sagged as he looked to the sky, in the direction of the large green and blue planet he would constantly visit. The more Aqua looked at him, the more she felt like this was a moment that he would like to be alone.

 

“C’mon Ven,” she whispered to him and pulled him back inside. “He needs to be alone.”

 

Ventus frowned. “But what about that lady beside him?”

 

It was Aqua’s turn to frown. “What lady?” She peeked outside the door and saw only Terra standing by himself. Blinking, she saw the wind rush through the forecourt and for a split second she saw a silhouette of a woman standing beside him but when her vision refocused, Aqua saw no one there. 

 

“Did you see it?” Ventus looked up at her. 

 

“It’s probably nothing Ven,” she motioned for him to follow and he did so with a dissatisfied pout on his face. 

 

“I swear I saw a lady there..” he mumbled as they walked away.

 

*******

 

Outside, Terra heard the door to the castle open and close. Steps walked towards him and he braced himself for the barrage of questions he was about to receive. He definitely didn’t want to talk about what transpired- and definitely not about Lady.

 

“Well done, Master Terra. You did an exemplary job at your exam. You’ve certainly come to harness immense power over your training.”

 

Terra turned around when the voice wasn’t anyone he expected; he was shocked that _he_ would even come out here to talk with him at all when _he_ seemed so disinterested in the exam in the first place. 

 

“Master Xehanort,” Terra stood up straight and bowed his head. He had to give the man proper respect, after all. “I appreciate your words.”

 

Xehanort walked over to him and looked up at the planet that Terra was just gazing at; the old man made an earnest noise and eyed the young man again. “I see you were looking at that world, is there something special about it? You’ve been out here looking at it ever since you’ve returned home.”

 

Terra pondered. Surely there was no harm in telling him just a little? He felt as if he needed to get it off his chest anyways. “There was a girl I wanted to protect and bring back to this world.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“She’s gone. I couldn’t protect her. Even with the power I have now, I still was helpless..”

 

A hand rested on Terra’s shoulder as Xehanort gave him a look of sympathy. “My apologies, if you don’t want to talk about it then you don’t have to.”

 

“It’s fine. I just didn’t want to worry Master Eraqus or Aqua and Ven.” 

 

Xehanort tucked his hands behind his back and analyzed Terra’s expression, after a beat of silence he started to talk again. “Master Terra, if you could, would you want to get her back?” When Terra immediately looked up with his interest so clearly displayed on his face, Xehanort couldn’t help but smirk. “What if I told you, I could give you the power over time to try and save her?” 

 

“Is learning that power even possible? Master Eraqus always told us that tampering with the natural order of time is dangerous.”

 

“There are limits,” Xehanort nodded knowingly. “Such as you’ll forget the memories you have as your current self when you move between time periods. But memories are such a small price to pay, don’t you think?”

 

Terra appeared perplexed. Caught up in the prospect of having his current memories overwritten or even still, erased completely. He thought of Lady. Of her smile and of how they first met, of all the promises they made each other. Thinking back on it now, he was glad he shared a paopu fruit with her. It was childish, sure, but that silly little legend made him feel a whole lot better at the idea that their destinies would always be intertwined, no matter what. 

 

Then another thought had struck him, what if they met but he was a completely different person than he was now..?

...It was fine. Terra was confident that their hearts would always find a way to meet each other, even in another life. 

 

“Alright, I’ll do it. I want to learn this power,” Terra said with such conviction that Xehanort’s golden eyes flickered with excitement. 

 

“Good,” Xehanort smiled. “Come with me then, Master Terra."

 

_Memories are such a small price to pay, don’t you think?_

 

**[E]nd**


	69. LXIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KH3's data battles have me so pressed, which I shouldn't be. It's a fucking kid's game. But they're all so annoying lmfaooo.

**On a sunny day in Banora, three friends gathered under an apple tree.**

 

“So,” Genesis had his arms folded on his knees with his chin resting on them. “We finally did it, huh, leaving Shinra and living on an apple farm.” He flicked a piece of hair from his eyes. “Living the dream,” he added in with a small scoff. 

 

“It could’ve been worse,” Angeal gave him a disapproving look even though he knew he wouldn’t see it. “We had the luxury to leave without much trouble. We were the best that Shinra had, no one would be able to force us back even if they wanted to.”

 

“They could always create more,” Genesis gave him a side-eye. “Like how they created us.”  

 

“That’s not possible,” Sephiroth rolled his head back against the tree trunk. “Most of the scientists are dead or gone now. Without their knowledge, Shinra can’t create any more SOLDIER’s.”

 

They all sat in silence and digested the information that Sephiroth just voiced. SOLDIER’s couldn’t be created anymore. The ones remaining, including them three, were simply classified as another dying breed inhabiting this planet. 

 

Rummaging in the pocket of his coat, Genesis pulled out a necklace and held it up to the sun. Dangling on a silver chain was a small pendant of a flower that looked like it needed to be polished. He found that annoying about silver yet at the same time, he admired it- a beautiful metal that needed persistent care to constantly show off its luster. When he held it up for a while longer, he winced and immediately dropped his arm to massage it. 

 

Sephiroth saw this and remembered how Genesis had his arm cut up in the battle. “How’s your arm?” 

 

“It’ll heal,” Genesis waved away his concern. “You two had it worse than I did. Worry about yourself.” He was the first to get up and greet the sun’s warmth from the tree’s leafy shade. “I’m going home to take a nap. You coming, Seph?”

 

Sephiroth shook his head. “No, I want to take a walk before I do.”

 

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

 

**Genesis**

 

As he walked through the front door of his house, he was immediately greeted with a head of pale blonde hair that peeked out from around the kitchen corner; his mother had soft brown eyes and a kind face, she even had smile lines formed around her lips. She and him looked nothing like, nor did his father- but that was only because they adopted him while he was still young. To this day, Genesis never knew what happened to his real parents. Nor did he care. The only ones he knew and cared for were the ones who adopted him as their own. 

 

“Gen, were you hungry?” She stepped out of the kitchen and wiped her hands on her apron which was the only dirty thing she wore. Under it she wore a blue silk dress that was definitely more expensive and well taken care of than what most of the girls wore in town. 

 

He quickly glanced at his mother’s attempt to bake a pie before answering; he noted the burnt edges that she would insist ‘just added texture’ if he were to point it out now. “Not really,” he finally said with a tight-lipped smile. “I just want to close my eyes for a bit.”

 

“What about Sephiroth? Do you think he would want something to eat later?” 

 

“Mother, I have no idea what his stomach’s condition is all the time. Why don’t you just ask him?” He refrained from sighing. 

 

“It’s just that,” she wrung her apron nervously. “I wouldn’t know how to approach him. I’ve heard stories of his feats, I want to make sure I don’t offend him in some way.”

 

“He’s just another regular human, just talk to him like you would me,” he said as he walked up the stairs to his room. The hallway had multiple doors that contained rooms such as the study, library, bedrooms, and bathrooms. On the way to his room, he stopped by the one next to it and peeked inside. Sephiroth had decided to live with him, on account that Genesis had more space in his house rather than Angeal’s- of course, he was the one to push him into doing so in the first place. 

 

Inside Sephiroth’s room, he saw that the bed was neatly made and everything else was completely untouched- almost as if no one had lived there in the first place. He wondered if Seph even slept the first night they came back.. because he for sure didn’t. 

 

Stepping into his room, he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto his desk before collapsing onto his bed. On his nightstand was a little statue of a carved angel he made when he was young. When he first made it, he thought it to be the most beautiful thing and treasured it- he even showed remorse when he chose to leave it at home rather than taking it with him when he joined Shinra.  _ Hmph _ . Not like Shinra allowed personal items anyways.

 

Genesis reached for it and gave the wooden statue a pat on the head before turning over and closing his eyes to sleep. 

 

*******

 

“You know you snore when you sleep?” 

 

Genesis scrunched up his face and refused to open his eyes. “I do not..” 

 

“Yes you do, and you make funny faces too. It’s so cute.” A soft hand ghosted over his cheek and he frowned. That hand felt familiar. “Come on Gen, won’t you read to me?”

 

“What do you want me to read?”

 

“Not Loveless again,” the hand traced the curve of his lips with a thumb. “Read me a story with a happy ending.”

 

“There are no such things as happy endings.” 

 

“Yes, there are. You just have to look for them.” A set of lips reached his forehead and left a lingering kiss. “Don’t be such a brat, Rhapsodos.”

 

It was then that Genesis’ eyes flung open and he sat up in his bed, searching his room frantically. His hand went up to where he felt lips touch his face and traced the fading outline. Had someone been in his room? No, he would’ve heard the door open. The window perhaps? He glanced at the double-paned window and naught was out of place. 

 

“The hell,” he muttered to himself. Maybe he was having a lucid dream. Laying back down, he thought about the voice and how familiar it sounded. It was so real, the touch, the sound, the kiss. The more he thought about it, the more he felt frustrated inside and he soon felt a tear leave his left eye. 

 

He wanted to deny it but every part of his body knew who that voice was. It was  _ her. _ He shook his head at how ridiculous it sounded and he wanted to reject it the best he could- because if he allowed himself to believe, if he allowed himself to hope.. 

He wouldn’t know how to deal with the despair that followed. 

 

After all, for him, there were no such things as happy endings. 

 

**Angeal**

 

“Tell me, where’s your sword?” Gillian Hewely spoke to her son without taking her eyes off the blanket she was piecing together. Winter was over, but the resulting winds always carried harsh weather through Banora and so she wanted to be prepared. 

 

Angeal took a deep breath, he was waiting for her to notice and ask him. “I left it,” there was no point in lying to his own mother. “I.. used it for something that I regret. It was soiled.” Flashes of memories appeared in his mind, of how her blood stained his sword. He didn’t want to bring back such a thing that hurt the woman he once loved and so he left it where she expired right before him. “Forgive me.”

 

“I understand.” As always, his mother showed considerable restraint and patience towards him and for those reasons he had grown up to be a restrained and patient person himself. “How is, what does she call herself these days? ‘Lady’? Ah, she always comes up with the most peculiar names. What was it that you called her when you mentored her? ‘Brat’?” 

 

“Hah,” Angeal sighed. “Yeah, because she was always so stubborn that it even tried  _ my _ patience.” He set a mug of tea in front of his mother and walked to the window, seeing the sun rise below the cliffs and mountains that surrounded their village. “She returned to the planet.”  _ She was gone.  _

 

“..I see.” He heard her chair scoot backwards on the wooden floor as well as padded footsteps approach him-then he felt warm cloth drape over his shoulders. He looked down to see the blanket that she was just putting together was now on him; just in time too, as a cold rush of wind came from the open window and hit him. With the thick fabric of the blanket, the wind only penetrated so little and didn’t even bother reaching his skin. 

 

“Take your time to heal,” she said. “Tomorrow is a new day.” 

 

“Right,” he muttered. “I know that.” The sun set down completely, draping the valley in shadow as the blanket draped his shoulders. “It won’t stay dark forever.” 

 

“How is that puppy of yours doing by the way?” 

 

“He’s fine, he called just earlier asking how I was,” a small smile appeared on his face. “It’s funny how he’s constantly worried about me now.” 

 

“Tell him he should take care of himself, the world is always looking to take advantage of youth like him. You should get some rest, dear,” Gillian patted his shoulder. “It’s late.”

 

Taking the blanket that he gave her, he nodded and went to his room upstairs. Opening his door, he stopped by a table he made himself when he was younger. On top of it was a picture frame and he picked it up; displayed with innocent smiles on younger faces were four friends. It was him, Seph, and Gen- as well as Lady. Before then, her hair was shorter and her face was much more lively. An excited grin was on her face when the picture was taken with her arms wrapped around his and Gen’s neck while Sephiroth stood behind her with a timid smile. He remembered when this picture was taken, right before they got deployed on their first mission together. 

 

She still wore her 2nd Class armor despite being promoted, but she insisted that she wanted to get this mission done wearing her 2nd class outfit and not her 1st. She also said that the 1st outfit was way too itchy. 

 

Setting it back down, he placed the frame face down on the table and walked away. He couldn’t allow himself to be closed away with his feelings forever, but it just hurt too damn much to see anything associated with her and so he just avoided looking in the direction of that picture frame all the while he shuffled about his room even if the picture itself was no longer visible. 

 

The bed creaked loudly under his weight; a testament to the fact that he had outgrown his bed frame since the last time he slept in it. He did the math in his head and counted the years.  _ I was fifteen then so.. it’s been eight years already? Hm. Time flies.  _ Although he insisted that his mother use the money he sent her to buy only the things that she needed- he regretted it by only a little when he saw that his feet went past the edge of the bedframe. 

 

Sighing, he curled up his feet and did his best to go to sleep. 

 

*******

 

“You left your sword, that thing is going to get so rusted.”

 

Angeal didn’t stir and he heard a heavy sigh. 

 

“I know you’re not sleeping, you’re way too much of a light sleeper. Don’t make me jump on you.”

 

He turned on his side and this time he heard a frustrated groan. He assumed he was still dreaming.

 

“Angeeaaaall, ugh. You big dummy, I know you can hear me.” 

 

Wind rushed through his room and he pulled his blanket closer over his shoulders. 

 

“...Are you upset with me?”

 

“No,” he immediately responded. “I don’t think I can ever be upset with you.”

 

He then heard a satisfied giggle followed up with a chaste kiss on his forehead. “Good night, Angeal.”

 

The black-haired soldier sat up in his bed first before opening his eyes to survey the room. Even in the darkness he could see that nothing in his room moved at all, no trace of anyone in it besides himself. After another look, he noticed only one thing that changed in his room. 

 

On the table where he had the picture frame facing down, he saw that it was now sitting upright with their smiling faces displayed proudly. 

 

**Sephiroth**

 

Sephiroth claimed he wanted to go for a walk, yet he stayed in the same spot he did even as Genesis and Angeal left. His hand never left his throat where his necklace dangled; black string tightly wrapped around a shard of crystal quelled his tumultuous thoughts but this time it did little to assuage him. 

 

_ Mother, what do I do now? _ He asked the crystal, hoping it had some level of telepathy to reach Lucrecia in her cavern.  _ I.. I’m alone again. _

 

Despair flooded his heart and that despair twisted into darkness and rage. He didn’t know what to blame nor who to point fingers to for the misfortune that took place. In the end, the only person he could blame was himself.  _ I couldn’t do anything. Useless, useless, useless..!  _ Even with all of this power, he couldn’t do anything to protect her and that enraged him even more. 

 

Leaning forward on his knees, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down with deep inhales and lengthy exhales. But that could only do so much. He soon found himself in a state of near-sleep after a couple minutes of doing that breathing exercise- it was all he could do right now to try and relax. His rage soon disappeared and his body felt enlightened, happy to be rid of the negative baggage that violated his thoughts for a moment. 

 

It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep in this meditative state. 

 

*******

 

“You’ll catch a cold sleeping out here.”

 

Sephiroth’s eyes immediately opened upon hearing that voice. The voice that was so familiar to him that he wouldn’t dare mistake it for anyone else. 

 

“Lady-?” He turned his head around but felt hands cover his eyes before he could look and see. 

 

“Yes,” she breathed. “It’s me.” 

 

A single tear fell from his eyes and dripped down; it stopped at her pinkie and she leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. “Don’t cry, it’s gonna be okay.”

 

“You promised to never leave,” he muttered and he felt her flinch at his words. 

 

“I know, I know and I’m sorry,” she whispered and the sound of the winds rushing through the leaves almost drowned out her timid voice. “I can’t stay here for long, I just wanted to check on everyone before I left.. I wanted to make sure you were all okay.” When he was silent, she relaxed. “You know Seph, you’re the first to have noticed me so fast.”

 

“You visited the others already?”

 

“Yes, I told you, I wanted to make sure you were all doing okay.”

 

“That’d be impossible,” he frowned and she sighed. 

 

“Don’t be like that. Come on, let me take you home.” She retracted her hands from his eyes and tapped on his shoulder to have him stand up. Before he could turn his head in her direction, she hugged him tightly from behind.

 

“Don’t!” She warned him and he froze. “You can’t. Whatever you do, do not look back, alright?” 

 

“But.. why?” 

 

“Keep walking,” she urged him with a gentle shove and kept her hand on his back as he continued forward. “I’ll still be here with you every step of the way.”  

 

And so they walked, with Lady behind him and Sephiroth facing forward- doing his best to keep his promise not to look backwards. 

 

They passed through the silent village which was as still as the night sky; he assumed that most of them had already went to sleep as village life started before the sun did. As they walked, Sephiroth let out a slew of burning questions that he wanted the answers to immediately. 

 

“Is this the last time I’ll see or hear of you?” He asked her.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“How is it that you’re here still?”

 

“..I don’t know.”

 

“Do you think there’s a way to retrieve your heart?”

 

“I don’t know, Seph!”

 

“...Why can’t I look at you?”

 

He heard her sniff and cleared her throat and that’s how he knew she was crying silently as they walked. 

 

“Because,” she muttered. “If you do, you might want to follow me to the Lifestream and I can’t have you do that.”

 

“What’s life without you in it?”

 

“Stop that,” she pushed him forward slightly as a way of scolding him. “There is more to life than just me. You need to go find that for yourself.” 

 

Sephiroth’s behavior was unusual and to her it might seem childish. He was glad to be alone with her so that no one else might catch a glimpse of this side of him, the most vulnerable parts that he so rarely chose to reveal. 

 

“You have to go on without me,” she said as they stopped at the door to Genesis’ house. “Promise me you’ll go on even if you can’t see me or no longer hear me.”

 

“I can’t,” his voice almost cracked. “I can’t do this without you. Why did you have to leave?”

 

Her hand clenched the fabric of his shirt. “Promise me you’ll keep moving forward!”

 

“You and mother, you both aren’t here anymore.”

 

Her hand relaxed. “..I’m sorry.” 

 

Sephiroth balled up his fists. “..I love you.” 

 

“As do I.” 

 

That’s it. He couldn’t bear it anymore. He turned around hoping to catch a glimpse of her but could only see orbs of light floating where he felt her hand on his back. In the absence of her presence, he now felt cold and he watched the orbs of light float into the sky. His clenched fist relaxed as he watched the orbs slowly blend in with the array of stars that filled the countryside. 

He didn’t have time to admire it before, but now that he looked at it, he thought the night sky out here was beautiful. 

 

**Reno**

 

“Hey,” Rude came by his desk and knocked his feet off from the papers they rested on. “We’re needed.” 

 

“For what?” Reno sat up, clearly annoyed. “I thought our job was done.”

 

“Not quite.” Rude motioned to the front of the room and Reno straightened up when he saw the doors slide open and Rufus step in. All the Turks present immediately put on their about-faces and stood to greet the president. 

 

Rufus wasted no time getting into the meat of things. “I’m sure you heard or even seen the meteor calamity that was about to breach our planet…”

 

Reno resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  _ Probably gonna tell us how he wants any data on that incident to be recovered. I mean, I’ll still do it but what’s the point? All the scientists bounced- well, at least the important ones. _

 

“I want everyone to be high alert, it’s my priority to make sure nothing like this occurs again.”

 

_ Woah, is boss being for real right now? Did someone kill the real Rufus and change him with someone else? _

 

“That is all,” Rufus turned around but stopped and looked at Reno. “Reno, Rude, come with me.”

 

The redhead raised an eyebrow at Rude and he only shrugged then the two of them followed Rufus out and down the hallway. Shinra was still situated at their new headquarters in the city of Elera, not that anyone was complaining, they all much preferred the beach view in comparison to Midgar. 

 

“What’s up boss, got something special for us to do?” Reno put his arms behind his head and Rufus stopped walking.  _ Ah shit, did I say something wrong? _

 

“You were close with the female runaway soldier, correct?” He asked him.

 

Reno frowned. “Ya mean Lady? Not as close as the other guys, but close enough. Why?”

 

“I’ve heard one of the scientists say she was at the epicenter of the meteor. I want you two to find anything related to that incident, especially find out where Hojo went,” Rufus turned to the both of them.

 

“Hojo? Thought that old man kicked the bucket,” Rude said and when he noticed his casual tone, he cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

 

Rufus ignored the breach of decorum. “When others arrived on the scene, his body was gone yet the others who pursued were still rotting under the sun.”

 

Reno’s hands dropped to his sides and looked at his boss square in the eyes. “Tell me something, were you the one that issued that kill order against Gast and Lady?”

 

Rufus returned his gaze with such seriousness that the redhead had never seen before. “I didn’t. Hojo acted on his own accord, along with some SOLDIER’s that he promised to give them her power to, undoubtedly a lie to gather up the manpower he needed. I need you two to uncover anything else that was kept a secret from me,” the young president looked down the hall behind him to make sure no one was there, “and I need you to investigate a group for me. They call themselves Deepground.”

 

“‘Deepground’? The hell is that?” Reno frowned. 

 

“My father’s creation,” Rufus answered cooly and yet when he mentioned his predecessor, disgust filled his eyes. “He was supposed to have Lady moved to their base underground after Project SIREN was completed. Apparently, there are many others like Lady within that organization but they lack her..empathy towards humans. A complete host of dangerous experiments that we had the misfortune of losing track of.”

 

“How do we lose track of an entire organization?!” 

 

“Hojo deleted all data on their whereabouts and attributes, I’m almost sure he was planning to do something with Lady and Deepground. If Deepground were to attack the surface, we’d all face extinction.”

 

“Great,” Reno groaned.  _ More work and some monstrous freaks who want to destroy the world. What’s new?  _

 

**Zack**

 

“One.. two.. there!” Zack tossed the bag down from the truck and watched it land onto the ground in front of professor Gast’s feet with a triumphant smile. “That’s the last of ‘em!”  

 

“Ah,” Gast looked down at the bag containing some of his research equipment that laid on the ground. He hoped it wasn’t too damaged. “Thank you.. uh, why don’t we go get some drinks? I’m a bit parched.”

 

“Huh? But don’t we need to move your stuff to the church or whatever?” 

 

“Ah no, my daughter reassured me that some of her friends can move it for us.” Gast pulled Zack away from his stuff in hopes that he wouldn’t damage anymore. “Besides, you’ve worked hard enough, I’ll treat you!”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Zack smiled and looked up around him, the sky above was covered by a large metal plate with barely any sunlight coming through. The air even smelled stale and if a breeze whipped by, all he would smell is old metal and some type of meat cooking. Typical. It was the slums after all. “Never thought I’d be back here!” Midgar’s slums were new to him, as he spent most of his time on the upper plate. Rarely did he even come down here, only on the occasional mission but.. 

 

Neon lights shouted what the worn down shacks in Sector 7 contained inside, people walked by in leisure and all of them greeted each other with familiarity. Despite the lack of authentic sunlight, there were small plants here and there growing that thrived despite their disadvantages. Even though the housing wasn’t that great and everything looked like it was made from scrap from nearby settlements, it had a certain charm. Like the people here refused to let the upper plate show them up. To be honest? It wasn’t that bad. 

 

In front of them was a building with a neon sign spelling out ‘7th Heaven’ on it. Apparently, Gast’s daughter was friends with the bar owner and so they would be safe there.. or so they hoped. 

 

“Alright, let’s-“ Zack stopped in his tracks when he heard commotion inside. Glass breaking over a wooden surface as well as some aggressive shouting made him automatically get into battle positions. Just as he was about to go in to see what was causing the ruckus, the front door to the bar burst open and a guy flew past him. 

 

Landing on the ground, the man looked behind him while he held his cheeks that contained a rather nasty looking bruise. 

 

“I don’t want to see your face ever again, hear me?” A woman said, her hands on her hips as well as a stern expression on her face. She had a cropped white tank top with black suspenders holding up her black mini-skirt. Her long black hair swung past her hips and was held together at the bottom with a single band. She dusted her hands off and when she saw Gast and Zack, her brown eyes appeared surprised. “Oh! Professor Gast!” 

 

“Tifa, hello,” Gast seemed weary as he stepped over the young man that was still caressing his cheek. “How are you?”

 

“Good, good!” She had a sheepish smile on her face, clearly embarrassed at the event that just transpired. “Aerith’s inside with Cloud. Was the journey okay? You seem tired.”

 

“I’m fine, dear. Please don’t fuss over an old man like me,” he smiled at her and Tifa glanced over his shoulder at Zack.

 

“Who’s this?”

 

“Ah, Tifa this is Zack Fair. Zack this is Tifa Lockhart. She owns 7th Heaven,” Gast motioned to the respective owners of the names as he introduced them to each other. 

 

“Heya!” Zack reached forward to shake her hand and she did the same.

 

“Nice to meet you,” she smiled, all traces of aggression gone from her face. “Come on in guys, drinks and food is on me!”

 

Zack and Gast followed her through the swinging wooden doors of the bar and they could already smell the food cooking the moment they stepped over the threshold. Their stomachs rumbled from the long journey they had from Elera to Midgar, but now they could kick their feet up and relax. 

 

In front of the wooden bar containing plenty of spirits and glasses, stood two people. One was a young man with spiky blond hair and blue eyes, next to him was a young woman with long brown hair tied up in a curled ponytail. Her green eyes were shining and looking intently at the other man with blond hair and when Tifa cleared her throat, the girl stopped talking and turned her eyes towards the front.

 

“Aerith, Cloud, this is Zack. He helped protect Gast on the way here,” Tifa motioned to him and he stepped forward.

 

“Nice to meet you guys!” He said with a grin that wasn’t the least bit shy. 

 

The two stepped forward. Aerith was the first one to shake his hand with a smile while Cloud did the same, although in a more timid fashion. “Hey dad, you doin’ okay?” She asked the scientist.

 

“I’m fine,” Gast’s shoulders became relaxed when she spoke. “Just a bit hungry.”

 

“I’ll go make you and Zack some food then! C’mon Tifa, let’s go cook,” Aerith grinned and grabbed Tifa by the arm, both of them running towards the back and leaving Cloud to stand awkwardly by his lonesome.

 

“Cloud, right? I have a feeling we’ll be great friends,” Zack grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. 

 

“Uh, y-yeah,” Cloud seemed surprised at the sudden contact. “Gast said you were in SOLDIER?”

 

“You bet! 1st Class! Why? Were you? Don’t remember seeing you around.”

 

“Nah, not me, a friend was. She was in 1st Class too.”

 

“Oh yeah? What’s her name? Maybe I know her.”

 

Cloud’s face shifted into sadness then hope. “Her name was-“

 

“Cloud! Can’t you find them a table to sit down on?” Tifa frowned at him when she poked her head out from the kitchen entry. “Geez, this guy…” She muttered before disappearing back behind the curtains. 

 

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck then pointed at a nearby table that seated three chairs. “I should probably help them set up before I get yelled at again. You guys okay out here?”

 

“Yeah, go get ‘em man,” Zack gave him a thumbs up and watched as the blond disappeared into the kitchen to help the girls. Leaning back in his seat, Zack put his arms behind his head and allowed himself a moment of rest. Not long after they started, the girls emerged from the kitchen with trays full of food and drink- a welcome necessity after a hard mission. 

 

Setting it down, Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud pulled up chairs to seat at the same table while Zack and Gast scooted back to make room. On the plates were different proteins steeped heavily in an aromatic sauce and steamed vegetables seasoned lightly with red peppers and sea-salt. 

 

“Looks wonderful girls!” Gast grinned. “Oh my, I don’t know where to start.” 

 

“Anywhere you want professor,” Tifa offered him a glass of mulled wine which he took happily. 

 

“Hey,” Aerith glanced at Zack’s shirt and at the tiny blue bear that dangled from it. “That’s so cute! Is it some sort of lucky charm?” 

 

Zack’s enthusiastic smile dulled down and a flash of melancholy melted into his eyes. “Yeah.. someone special gave it to me.”

 

“A girlfriend?”

 

Gast looked to Zack nervously as the ex-SOLDIER answered. “Not quite. I take the charm with me because I promised her I would always wear it if I’m doing something dangerous.”

 

Aerith tilted her head. “Oh? Where is she now?” 

 

“Sweetheart, can you pass me that plate please?” Gast interjected before she could ask any more questions. 

 

Zack ran his thumb over the bear’s fuzzy little head and took a moment to think before reminding himself to smile. “So, mind telling me stuff ‘bout the slums? I wanna hear what you guys have to say!” And so they talked, with Gast and Zack both trying to avoid the topic about the meteor or Lady because everytime the conversation strayed to that specific topic, Zack would get a look of sadness wash over his face. 

 

**Vincent**

 

“You thinkin’ up a storm in there Vincent?” Cait Sith hung onto Vincent’s cape tighter when the man tried to shrug the doll off. “C’monnn, let’s stop by for a pint, whaddaya say?”

 

“I thought dolls don’t get thirsty,” Vincent muttered, flexing his fingers to check if they were still working properly. His bones healed and placed themselves together since Jenova disfigured them during the battle- in this instance, he was glad to have Chaos’ genes within him. He wouldn’t have healed normally otherwise. 

 

“Yeah, but I know you must be dyin’ for a drink! Crossin’ the desert to Midgar ain’t an easy feat! Plus I heard your belly a’rumblin’ earlier too. You must be famished!”

 

“..Please be quiet.”

 

“C’mon Vinny, let’s lay low and get something to eat! Don’t you wanna rest?”

 

“I thought we were here to do some reconnaissance?”

 

“We areeee, all the more reason why we should ‘investigate’ the local tavern to hear some news! There’s no harm in it since no one here knows us, right?”

 

Vincent stopped walking and turned his head to the automatized doll standing on his shoulder. To any of the passersby, perhaps they looked odd. A man with his stature and flowing red cape with a smiling cat loudly talking into his ear… Maybe they did in fact look odd, as some of the citizens casted him weird glances that quickly went away when Vincent met their eyes. 

 

Sighing, he relented. “Fine, let’s go if it makes you happy.”  _ Maybe it would be best to stay off the streets for a while. I look too conspicuous. _ Spotting a building that had food and drinks displayed on the side as well as a bright neon sign that said ‘7th Heaven’ on it, he decided that was as good a place to stop as any. 

 

_ Just walk in. Avoid trouble and making yourself known. Lay low. Figure out the best way to clear the objective.  _

 

Walking in the bar, he stopped when he heard a familiar voice.

“Woah, no way! Vincent Valentine! What’s up, man?” 

 

Vincent bristled and turned towards the noise. “...Zack?”

 

“Wow it is you! Hey guys, this is my friend Vincent! We call him Vinny though.” 

 

_ Well, so much for laying low.  _ Vincent wanted to strangle the boy. 

 

Zack took a biteful of the apple in his hand and he grinned. “Wow, these are delicious Tifa. I thought you said there’s not a lot of fresh produce here?”

 

“Yeah,” the dark-haired girl nodded solemnly. “It’s a bit difficult but not entirely impossible.”

 

“Well,” Zack swallowed the rest of his food. “I happen to know three apple farmers! Actually they’re not farmers yet, but I’m pretty sure they’re capable of picking apples from a tree. I talked to one of them earlier, his name’s Ange- ack!” 

 

Vincent had a hand clamped down on Zack’s shoulder, his crimson eyes seemingly glowing as he loosened his grip. “Keep your mouth shut, Fair.”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“..Nevermind, finish your apple.” 

 

Cait Sith hopped down onto the table in front of professor Gast. “Heyo there professor, nice to see ya again!” 

 

“Hello Reeve- er, Cait Sith was it? What are you doing here?” 

 

“Top secret mission,” the cat smiled. “We’re here lookin’ for clues on Deepground members. We think that some may be in-“

 

“That’s quite enough from you,” Vincent snatched Cait Sith off the table and held him securely under his arm. “We should get going.”

 

“But you just got here,” Tifa intervened before he could take another step closer to the door. “Why don’t you rest for a bit? Zack was just telling us stories about a place he used to stay at sometimes- what was it? The Alstro- Asltroemeria?”

 

“What a pretty name,” Aerith grinned. “That flower represents the bonds formed between people, did you know that?” 

 

“I did,” Vincent nodded. “The owner, she.. she represented that flower well.” 

 

Aerith gave him an empathetic look and stood up. “Well, if you’re gonna stay, I might as well put some more food out.. ah,” she stopped gathering the plates immediately and they all gave her a peculiar look. The brunette woman was staring outside of the doorway, her eyes seemed transfixed on something before she blinked and squinted. “Hmm. That’s odd.”

 

“What is it?” Zack asked. 

 

“It’s nothing,” she said, continuing to stack up the plates. “I think.. someone was here so say goodbye.”

 

“To who?”

 

Her green eyes looked at everyone sitting in front of her, to Vincent, Cait Sith, professor Gast, Zack, Cloud, and Tifa. “To all of you.”

 

*******

 

“That girl, Aerith? Gast says she has a connection to the Lifestream. Something ‘bout her lineage or whatever,” Zack leaned over the rail with his back, his legs crossed as he stretched his neck. 

 

“Hmph,” Vincent’s expression was mostly kept hidden under the tall red collar of his cape, but Zack could read him just fine by tone alone. 

 

“Soo.. this Deepground. Is it bad news?”

 

“Yes,” Vincent watched a group of friends move across the dark city, lit up by gaudy neon lights that casted multi-colored shadows along the dirt paths winding between the metal buildings. They looked like they were having fun, their carefree lives unaffected by anything outside of this sector. In a way, he envied them. 

 

“How bad?”

 

Crimson eyes turned to look at Zack. “Every member of Deepground was an experiment that Shinra created. The same experiments that connected Jenova to Lady as well as Chaos to me.”

 

“I.. see. Hey, Vinny?”

 

“What.”

 

“If Chaos ever starts to take over you-you’d give us a heads up, right?” Zack let out a nervous chuckle. 

 

“Hmph,” Vincent buried the lower half of his face below his collar to conceal his smile. “I’ll be sure to let you know.”

 

The question they both wanted to ask next was kept to themselves but they couldn’t help but think about it thoroughly. If it took that much effort to stop Lady when she was possessed by Jenova, who could possibly stand a chance against an army of experiments like her?

 

“There’s something else you should know,” Vincent squinted with the wind blowing his black strands towards his eyes, he waited till it blew the other way before continuing. “Terra’s missing.”

 

Zack got up from his relaxed position on the rail. “What?! No way, not that guy.. When did it happen?”

 

“Not sure, I just received a call from Sora to see if I seen him recently. But apparently no one knows where he is now.”

 

“Agh, great. It’s just one thing after the other. What do we do?”

 

Vincent rapped his finger against the rail. “We’ll figure it out.”  _ Hopefully, _ he wanted to add, but ultimately chose not to as not to worry the other. Though he wondered how much of a problem this would evolve into. 

 

_Promise me you’ll keep moving forward._

 

**e[N]d**


	70. LXX

**Gladio**

 

“What is it?” Gladio saw Ignis set his newspaper down with his brows furrowed together. A telltale sign that something greatly bothered the otherwise calm man. 

 

“That’s the third person reported missing just this month,” Ignis looked down at the black-and-white print. 

 

“I don’t wanna be that asshole, but,” Gladio reached over to turn the newspaper face down so that it was no longer visible, “people disappear all the time.”

 

“I know that,” Ignis’ stare was scolding. “The situation surrounding the disappearances are.. peculiar to say the least.”

 

“Oh? Like what.”

 

Ignis opened his mouth to begin again from his tangent but shut it close after reflecting on Gladio’s words. “Never you mind. Perhaps it is just mere coincidence.” After brushing the newspaper to the side, Ignis crossed his leg over his knee and looked out towards the streets of Insomnia. 

 

Heavy machinery whirred loudly as they cleared off the rubble littering the streets. Workers already helped restore the broken down buildings as well as rubbing off the char that scorched the pavement. It was weeks since they started clearing up the city, and it would take many more to completely erase the evidence of the battle that took place. 

 

Gladio squinted at a couple people passing the streets with their heads low and hands in their pocket, after they disappeared from his sight, he relaxed. “It’s messed up, don’t you think Iggy?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Everyone doesn’t know what really went down,” Gladio thumbed the tab of his drink, barely grazing the aluminum top. “Everyone thinks King Regis defended them, when it was actually Lady. I know it's the king and all- but, that just doesn’t sit right with me.”

 

“I understand, but it was Lady’s decision to have them propagate that rumor.”

 

Gladio nearly tipped over his can. “What?”

 

“She wanted the people to believe in their king again, tensions about the war with Niflheim were reaching their peak, don’t you remember?”

 

Flashes of angry mobs marching downtown in Insomnia came to his mind. Most of them wearing signs and slogans that spelled out:  _ Down with King Regis! _

..Or something similarly disparaging. It made Gladio’s temper flare when he first saw those marches taking place. But he knew better than to pick a fight with any citizen residing within the Crown City. 

 

“Mm, yeah,” Gladio clicked his tongue. “People are always so quick to change their tune when the person they hated does something for them. Typical.”

 

“Such is the nature of humans,” Ignis nodded solemnly. 

 

Gladio felt his pocket rumble with a flurry of messages that could only come from his sister. No one else he knew would ever send him ten messages every minute like that. Taking out his phone, he thumbed through the layered text messages that could be summarized by the words: ‘Where the hell are you?’

 

“Gotta go, duty calls,” Gladio showed Ignis the messages and the man smiled. 

 

“Of course.”

 

The two men got up and pushed their chairs in at the small cafe table they sat in. Gladio rolled his right arm and reached up to touch the shallow scar that now graced his forehead. 

 

“How are you healing up?” Ignis asked him. 

 

“I’m fine,” Gladio immediately dropped his hand to his side. “Don’t worry about me. It’s not like any of us were greatly injured.”

 

“Physically, perhaps not. But mentally…” Ignis trailed off and Gladio knew who he was talking about. Of course Lady’s death hit them all hard and they were all grieving in their own way- especially Prompto and Noct. Prompto left the city abruptly, only telling them that he had to go somewhere by himself; while Noct went almost completely AWOL, locking himself up in his room at his apartment and refusing to go outside- even with the behest of his father. 

 

Ignis was mourning too. Gladio noticed that the man always had a glaze over his eyes when he thought no one was looking and more so seemed distracted than how he usually was. As for Gladio himself? Well.. he was always the type to keep it in and put a brave face on. Even when his mom passed, he refused to shed a tear. It was more so for Iris, since she was unafraid to cry and kick and shout. He wanted to be strong for her as well as his dad- even though deep inside he wanted to cry and shout too. 

 

“You forgot this in the Regalia, by the way,” Ignis reached into his messenger bag and retrieved a leather bound book to give to Gladio. “You’ve been reading that for a long time, I thought you’d be finished by now.”

 

Taking the book, Gladio saw a wide seam in the middle of it and opened the book to that page. He swallowed hard when he saw what he used as a bookmark. 

In the middle of the page was a perfectly preserved gladiolus iris. It’s amber petals nearly faded due to the time it spent inside the book and away from any corroding elements. It was a gift from Lady when they first met. 

 

_ “They match your eyes!”  _ She told him as she tucked the flower into his shirt pocket. 

 

Not saying a word, Gladio closed the book with one hand and held it tightly as to not let his bookmark fall out. “Thanks, Iggy.” He then stepped back and made his way home. On the way home he had to keep reminding himself to not let himself get caught up in his emotions. 

 

_ You’re a Shield. A bodyguard. So act like one. _

Gladio stopped walking as his own thoughts bombarded his mental shield and wore him down. 

_ You’re supposed to protect. But you couldn’t even protect her, you useless bastard. _

 

**Ignis**

 

A finger went under the tab of the familiar black can that Ignis always tried to keep a stash of on hand. Flicking his finger upwards, he relaxed when the aroma of dark-roasted coffee wafted into his nose. Soon, the bittersweet taste of Ebony coffee perforated on his tongue and he allowed himself to relax a little more. 

 

On his phone were multiple tabs, all of them news reporting sites from different areas of the planet; all of them reporting on the same catastrophic event that almost decimated this world had they not intervened: meteor, the ultimate destructive magic. 

 

Some of the news reports claimed they saw a winged figure fly over their towns on the way towards the Northern Crater and Ignis immediately checked out of that article. He didn’t need any reminders of the enemy that Lady turned into. 

 

It was a short distance to the apartments that towered over the surrounding buildings making it painfully easy to spot, not to mention it was the only one in the whole block with security guarding the perimeter. Security meant something important was contained inside. And what was contained inside was something very important, rather,  _ someone. _

 

Ignis slid his keycard in the handle and waited till the light gave him the okay to turn the knob. Stepping inside the apartment, he was first taken aback by how dark it was inside. The air was unpleasant to inhale and smelled of burnt food as well as a disinfectant to try and rid of the initial distasteful aroma- all efforts were in vain as it just smelled like artificial lemon sprayed on top of burnt foodstuffs. 

 

When Ignis stepped onto the raised veranda leading towards the living room, he stopped immediately when something crunched under his foot. Turning on the light on his phone, he glanced down at what the object possibly was and saw a rolled up bag of potato chips emptied of its contents. 

 

Feeling the wall beside him, he flicked the light switch and immediately regretted that decision when the hallway before him was lit thoroughly. 

 

Trash. 

 

That was the only word he could think of when he saw what littered the halls and crowded the already small dining table for four in the living room. The closer he walked, the stronger the stench of burnt items became and he held his breath when he saw the kitchen sink. Inside of it was a pan that still had the food on it that had yet to be scraped off. Actually- it was scraped off, then left there when the task proved too difficult and so it laid in the sink.. half-clean and half-assed. 

 

Placing his bag of groceries on the counter, Ignis allowed himself only  _ one _ groan of annoyance and when he pushed his glasses up- he got to work. 

 

*******

 

Noctis’ eyes turned to fine lines when he stepped out of his room, squinting at the intensely bright lights that were now filling his dwelling. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust, thankfully just in time as he walked into the living room and saw Ignis with his sleeves rolled up and scrubbing away at the pan left in the sink. 

 

Everything else was cleaned off; to the trash littering the hallway, to the clutter that was sitting in his living room couch and tables. Without looking up, Ignis spoke. “You left your ring under a pile of rubbish. Be more careful next time else you may lose it forever.”

 

Noctis looked to the table and saw the dark steel ring with a sapphire heart fixated in the midst of the band. He swallowed hard. It was the last thing he received from Lady. 

 

Walking over, the prince grabbed the ring and held it securely in his palm. When did he lose this?

 

“Noct,” the water stopped running and Ignis was still scrubbing. “I know you’re hurt, but you cannot allow yourself to fall into disarray. Especially now, you will be king and kings should not live like this.” 

 

Noctis’ eyes narrowed and he felt the jagged edge of the stone on the ring poke his palm as he tightened his fist. “Yeah,” he scoffed, “like I’d want to be king.” He then flinched when he heard the pan slam down into the sink. 

 

With his hands resting against the counter, Ignis had his eyes closed with his shoulders rising and falling with the deep breaths he was taking. When he was done, his eyes met Noctis’ and for the first time in a long time- Noctis saw anger penetrate his usually serene eyes. 

 

“Noctis Lucis Caelum,” Ignis started, his tone steady and still yet his eyes were speaking of frustration. “You know better. It can be no one else but you. Now is  _ not  _ the time to have second doubts about your lineage.”

 

Ignis wasn’t the only one to lose his temper as Noctis’ felt his own anger rising. “I couldn’t even protect my dad, or Lady. What makes you think I can protect a whole fucking city?!” His voice cracked. “I’m not ready, don’t you get that?!” 

 

The next feeling that Ignis felt was shame. He was not one to lose his temper so quickly after all. His voice never rose even when faced with the most tribulations, nor would it ever make him lose his serene disposition. Why was he feeling so irritable? Why was he losing his temper so much? Was it because.. 

An image of Lady’s dying body filled his mind. 

Her hair made stark white from the influence of Jenova and the blood that poured from her body dyed it a disgusting red. 

 

_ Ah, _ he thought as he adjusted his sleeves.  _ Perhaps, I’m not ready myself either.  _ Drying his hands on his pants, he walked towards the prince and they both met each other’s eyes- but this time it wasn’t of anger, but understanding. 

 

“I must apologize,” said Ignis. “Have a good night, Noct.” 

Before Ignis left the apartment, he glanced at the prince over his shoulder. “They say that suffering ceases to be suffering when one finds the meaning for it- especially in cases of sacrifice.”

 

*******

 

When Ignis was back in his own room at his family home, he noticed the cardboard box sitting near the door with his name written in elegant script on the top. Opening it, he saw the first thing laid out atop all the other items he packed from their move out of the Alstroemeria. 

 

It was a magazine that had many facts and history about cities all over Eos and the countries beyond it. One of the pages were dog-earred as a bookmark and he flipped to that one out of curiosity- he never marked a page like that before, so why would he do that so suddenly?

 

Opening it, his breath got lodged in his throat when he saw writing on a space near a picture of Altissia. In small handwriting, it read: ‘ _ I’m still thinking of a name for our bakery, I can’t wait to see Altissia!! xo Lady.’ _

 

He dropped the magazine onto his desk counter and sat in his chair, setting his glasses down and burying his face in his hands. 

 

It was when they all took a vacation at Heron Point. When he told Lady of a fleeting fancy of his to open up a café of sorts in Altissia when he was done serving his duty for the crown. It was just a silly little dream that he didn’t know would come true or not, but she was so keen on wanting to see it come to fruition- all for his sake and his happiness. 

 

On top of the place where she left her signature, teardrops fell with reckless abandon and stained the pages. 

 

**Prompto**

 

Prompto hopped off of his motorbike, dropping the kickstand and leaving it under the shade of a rather large tree so that the metal wouldn’t burn up when he came back. Inhaling the air, the aroma of the grass and trees mixed with a whiff of fresh hay tied in with the unmistakable odor of chocobos. Though the other guys found the smell rather unpleasant and he sometimes agreed- he still found the smell to be associated with good memories. 

 

Passing by a wooden signpost with a painted chocobo on it, he took the time to stop and admire it. Even if the yellow paint was on the verge of peeling right off, he still found the cute caricature to be endearing. Above the painted chocobo were words spelling out: ‘Wiz’s Chocobo Post’. This was the first time he came here alone, usually he’d be with Noct and the others; but he wanted to go solely by himself. 

 

Looking up at the sky, he noted that the sun was about to go down soon and he needed to get a move on fast. Striding up to the counter, he waited until the old man behind the counter finished piling up bags on the shelf behind him. Not before long, the old man took a look at the nervous blond in front of him.

 

“Hey there, kiddo! Long time no see!” The old man greeted him, his eyes crinkled up in joy and the smile lines at the sides of his mouth were made more apparent when he grinned. He fixed his weathered paperboy cap and tilted it up so that his deep brown eyes could get a better look. “Whatcha need this time?”

 

“Heya Wiz,” Prompto had a small smile on his face. “Sorry, it has been a while huh?”

 

“No worries, I know a young man like you probably has a lot to do. But if you’re here, guessin’ you need a chocobo?” Wiz nodded knowingly to his own words. 

 

“Got that right.”

 

Wiz nodded again and moved to get the stubs to let the breeder know how many were allowed to the rider. When he took one out of the box, Prompto coughed and Wiz looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“Can..” Prompto gulped loudly. “Can you, uh, make that two?”

 

Wiz was confused. “Two? But there’s only one of ya kid. Why would you need tw-“

 

“Can I please just have two!” It was more of a demand than a question. 

 

The old man raised his hands in defense. “Settle down, blondie I was just askin’.”

 

“S-sorry,” Prompto looked down and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the shame creep up on him like a flurry of small bugs. In front of him, Wiz slid the tickets towards him and Prompto quickly took it after saying a quick word of thanks. Walking towards the corral, Prompto felt his heart rate growing and he found that weird, this was just a common errand after all. This shouldn’t be a big deal. 

 

_ It’s just a chocobo.  _ He thought as he approached the ones he thought were especially adorable. 

 

_ Just hand her the tickets.  _ “I have ‘em for two,” Prompto gave the girl in front of the corral his stubs. When the girl gave him a confused look, his body went rigid.  _ Please don’t ask, please don’t ask, please don’t ask…  _

 

“Right-o, here ya go. You got these two over here, that okay with you?” The girl pointed at the ones behind her and the chocobos cawed gently. Prompto craned his head to take a look at the giant birds. One of them had a shinier coat and around its neck was a saddle and reigns that looked much more elegant than the one next to it. The other had a regular leather saddle and it’s feathers were coated with a small layering of kicked up dirt. Even its saddle was a bit torn up and looked uncomfortable to ride in. 

 

“Yeah,” he said, taking the reigns of the dirtier one. “I’ll ride this one.”

 

“Sure you don’t want the other one?” The girl pointed to the cleaner one with the nice-looking saddle. 

 

“No, this one’s fine,” he insisted and took the reigns from the girl’s hands. “That one’s for someone else!”

 

“Oh? Well does this other person know how to ride? Maybe we should wait.”

 

“No no, I have to go, thanks for the help!” Prompto jumped into the saddle and his bird cawed in irritation as he hurried up and took off with the other chocobo’s reigns in his hand, guiding it along as he rode. 

 

The girl sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Weird guy,” she muttered. 

 

*******

 

Settling down on a raised plateau of smooth rock with ancient symbols of protection carved into it, Prompto sat down and started making a fire in the center. Copying what he saw Gladio do many times, he struck the flint until the sparks flew off the black stone and into the dry wood below. Sadly, the only spark that came to was the spark of his motivation dying when he saw no flames start. Sitting back on his hind heels, he sighed. 

 

Turning to the chocobo to his right, he pouted. “Maybe I shoulda just brought a lighter, huh boy?”

 

The chocobo cawed angrily.

 

“Er, sorry, girl?”

 

The chocobo cawed satisfactorily and went back to preening her feathers and Prompto continued his labors. Looking up, he groaned even louder when he saw the sun begin to sink beneath the horizon’s line. In his hands were the flint that was clearly not doing him any favors- so he had to move onto more practical means. Reaching in his backpack, he dug out a metallic ball and pushed the chocobos out of the way. 

 

“You guys stay away okay?” Prompto urged them and the both of them craned their head in confusion. Turning back to the circle of stones and bundle of wood, he tossed the ball in the middle and was pushed back as an eruption of flame came from the metal ball. 

 

The chocobos gave a surprised cry and were about to run off until Prompto grabbed onto their reigns and patted down their necks. Shushing them, he tugged them gently back to the campfire- which now contained a nice flame.. even if there were scorch marks leading away from it making it look like a mini-explosion had occurred in it. 

 

Sitting the chocobos down, he set down a bowl of feed for both of them to eat. Looking up, he saw the sun had mostly disappeared underneath the horizon now and he picked up the pace. Bringing his backpack closer, he took out two thermoses and an array of candles; holding the wicks to the fire, he waited till it lit up before setting it down and repeated this action with all of them. Digging in his backpack once more, he took out a blanket and laid it down at a reasonable distance from the fire. 

 

Finally, the sun had disappeared and the land was awash with darkness. Everything was obscured with shadow and the runes engraved on the large stone plateau he sat on began to glow a bright blue that would stave off monsters and beasts. Above him, the stars twinkled and looked like they were winking at him; resting on the blanket, he twisted the thermos open and an aroma of chocolate immediately wafted into his nose. He set that one down on the blanket beside him and opened up the other one to take a small sip. 

 

It was sweet and warmed his body from the nightly chill. Glancing back up at the sky, he saw a star streak across the sky and he felt a tear run down his cheek. The thermos in his hand began to shake and he saw his reflection on its surface being distorted by the tears falling into his cup. Looking back up where he saw the shooting star, his lip trembled. 

 

“I wish you were here,” he whispered, tears overflowing from his eyes. “I brought the chocobos for our date, remember?” From his wrist, he slipped off the amber beaded bracelet- a gift from  _ her. _ Placing it down on the spot beside him on the blanket, his lip trembled more and he brought his arm up to wipe his eyes. “Lady, I wish you were here!” His voice cracked. 

 

“I’m sorry..” 

He remembered her face just before she died, a look of content, of peace. All of those occurred right after he took the shot. He could still remember what the bullet sounded when it flew through her.. 

..as well as the words she mouthed to her right before she collapsed:  _ ‘Thank you, Prompto.’  _

 

A hole opened up in his chest, and he wanted to scream. This was supposed to be their date, this was supposed to be their moment- with the girl he shared his first kiss with.

 

Bringing his knees to his chest, he set his head down and let the tears fall freely. Behind him, the two chocobos looked on with curiosity. They both saw another person- a girl who was as transparent as the smoke rising from the fire, sitting beside the blond boy. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he cried and the girl stayed with him all throughout the night. 

 

When morning came, she disappeared. Her body dispersing into orbs of light that went up with the embers of the campfire. 

  
  


**Noctis**

 

Noctis tossed and turned, the sheets beneath him becoming hot with the constant movement and making him feel uncomfortable. He looked at the clock again and let his head collapse back on his pillow with an exasperated sigh. His room was so concealed from the outside world that he could no longer tell if it was day or night. Ignis’ last words still stuck with him even as he tried to push them out of his mind, but like most hurtful thoughts when you try to erase them- they lingered. 

 

Shaking away his disappointment, he moved to reach for his phone on his nightstand and clicked on an app he hadn’t opened in weeks. His screen lit up and flashed the words ‘Final Kingdom’ in black scroll before dying down and leading him to the main menu. A red alert popped up on his screen to notify him of a message which he thought was weird, he didn’t really receive messages on this game from anyone- the only people who played it were him and Lady. Prompto deleted it a long time ago, but maybe he just got back on?

 

Tapping on it, his lips straightened into a thin line as he saw a weapon pop up in his inventory. Attached to it was a message reading: 

_ ‘You probably need this more than I do. For when you face all those raids without me! See ya later Noct!’  _

 

Beside the message was Lady’s character, a leveled white mage, as well as the last time she logged in.. which was thirty-seven days ago. Tears dropped onto his phone screen as he hunched over to hold his phone face down so he couldn’t see it anymore. It was far too painful. She couldn’t have known she was going to die when she left him that message, and it only reminded him of all the trials he would receive that he would have to face alone. 

 

All he could do, as he sat in his dark bedroom, was wait for the pain to subside. And he already knew how long of a wait that could be. Closing his eyes, he tried another attempt at sleeping even though his body rejected the idea of any more rest, but he soon fell prey to sleep’s embrace. 

 

*******

 

The crown prince awoke to a hand stroking his hair. Turning his head on his pillow, he saw Lady smiling beside him. They both were in bed in his room at the Citadel, laying next to each other like the days they spent together when she first came to Insomnia. Her hand fell on his cheek and she squeezed it tenderly; his arms immediately wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer to him to smell the faint scent of her perfume that lingered and faded continuously. 

 

“You can’t sleep forever,” she whispered in his ear and he shut his eyes tighter as he hugged her. 

 

“I can only see you in my dreams,” he whispered back, “so I don’t see why not.”

 

”Don’t be like this, everyone’s worried about you.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“For?”

 

“I couldn’t do anything for you..” he choked up. “Your vision.. your life, I couldn’t do anything to prevent that.” 

 

Her hand stroked his hair again. “One day you’ll be king, and you’ll have a lovely wife and some children running around. Possibly a dog or a cat or whatever you want as a pet.. and on that day, this will all be in the past and the pain won’t be there anymore.”

 

“But-“

 

A finger silenced his lips. “No buts, Noct-ass.” She chuckled at her nickname for him and gave him a quick peck on his forehead. “I’m always going to be with you.” Slipping out from the bed, Noctis immediately followed- anxiety riding into his system at her departure. He didn’t want her to leave. 

 

His attention was caught by his door opening and he turned only for a moment to see who else would appear, but when he turned back to see if Lady was still there- she was gone. His anxiety worsened and he ran to the door and released his breath when he saw Lady walking down the hall, her feet barely touching the floor- floating above the polished marble like a ghost. 

 

To catch up, Noctis summoned his sword to his hand and threw it down the stretching hallway. Appearing at the far end in a flash of blue light, he looked for Lady and saw she was already entering the elevator doors. He never thought about it now, but the Citadel’s hallways were unnecessarily long. Using another warp-strike, he entered the closing elevator doors before it could shut completely. 

 

Lady had her back to the elevator wall with her hands clasped behind her; she looked at Noctis with a melancholic smile as the elevator accelerated upwards, gaining speeds he didn’t think was possible even for an elevator housed within the Citadel. This caught him off balance and he slowly regained his stance, his hands reaching for her and her for him. She caught him and held him upright as the thin vertical windows in the elevator showed him an entirely different view than from what he was expecting. Instead of Insomnia, he saw the endless night sky and supernovas that lit up the never-ending indigo with colors that he’d never seen before. 

 

Holding onto each other, the two waited for the ride to end and Noctis wrapped his arms around her. She still felt warm under his arms and he hugged tighter, not even concerned if his grip was unbearable- he just wanted to make sure she couldn’t leave him. Not again. 

 

The elevator stopped and then alerted the two with a pleasant chime that they arrived at their unknown location. Slowly, the doors slid open and Lady held Noctis’ hand as she led him through and into the unknown. Although there was no type of solid floor on which they could stand, but they were standing nonetheless as if the mass of stardust was the very thing supporting their weight. Beyond them, Notis saw an outline of a large crystal suspended in chains of light. A seam cracked down the middle and through it burst beams of soft starlight that beckoned them home. 

 

Lady stepped towards the path to the crystal and she looked back at Noctis; both of their hands conjoined together and he watched, slowly but surely, as her body left the realm of the physical to disappear into orbs of light. As she had on the day she died.

 

Noctis felt his consciousness fade in and out and he began to panic- it was a sign that he would wake up soon and that this dream would end. 

 

“Lady, I-“ 

 

“Shh, it’s time to wake up now, alright? And please Noct, don’t give Iggy so much trouble.” 

 

“No, no-!” His voice trembled. “Don’t go, please!”’

 

“I wanted to see all of you.. just one more time,” she smiled, her hand fell through his and he found himself grasping at mist. Streams of light shone through her body, drifting her essence back into the direction of the crystal. “Walk tall, my young prince.”

 

With her last breath, she disappeared and Noctis found himself alone in a galaxy that was soon getting dimmer and dimmer. Soon, it would no longer support him and he plunged below into darkness. The last thing he saw was the ebbing light of the crystal. 

 

_ Walk tall. _

 

**Ardyn**

 

A galaxy of blue streaked with clouds of translucent purple and streaks of green shot through the sky like stars. Even if the world gave way under him, with no tangible floor, his footsteps still echoed as if the path they stepped on was as tangible as solid rock. The light in this hallowed galaxy was intolerable, pleasant to others but to him it was a mere annoyance. In front of Ardyn was a towering figure, one that hew grew to hate rather quickly. Beholding the sight of him, it was enough to make Ardyn’s skin crawl. A divine being that others revered, yet he loathed. A being that was seen as all-powerful and all-knowing, yet he thought a coward and a fraud. The question lingered in the back of his mind: why was he summoned here?

 

“What is it that you want, O great  _ draconian _ ,” Ardyn emphasized the deity’s title with false camaraderie, a tone of voice he often used during the empire’s meetings with nobles in high standing. “Is it possible that you missed my presence, or did you need another poor fool to abuse after you so cruelly used that girl? Bored already?”

 

Bahamut ignored the lack of decorum that he always demanded out of those he deemed below him.  _ “We once relied on thy’s power to rid the world of this darkness, now we must require help from another.”  _

 

Above them were veins of light that glowed with a sea-green luminescence. Like tree roots that reached the cracks between stone, they etched the sky with their glowing streams and Ardyn watched as one of the lights appeared at the far end- different in color than the rest as it glowed with a multi-hued radiance. It traveled down the stream until Bahamut raised a hand from the hilt of his great sword, holding out his palm until a shattered piece of glass appeared and hovered over it- it’s color the same as the light that he just saw zipping through the sky. The light in the stream was then ripped from its path and flew down in between Bahamut and Ardyn, floating carefully in the voided space. 

 

Slowly, the light extended and reached until it formed the curled up figure of a woman. 

 

Ardyn blinked in mild surprise, then glanced up at the bladekeeper. “And here I thought a shattered heart could never be repaired nor brought back.” He chuckled, if that hypothesis were true, he would have sacrificed his own heart to be free of everlasting life. The very thought made him laugh, as if he had a heart in the first place. For he willfully abandoned that long ago. 

 

_ “All that is required is a single piece,”  _ Bahamut said and Ardyn’s eyes trained on the floating shard in his hand. A piece of jagged glass to the untrained eye, but upon closer inspection…

 

“Hmph,” Ardyn chuckled. “So, you helped yourself to more than just her eyesight? How gracious of you.”

 

_ “A half of her heart was the necessary exchange for a fraction of our power.” _

 

“I know the price of the pact.. but was she a willing participant? Or did you take it forcefully without divulging the true nature of the cost?”

 

Bahamut remained silent and Ardyn’s smile grew. He received his answer. 

 

The astral then scooped up the floating figure into his hand and brought it closer to his face to inspect it as one does when they’re inspecting an expensive product they’ve invested in. Closing his armored fingers around it, Ardyn could no longer see the ethereal body and could assume it would be kept at the draconians side until he deemed it the right time to release her- just as he’d been cursed to wander the earth until death was granted to him. 

 

A subtle shift in the Bladekeeper’s helmet notified Ardyn that his attention was now focused on him. 

_ “Thou hast been chosen to serve a different purpose. To spread darkness throughout the world is thy true calling.” _

 

Ardyn clenched his fist. “Yes, you’ve told me that before. What difference does it make now? I was promised the blood of the Lucian line, are you denying me the right?!”

 

_ “When the True King awakens, summoning the power of his forebears, he shall at last relieve thee of thy suffering. Then, the line of Lucis shall come to an end, and the revenge thou seekest shall finally be found.” _

 

“..And what of the girl?”

 

_ “She will be used for other means. This world has been tainted with far too much darkness and demands retribution most divine.” _

 

_ So, _ Ardyn smirked,  _ you plan to destroy this world in favor of a new one?  _ He wanted to say more on the matter, but he just couldn’t find it in his heart to care about anything on this planet anymore. 

 

“When will this retribution of yours come to be?”

 

_ “In time,” _ Bahamut opened his hand to gaze down at the sleeping woman in his palm.  _ “I will need to forge my blade.”  _ The god’s piercing eyes leered from beyond the great horned helmet down unto Ardyn. 

_ “Though mankind may not realize, everything in this world is preordained. Man exists solely by the grace of the gods and cannot live without.” _

 

A sword of light appeared in clusters of crystals before Ardyn and the man looked up at the god- and laughed. 

As the sword flew towards him and he began to feel the familiar and chill embrace of death, he smiled. 

 

“This should be interesting.”

 

**en[D]**


End file.
